Waikato RC 4 February 2017 – R 4 (request for a ruling) Chair, Mr A Dooley
ID: JCA15949
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Waikato RC - 4 February 2017
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2017/02/04
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
Accordingly, pursuant to Rule 632 the Committee exercised their discretion and declared FRANCIS DRAKE and ARROW IN THE SAND to be a non –starters.
The Committee ordered dividends and stakes to be paid in accordance with the decision.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 4, SVS Hamilton Cup, Mr G Rogerson, Trainer of FRANCIS DRAKE and Mrs K McCulloch the rider of ARROW IN THE SAND, lodged an Information requesting a ruling in relation to Rule 632 to establish whether their respective horses were denied a fair start.
Rule 632 provides “If, in the opinion of the Judicial Committee, a horse which does not finish in the first three placing’s was prevented from taking an effective part in a race owing to the mechanical failure of starting stalls, or is denied a fair start and such occurrence materially prejudiced the chances of that horse (but not where the horse is slow away of its own accord), the Judicial Committee may declare such horse to be a non-starter.”
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Rogerson said there were circumstances involved in this incident. While he conceded that FRANCIS DRAKE was rearing up when the stalls opened he was of the view his horse was denied a fair start because the barrier attendant was still holding onto the horse when the stalls opened.
Ms Farr reiterated that the attendant was still holding onto FRANCIS DRAKE when the gates opened. She said this cost her mount a fair start.
Mrs McCulloch said that ARROW IN THE SAND was very slow to jump out of the gates. She was unsure if the attendant was still holding onto her mount when the starting stalls opened.
Mr Wenn said it was clear that ARROW IN THE SAND came out of the stalls awkwardly. He noted the barrier attendant was holding onto both FRANCIS DRAKE (barrier 5) and ARROW IN THE SAND (barrier 6) when the gates opened.
Mr Collins (barrier attendant) said that both horses were fractious at the start. He confirmed that’s why he was holding onto both horses who were in adjacent stalls. He conceded that when FRANCIS DRAKE reared up he did not let the horse's head go because he thought the gelding may have “flipped over”.
Mr Moody said that just as he had hit the button to the start the race FRANCIS DRAKE reared up. However, he acknowledged that it was clear on the film that the barrier attendant was still holding onto the horse when the stalls opened.
Mr Oatham submitted that FRANCIS DRAKE did rear up at the start by its own accord. Conversely he said it was noticeable that the attendant was still holding onto the horse when the stalls opened. He said it was obvious that both FRANCIS DRAKE and ARROW IN THE SAND were very slow away from the stalls. He recognised that the attendant may have obstructed ARROW IN THE SAND from beginning on terms with the rest of the field. He said it was a difficult situation but was of the view that each horse be declared a non – starter. In conclusion he said that decision would be in the best interest of the connections and the betting public.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee carefully considered the submissions presented and reviewed the video footage frame by frame. It was clear on the video footage that both starting stalls did open in line with the rest of the field. There was no evidence or submissions made of any mechanical failure of the starting stall.
It was obvious that both FRANCIS DRAKE and ARROW IN THE SAND lost approximately 8 to 10 lengths at the start which prevented them from taking an effective part in the race and this materially prejudiced their chances. We note that they were in adjacent stalls, barrier 5 and 6.
While we accept that FRANCIS DRAKE did rear up by its own accord it was unfortunate that the barrier attendant did not release the hold he had on that horse until quite some time after the stalls had opened.
When reviewing the back on film it was evident that the barrier attendant was still holding onto both horses when the stalls opened. We accept the attendant was trying his best to control both horses but it was noticeable that this hampered ARROW IN THE SAND from jumping away cleanly and her head was turned outwards. There was no evidence of ARROW IN THE SAND being slow away by her own accord.
The Committee notes that NZTR Starters Manual Policy provides: 6.21 Barrier Attendants at the Jump: If still in the starting gates or alongside horses, Barrier Attendants shall immediately release any hold they may have of a horse as the gates commence to open. Barrier Attendants shall not hit a horse as it leaves the barriers or in any way attempt to provide additional assistance to a horse as it jumps.
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: a4b4d08bbfd6229e4a20951df216b916
informantnumber: A8672
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 07/02/2017
hearing_title: Waikato RC 4 February 2017 - R 4 (request for a ruling) Chair, Mr A Dooley
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 4, SVS Hamilton Cup, Mr G Rogerson, Trainer of FRANCIS DRAKE and Mrs K McCulloch the rider of ARROW IN THE SAND, lodged an Information requesting a ruling in relation to Rule 632 to establish whether their respective horses were denied a fair start.
Rule 632 provides “If, in the opinion of the Judicial Committee, a horse which does not finish in the first three placing’s was prevented from taking an effective part in a race owing to the mechanical failure of starting stalls, or is denied a fair start and such occurrence materially prejudiced the chances of that horse (but not where the horse is slow away of its own accord), the Judicial Committee may declare such horse to be a non-starter.”
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Rogerson said there were circumstances involved in this incident. While he conceded that FRANCIS DRAKE was rearing up when the stalls opened he was of the view his horse was denied a fair start because the barrier attendant was still holding onto the horse when the stalls opened.
Ms Farr reiterated that the attendant was still holding onto FRANCIS DRAKE when the gates opened. She said this cost her mount a fair start.
Mrs McCulloch said that ARROW IN THE SAND was very slow to jump out of the gates. She was unsure if the attendant was still holding onto her mount when the starting stalls opened.
Mr Wenn said it was clear that ARROW IN THE SAND came out of the stalls awkwardly. He noted the barrier attendant was holding onto both FRANCIS DRAKE (barrier 5) and ARROW IN THE SAND (barrier 6) when the gates opened.
Mr Collins (barrier attendant) said that both horses were fractious at the start. He confirmed that’s why he was holding onto both horses who were in adjacent stalls. He conceded that when FRANCIS DRAKE reared up he did not let the horse's head go because he thought the gelding may have “flipped over”.
Mr Moody said that just as he had hit the button to the start the race FRANCIS DRAKE reared up. However, he acknowledged that it was clear on the film that the barrier attendant was still holding onto the horse when the stalls opened.
Mr Oatham submitted that FRANCIS DRAKE did rear up at the start by its own accord. Conversely he said it was noticeable that the attendant was still holding onto the horse when the stalls opened. He said it was obvious that both FRANCIS DRAKE and ARROW IN THE SAND were very slow away from the stalls. He recognised that the attendant may have obstructed ARROW IN THE SAND from beginning on terms with the rest of the field. He said it was a difficult situation but was of the view that each horse be declared a non – starter. In conclusion he said that decision would be in the best interest of the connections and the betting public.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee carefully considered the submissions presented and reviewed the video footage frame by frame. It was clear on the video footage that both starting stalls did open in line with the rest of the field. There was no evidence or submissions made of any mechanical failure of the starting stall.
It was obvious that both FRANCIS DRAKE and ARROW IN THE SAND lost approximately 8 to 10 lengths at the start which prevented them from taking an effective part in the race and this materially prejudiced their chances. We note that they were in adjacent stalls, barrier 5 and 6.
While we accept that FRANCIS DRAKE did rear up by its own accord it was unfortunate that the barrier attendant did not release the hold he had on that horse until quite some time after the stalls had opened.
When reviewing the back on film it was evident that the barrier attendant was still holding onto both horses when the stalls opened. We accept the attendant was trying his best to control both horses but it was noticeable that this hampered ARROW IN THE SAND from jumping away cleanly and her head was turned outwards. There was no evidence of ARROW IN THE SAND being slow away by her own accord.
The Committee notes that NZTR Starters Manual Policy provides: 6.21 Barrier Attendants at the Jump: If still in the starting gates or alongside horses, Barrier Attendants shall immediately release any hold they may have of a horse as the gates commence to open. Barrier Attendants shall not hit a horse as it leaves the barriers or in any way attempt to provide additional assistance to a horse as it jumps.
Decision:
Accordingly, pursuant to Rule 632 the Committee exercised their discretion and declared FRANCIS DRAKE and ARROW IN THE SAND to be a non –starters.
The Committee ordered dividends and stakes to be paid in accordance with the decision.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Request Ruling
Rules: 632
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent: Mr G Rogerson - Trainer of FRANCIS DRAKE, Ms E Farr - Rider of FRANCIS DRAKE, Mr S Wenn - Trainer of ARROW IN THE SAND, Mrs K McCulloch - Rider of ARROW IN THE SAND, Mr J Moody - Raceday Official/Starter, Mr S Collins - Barrier Attendant
Respondent:
StipendSteward: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
raceid: 4c33dccfd66b844860d1b3b5220e580e
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R4
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 44e1625682cac9bf3d0dfe73819fda96
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 04/02/2017
meet_title: Waikato RC - 4 February 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: waikato-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: ADooley
meet_pm1: BScott
meet_pm2: none
name: Waikato RC