Archive Decision

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Wellington RC 19 January 2019 – R 9 – Chair, Mrs N Moffatt

ID: JCA16213

Applicant:
Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Ms L Hemi - Licensed Rider

Other Person:
Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A12127

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excessive use of whip

Rules:
638(3)(b)(ii)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Wellington RC - 19 January 2019

Meet Chair:
NMoffatt

Meet Committee Member 1:
NMcCutcheon

Race Date:
2019/01/19

Race Number:
R 9

Decision:

As Ms Hemi admitted the breach the charge was found to be proved.

Penalty:

Accordingly, Ms Hemi is fined the sum of $600.

Facts:

Following Race 9 (NZ Campus of Innovation & Sport Wellington Cup, Group 3), Mr Oatham lodged an Information with the Judicial Committee alleging a breach of Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) in that jockey L Hemi used her whip excessively prior to the 100m without the necessary respite.

Rule 638(3)(b) provides
A Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive

The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3) (b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:

Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached.

Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.

At the outset of the hearing Ms Hemi confirmed that she understood the charge and that she admitted the breach.

Mr Oatham showed video replays of the race from the top of the straight. He pointed to Ms Hemi in the front near to the 200m mark. From that point up until the 100m he counted Ms Hemi’s whip use as 10 strikes. He said she did use her whip earlier in the home straight, but on that occasion, she was within the whip guidelines.

Ms Hemi agreed with the number of strikes counted by Mr Oatham.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Oatham said Ms Hemi had a clear record under the whip rule and in fact had not even received any warnings for her use of the whip.
Mr Oatham said the breach occurred in a Group 3 race and Ms Hemi ran a narrow second in the race. He, therefore, submitted that there should be an uplift on the $300 starting point.

In explanation Ms Hemi told the Committee she misjudged where the 100m mark was and drew her stick at the 200m mark in error. She said she thought she was further on than she was.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees provides the following starting points for breaches of Rule 638(3)(b (ii):
1st breach $300
2nd breach $500
3rd or subsequent breach 6-8 national riding days

In determining penalty, the Committee adopted a starting point of $300 as outlined in the Penalty Guide.

Aggravating factors were the fact that the breach took place in the Group 3 Wellington Cup and Ms Hemi’s mount ran second in the race. For these reasons, an uplift from the starting point is necessary.

In mitigation is Ms Hemi’s exceptional record. She is a busy rider and having never breached the excessive whip rule is commendable.

Taking into account all submissions it was the Committee’s opinion that a monetary penalty of $600 was appropriate for today’s breach.

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: cb00e5524254d1c0984ee45f5aa5a46c


informantnumber: A12127


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Excessive use of whip


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 21/01/2019


hearing_title: Wellington RC 19 January 2019 - R 9 - Chair, Mrs N Moffatt


charge:


facts:

Following Race 9 (NZ Campus of Innovation & Sport Wellington Cup, Group 3), Mr Oatham lodged an Information with the Judicial Committee alleging a breach of Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) in that jockey L Hemi used her whip excessively prior to the 100m without the necessary respite.

Rule 638(3)(b) provides
A Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive

The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3) (b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:

Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached.

Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.

At the outset of the hearing Ms Hemi confirmed that she understood the charge and that she admitted the breach.

Mr Oatham showed video replays of the race from the top of the straight. He pointed to Ms Hemi in the front near to the 200m mark. From that point up until the 100m he counted Ms Hemi’s whip use as 10 strikes. He said she did use her whip earlier in the home straight, but on that occasion, she was within the whip guidelines.

Ms Hemi agreed with the number of strikes counted by Mr Oatham.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Ms Hemi admitted the breach the charge was found to be proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Oatham said Ms Hemi had a clear record under the whip rule and in fact had not even received any warnings for her use of the whip.
Mr Oatham said the breach occurred in a Group 3 race and Ms Hemi ran a narrow second in the race. He, therefore, submitted that there should be an uplift on the $300 starting point.

In explanation Ms Hemi told the Committee she misjudged where the 100m mark was and drew her stick at the 200m mark in error. She said she thought she was further on than she was.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees provides the following starting points for breaches of Rule 638(3)(b (ii):
1st breach $300
2nd breach $500
3rd or subsequent breach 6-8 national riding days

In determining penalty, the Committee adopted a starting point of $300 as outlined in the Penalty Guide.

Aggravating factors were the fact that the breach took place in the Group 3 Wellington Cup and Ms Hemi’s mount ran second in the race. For these reasons, an uplift from the starting point is necessary.

In mitigation is Ms Hemi’s exceptional record. She is a busy rider and having never breached the excessive whip rule is commendable.

Taking into account all submissions it was the Committee’s opinion that a monetary penalty of $600 was appropriate for today’s breach.


penalty:

Accordingly, Ms Hemi is fined the sum of $600.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)


Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Ms L Hemi - Licensed Rider


Otherperson: Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 9f58d150b67d1b91579c7d457ec01f79


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R 9


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: bdcaf483a4b85413aa8ba83606ededa9


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 19/01/2019


meet_title: Wellington RC - 19 January 2019


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: wellington-rc


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: NMoffatt


meet_pm1: NMcCutcheon


meet_pm2: none


name: Wellington RC