Waikato BOP HI 19 October 2017 – R 1 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve
ID: JCA12096
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 19 October 2017
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2017/10/19
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Mr Phelan has admitted this breach we found the charge proved.
Penalty:
The Committee therefore imposed a fine of $300 on Mr Phelan.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the MELBOURNE CUP AT CAMBRIDGE RACEWAY MOBILE PACE 2200m, an Information was presented in which Mr Muirhead alleged that Amateur Horseman, Mr F Phelan, driving P TOMADO used his whip excessively over the final 400 metres.
Mr Phelan was present at the hearing. He acknowledged that he understood the Rule and that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869(2) provides that 'No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner'.
Guidelines introduced on 1 December 2016 include the following in respect of whip useage:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines.
Using the available films, Mr Muirhead identified P TOMADO as the field entered the home straight. P TOMADO was trailling the leader and was running on strongly in the passing lane. Between the start of the home straight and the finish, Mr Phelan struck the horse 12 times with his whip. The horse finished second in a very close finish. Mr Muirhead added that the initial 10 strikes had some force to them, however the final 2 were not as aggressive.
Mr Phelan agreed that he had struck the horse 12 times. He said that he had perhaps got a bit 'excited' when he thought he was in a position to win the race.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Penalty Guide which provides for a starting point of a fine of $500 or a 10 drive suspension for a first breach of this Rule. He added that Mr Phelan had been just over the limit in this matter, and that he did not have any other breaches of this Rule recorded on his drivng record. Mr Muirhead added that Mr Phelan had admitted this breach at the first opportunity.
Mr Phelan stated that he believed a $500 fine to be ' excessive'.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee confirmed that the JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 10 drive suspension or a $500 fine where the driver does not have a prior breach of this Rule. It was to Mr Phelan's credit that he admitted this breach , and that he had a clear record. We did not consider that this was a serious breach of this Rule, and given that Mr Phelan was an Amateur driver, he did not have the opportunity to drive often.
We therefore considered that a fine would be an appropriate penalty, and took guidance from other fines imposed on drivers for similar breaches of this Rule.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
Dmitry: This section contains all JCA fields migrated from the raw data.
Data from these fields should be mapped appropriately to display amongst the standard fields above; please make note of any values below that are missing in the above standard fields but should be there.
hearingid: 30dc8e334a5593d2c24e5dfbbafa8e7f
informantnumber: A2633
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 23/10/2017
hearing_title: Waikato BOP HI 19 October 2017 - R 1 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the MELBOURNE CUP AT CAMBRIDGE RACEWAY MOBILE PACE 2200m, an Information was presented in which Mr Muirhead alleged that Amateur Horseman, Mr F Phelan, driving P TOMADO used his whip excessively over the final 400 metres.
Mr Phelan was present at the hearing. He acknowledged that he understood the Rule and that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869(2) provides that 'No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner'.
Guidelines introduced on 1 December 2016 include the following in respect of whip useage:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines.
Using the available films, Mr Muirhead identified P TOMADO as the field entered the home straight. P TOMADO was trailling the leader and was running on strongly in the passing lane. Between the start of the home straight and the finish, Mr Phelan struck the horse 12 times with his whip. The horse finished second in a very close finish. Mr Muirhead added that the initial 10 strikes had some force to them, however the final 2 were not as aggressive.
Mr Phelan agreed that he had struck the horse 12 times. He said that he had perhaps got a bit 'excited' when he thought he was in a position to win the race.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Phelan has admitted this breach we found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Penalty Guide which provides for a starting point of a fine of $500 or a 10 drive suspension for a first breach of this Rule. He added that Mr Phelan had been just over the limit in this matter, and that he did not have any other breaches of this Rule recorded on his drivng record. Mr Muirhead added that Mr Phelan had admitted this breach at the first opportunity.
Mr Phelan stated that he believed a $500 fine to be ' excessive'.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee confirmed that the JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 10 drive suspension or a $500 fine where the driver does not have a prior breach of this Rule. It was to Mr Phelan's credit that he admitted this breach , and that he had a clear record. We did not consider that this was a serious breach of this Rule, and given that Mr Phelan was an Amateur driver, he did not have the opportunity to drive often.
We therefore considered that a fine would be an appropriate penalty, and took guidance from other fines imposed on drivers for similar breaches of this Rule.
penalty:
The Committee therefore imposed a fine of $300 on Mr Phelan.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr F Phelan - Amateur Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 6da048cbf3561d1d60ce87a9d4d6bd06
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 7bd3811525f3d9ddd48fdde3c5e71612
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 19/10/2017
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 19 October 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: AGodsalve
meet_pm1: BScott
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato