Wellington RC – 2 November 2010 – R 7

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startdate: 02/11/2010

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hearing_title: Wellington RC - 2 November 2010 - R 7

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RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION

Informant:  Mr R Neal, Stipendiary Steward

Defendant:  Mr R Hannam, Licensed Jockey

Information No:  5266

Meeting:  Wellington Racing Club

Date:  02 November 2010

Venue:  Trentham

Race:  7

Rule No:  636 (1) (c)

Judicial Committee:  Paul Williams, Chairman – Nicki Moffatt, Committee Member 

Plea:  Admitted

Also Present: Mr N Goodwin, Stipendiary Steward

CHARGES

Following the running of race 7, information 5266 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr R Neal under rule 636 (1) (c).  The information stated that “R Hannam, the rider of “Reuben Thorn” relaxed his ride over the concluding stages and was beaten for second placing”.

Rule 636 (1) (c) states “A person, being the rider of a horse in a race, must ride his horse out to the end of the race if there is a reasonable chance of it running in a position for which there is prize money to be awarded or a dividend to be declared”

Mr Hannam indicated the breach of the rule was admitted and also that he understood the charge and the rule it was laid under.  As the breach of the rule was admitted the charge was found to be proven.

FACTS

Mr Neal used the head-on view of the film to identify Mr Hannam’s mount which was racing next to the running rail. He said Mr Hannam was riding vigorously until a point close to the post when he relaxed his ride and sat up.  “Pauanui”, ridden by Mr Bradley who at that point was approximately ¾ of a length behind Mr Hannam, had come from behind and beaten him for second place.  Mr Neal said Mr Hannam did give his horse a slap when he realized Mr Bradley was alongside but the stewards deemed that to be too little too late.  Mr Neal confirmed the margin between second and third was a nose.

Mr Hannam said that he basically agreed with what Mr Neal had said.  He said his horse had come to the end of it and it was his first race since coming back from Hong Kong.  He said he had relaxed on the horse a couple of strides before the post and when he saw Mr Bradley on his outside he slapped the horse on the shoulder but it was too late to retain second place.  To a question from the Committee Mr Hannam said that he relaxed 3 strides before the post and slapped his horse when he was two strides from the post.

SUBMISSIONS ON PENALTY

Mr Neal said Mr Hannam had not breached this rule in the previous 12 months.  He referred to a number of breaches of the rule over the past 18 months and said the penalties given worked on a sliding scale with the higher the placing lost the more significant the penalty imposed.  Having reviewed recent penalties he said there were comparable decisions in the cases of K on 17 February 2010 (beaten for second, stopped riding 2 strides off the line, suspended for 3 weeks), C on 1 October 2010 (failed to ride out for the final 2-4 strides, finished 3^rd=, suspended for 2.5 weeks) and C on 5 April 2009 (stopped riding 6-7 strides short of the post, beaten for third, suspended for 4 weeks).

He said Mr Hannam had erred in his judgment just short of the winning post.  He had been riding with vigour up until the point he stopped riding but has ended up being beaten by a horse that has come from behind him.  It was the steward’s view that had he not relaxed his ride he would have held second place.

Mr Neal said the stewards believed a suspension was an appropriate penalty and that the starting point for any suspension should be in the vicinity of 3 weeks.  In mitigation he said Mr Hannam was a national rider who rode extensively throughout the country and who very rarely appeared before the stewards on any matter.  He also said this was a busy period with a large number of lucrative races coming up and he was aware Mr Hannam already held engagements for many of those races.  Balanced against that was the fact that “Reuben Thorn” was a well supported horse and has lost 2^nd place in this race due to the actions of Mr Hannam.

Mr Hannam made considerable and extensive submissions on penalty.  He described his actions as a “major stuff up” but didn’t feel he had eased his horse – rather he had just relaxed on it.  He said he had been riding for over 25 years and this was the first time this had ever happened to him.  He said it was a terrible error of judgment and a momentary loss of concentration and he was very apologetic to the backers of the horse and the people on course and watching the race on television who saw the ride.

Mr Hannam indicated that if he were to be suspended he would like a deferment until after racing on Saturday 6 November.  He said he had confirmed rides in the Couplands Mile, 1000 Guineas and NZ Cup and hoped he would be back riding at the Masterton meeting on Saturday 20 November.  He also said that his actions had cost the owners $1,050 in stake money and that a period of suspension for him at this time of the year could cause him to lose approximately $15,000 in potential income given the number of group and listed races at the upcoming Riccarton carnival, Counties Cup day and the Levin Classic meeting.

REASONS

The Committee has reviewed the films of the incident and has noted that Mr Hannam relaxed his ride 5 strides from the winning post and then, on realising Mr Bradley was alongside him, slapped the horse across the shoulders when he was 2 strides from the winning post.  We are of the view had Mr Hannam not relaxed when he did he would have held second place. 

We have also spent considerable time considering the penalty submissions of Mr Neal and Mr Hannam.  There was significant emphasis placed by both on the fact that a suspension of this time of the racing season means the affected jockey can suffer a considerable financial loss.  The committee has compared the number of race days in the next 4 weeks with the number of races days over randomly selected 4 week periods from mid January to late April and whilst the number of race days in any given 4 week period is approximately the same (14-16 days) it is clear to us that the number of higher profile days over the next month is higher than in any of the earlier periods we looked at.  In support of this, in the inclusive period 6-27 November 2010 there are 16 race days 6 of which are Premier days.  During this time there are 15 Group or Listed races and several others with stake money in excess of $30,000 and as such a suspension of a busy national rider during this time can have a considerable financial impact.

We have noted Mr Hannam’s admittance of the breach and the fact that he has never been previously charged under this rule in his 25 year riding career and that he has unreservedly apologised for his error of judgment.  He is, however, a senior and very experienced national rider and that makes his actions even harder to justify. He was riding a well backed runner and whilst he has cost the owners of the horse just over $1,000 in stake money his actions have also impacted on doubles, quinella, trifecta and first four punters.  His actions could be clearly seen by the television audience and it is important that the penalty given reflects the seriousness of the offence.  We have also reviewed all the penalties under this rule detailed in the listing of penalties provided to JCA panelists to ensure the penalty given is seen as being consistent with other recent similar breaches of this rule.

DECISION

The Committee has decided that a suspension is appropriate in this case and Mr Hannam is suspended from the close racing on Saturday 6 November 2010 to the close of racing on Thursday 25 November 2010 – 2 weeks and 5 days.

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hearing_type: Old Hearing

Rules: 636(1)(c)

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