Wanganui JC 1 June 2013 – R 8
ID: JCA12988
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Wanganui JC - 1 June 2013
Meet Chair:
NMoffatt
Meet Committee Member 1:
TUtikere
Race Date:
2013/06/01
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
Accordingly the committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
Taking into account all of these factors Mr Hutchings was fined the sum of $200.
Charge:
Alleged unnecessary, excessive or improper use of the whip
Facts:
Following the running of Race 8, an information was lodged by Mr N Goodwin alleging a breach of Rule 638(3) (b). The information alleged that R Hutchings (SHOOTOFF) struck his mount unnecessarily in the home straight when out of contention.
Mr Goodwin read out the rule and Mr Hutchings acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge. He also confirmed to the committee he did not admit the breach. Mr Hutchings is an apprentice rider so Mr Gray was present to assist him.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Goodwin showed footage of the race and identified Mr Hutchings riding in a forward position for much of the race. The horse was travelling reasonably well. In the home straight however Mr Hutchings dropped out of contention and finished in last place. The Stewards were concerned that Mr Hutchings hit his horse 5 times inside the last 100 metres when it was clear he was on a beaten runner. It was Mr Hutching’s whip use at this stage that they believed was unnecessary as the horse was never going to get any prize money.
Mr Hutchings said while he dropped out to last place it was difficult to tell his exact position due to the field being spread out across the whole width of the track. He said that while he was riding forward with the whip he was only hitting his horse every two strides and was just ensuring that he rode it out right to the finish post. Following questions from the committee Mr Hutchings said he did not receive any particular riding instructions because his employer, Mr Rogerson, was in Australia but had ridden this horse previously and he was a “big lazy gelding” more suited to staying races. He just tried to keep him working right to the line.
Mr Gray said Mr Hutchings did not use the whip excessively and if he hadn’t hit the horse he would have been criticised for dropping his hands and doing nothing. Mr Gray pointed out the horse in front of Mr Hutchings who also had no chance yet that rider was hitting her horse at the same time.
Reasons for Decision:
The committee had regard to Rule 638(3) (b) which states:
(3) A Rider shall not:
(b) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is unnecessary, excessive
or improper;
The charge against Mr Hutchings refers to “unnecessary” which can also be taken to mean “not required”. All riders are required to ride their mounts out to the finish of the race if there is a chance of finishing in a stakes bearing position. Mr Hutchings was at the tail of the field and was clearly not going to finish in the money even if his mount did respond to the whip. We did not believe that had Mr Hutchings only ridden hands and heels to the line he would have been questioned over his ride. It was our opinion that using the whip over the final 100 metres today was unnecessary.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Goodwin and Mr Hutchings were invited to make submissions on penalty. Mr Goodwin said Mr Hutchings had not been charged with a breach of Rule 636(3) (b) within the last year. He said today’s breach was at the lower end of the scale and his submission was for a $300 monetary penalty.
Mr Hutchings submitted that $300 was too much especially when compared to fines for excessive use of the whip which were closer to $100. Mr Goodwin explained that excessive whip charges arose from completely different sets of circumstances and could not be compared to those of this breach. He said the Stewards policed this rule carefully due to public interest.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees has, as its starting point, a $300 fine however it does not differentiate between, excessive, unnecessary or improper. To help us in determining a suitable penalty we looked to other similar breaches and noted two cases which incurred fines of $300 and $250. We have given credit for Mr Hutchings' good record.
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: 71fdc5ad8581855f25bcb311c4aa24de
informantnumber: A4056
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 31/05/2013
hearing_title: Wanganui JC 1 June 2013 - R 8
charge:
Alleged unnecessary, excessive or improper use of the whip
facts:
Following the running of Race 8, an information was lodged by Mr N Goodwin alleging a breach of Rule 638(3) (b). The information alleged that R Hutchings (SHOOTOFF) struck his mount unnecessarily in the home straight when out of contention.
Mr Goodwin read out the rule and Mr Hutchings acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge. He also confirmed to the committee he did not admit the breach. Mr Hutchings is an apprentice rider so Mr Gray was present to assist him.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Goodwin showed footage of the race and identified Mr Hutchings riding in a forward position for much of the race. The horse was travelling reasonably well. In the home straight however Mr Hutchings dropped out of contention and finished in last place. The Stewards were concerned that Mr Hutchings hit his horse 5 times inside the last 100 metres when it was clear he was on a beaten runner. It was Mr Hutching’s whip use at this stage that they believed was unnecessary as the horse was never going to get any prize money.
Mr Hutchings said while he dropped out to last place it was difficult to tell his exact position due to the field being spread out across the whole width of the track. He said that while he was riding forward with the whip he was only hitting his horse every two strides and was just ensuring that he rode it out right to the finish post. Following questions from the committee Mr Hutchings said he did not receive any particular riding instructions because his employer, Mr Rogerson, was in Australia but had ridden this horse previously and he was a “big lazy gelding” more suited to staying races. He just tried to keep him working right to the line.
Mr Gray said Mr Hutchings did not use the whip excessively and if he hadn’t hit the horse he would have been criticised for dropping his hands and doing nothing. Mr Gray pointed out the horse in front of Mr Hutchings who also had no chance yet that rider was hitting her horse at the same time.
reasonsfordecision:
The committee had regard to Rule 638(3) (b) which states:
(3) A Rider shall not:
(b) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is unnecessary, excessive
or improper;
The charge against Mr Hutchings refers to “unnecessary” which can also be taken to mean “not required”. All riders are required to ride their mounts out to the finish of the race if there is a chance of finishing in a stakes bearing position. Mr Hutchings was at the tail of the field and was clearly not going to finish in the money even if his mount did respond to the whip. We did not believe that had Mr Hutchings only ridden hands and heels to the line he would have been questioned over his ride. It was our opinion that using the whip over the final 100 metres today was unnecessary.
Decision:
Accordingly the committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Goodwin and Mr Hutchings were invited to make submissions on penalty. Mr Goodwin said Mr Hutchings had not been charged with a breach of Rule 636(3) (b) within the last year. He said today’s breach was at the lower end of the scale and his submission was for a $300 monetary penalty.
Mr Hutchings submitted that $300 was too much especially when compared to fines for excessive use of the whip which were closer to $100. Mr Goodwin explained that excessive whip charges arose from completely different sets of circumstances and could not be compared to those of this breach. He said the Stewards policed this rule carefully due to public interest.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees has, as its starting point, a $300 fine however it does not differentiate between, excessive, unnecessary or improper. To help us in determining a suitable penalty we looked to other similar breaches and noted two cases which incurred fines of $300 and $250. We have given credit for Mr Hutchings' good record.
penalty:
Taking into account all of these factors Mr Hutchings was fined the sum of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)
Informant: Mr N Goodwin
JockeysandTrainer: Mr R Hutchings - Apprentice Rider, Mr K Gray Licensed Trainer
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 4a8509c20c07df704bf6ca5bbf3c4afd
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: be0cc6ae8ad8bf68852eb321a9b60de2
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 01/06/2013
meet_title: Wanganui JC - 1 June 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: wanganui-jc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: NMoffatt
meet_pm1: TUtikere
meet_pm2: none
name: Wanganui JC