Wellington RC 26 January 2013 – R 9 (request for a ruling)
ID: JCA10755
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Wellington RC - 26 January 2013
Meet Chair:
NMoffatt
Meet Committee Member 1:
NMcCutcheon
Race Date:
2013/01/26
Race Number:
R 9
Decision:
In essence, due to ASAVANT being disadvantaged at the start, she was not given the same opportunity as the rest of the field to gain the best possible placing in a Group 2 Race. Taking into account the best interests of all parties involved the Judicial Committee declared ASAVANT to be a non-starter.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 9, the Group 2 Pacific Jewellers Wellington Cup, the Stewards requested a ruling in relation to Rule 632 in that ASAVANT did not receive a fair start.
632: If, in the opinion of the Judicial Committee, a horse which does not finish in the first three placings 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 by its own accord), the Judicial Committee may declare such horse to be a non-starter.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Neal said that the starting gate of ASAVANT was slow to open and he asked Mr Oatham to show the films of the incident. The head-on view quite clearly showed the gate of ASAVANT in a closed position while all the other gates were open. The back straight video showed the degree that the horse was disadvantaged losing several lengths on the rest of the field.
Mrs Thornton, the rider of ASAVANT, confirmed that her gate was slow to open. She said that whilst it certainly didn’t help her horse she recovered alright and went on to take the lead.
Mr Wall said this was the Club’s major betting race of the day and declaring the horse a non-runner would have a significant effect on the Club however the punters had to be considered as well as the owners and that is what the Judicial Committee had to decide.
Mrs Parsons said she was “gutted” by the fact that the gate had not opened properly and ASAVANT could easily have finished closer if it had not been slow. On the other hand she was concerned for the owners of the horse losing stake money ($4750) if ASAVANT was declared a non runner.
Mr Neal, in summing up, said while Mrs Parsons and Mrs Thornton was advocating for the horse the Stewards had a responsibility to all the people who had invested money on ASAVANT. He said that while ASAVANT had finished in 5th place the starting gate was definitely slow to open and the horse may well have finished in a higher place if it had not had to use up that extra energy at the start. Mr Neal said he could empathise with the owners but if the Judicial Committee did declare the horse a non-runner the connections could talk with the club about the loss of stake money.
Reasons for Decision:
This was an unfortunate incident for all concerned and the Judicial Committee very carefully considered all of the submissions. The first part of Rule 632 asks us to consider whether or not the horse was prevented from taking an effective part in the race owing to the mechanical failure of the starting stalls or was denied a fair start. The gate of ASAVANT was clearly shown to be closed when all the other gates were open so we were satisfied that there had been some sort of mechanical failure and the horse was not slow away of its own accord. Mrs Thornton’s evidence to the committee (in that she was slow away but recovered alright) suggests that ASAVANT did take an effective part in the race however there was no question that the horse was denied a fair start. The back straight video showed ASAVANT lose several lengths on the rest of the field and Mrs Thornton could be seen to slap and urge her mount up to reach the lead.
We have a discretion as to whether to declare ASAVANT a non-starter or not. The horse finished 5th and only approximately 1 length from the winner. Taking into account the several lengths lost at the start it is possible that ASAVANT could have finished in a dividend bearing position had she been allowed the same chances as all the other horses in the race. It was always Mrs Thornton’s intention to go to the front of the field and yet, due to the failure of the starting gate, she was forced to push her mount harder at the beginning than if she had not been slow away. As Mr Wall said this was the Wellington Cup and the biggest betting race of the day. For all those people who invested money on the horse they did not get a fair chance. The connections of the horse were concerned at the loss of the stake money however Mr Neal advised that this matter could be taken up with the Racing Club.
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: 0b74402b08181590c45466c69a94deb9
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 18/12/2012
hearing_title: Wellington RC 26 January 2013 - R 9 (request for a ruling)
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 9, the Group 2 Pacific Jewellers Wellington Cup, the Stewards requested a ruling in relation to Rule 632 in that ASAVANT did not receive a fair start.
632: If, in the opinion of the Judicial Committee, a horse which does not finish in the first three placings 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 by its own accord), the Judicial Committee may declare such horse to be a non-starter.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Neal said that the starting gate of ASAVANT was slow to open and he asked Mr Oatham to show the films of the incident. The head-on view quite clearly showed the gate of ASAVANT in a closed position while all the other gates were open. The back straight video showed the degree that the horse was disadvantaged losing several lengths on the rest of the field.
Mrs Thornton, the rider of ASAVANT, confirmed that her gate was slow to open. She said that whilst it certainly didn’t help her horse she recovered alright and went on to take the lead.
Mr Wall said this was the Club’s major betting race of the day and declaring the horse a non-runner would have a significant effect on the Club however the punters had to be considered as well as the owners and that is what the Judicial Committee had to decide.
Mrs Parsons said she was “gutted” by the fact that the gate had not opened properly and ASAVANT could easily have finished closer if it had not been slow. On the other hand she was concerned for the owners of the horse losing stake money ($4750) if ASAVANT was declared a non runner.
Mr Neal, in summing up, said while Mrs Parsons and Mrs Thornton was advocating for the horse the Stewards had a responsibility to all the people who had invested money on ASAVANT. He said that while ASAVANT had finished in 5th place the starting gate was definitely slow to open and the horse may well have finished in a higher place if it had not had to use up that extra energy at the start. Mr Neal said he could empathise with the owners but if the Judicial Committee did declare the horse a non-runner the connections could talk with the club about the loss of stake money.
reasonsfordecision:
This was an unfortunate incident for all concerned and the Judicial Committee very carefully considered all of the submissions. The first part of Rule 632 asks us to consider whether or not the horse was prevented from taking an effective part in the race owing to the mechanical failure of the starting stalls or was denied a fair start. The gate of ASAVANT was clearly shown to be closed when all the other gates were open so we were satisfied that there had been some sort of mechanical failure and the horse was not slow away of its own accord. Mrs Thornton’s evidence to the committee (in that she was slow away but recovered alright) suggests that ASAVANT did take an effective part in the race however there was no question that the horse was denied a fair start. The back straight video showed ASAVANT lose several lengths on the rest of the field and Mrs Thornton could be seen to slap and urge her mount up to reach the lead.
We have a discretion as to whether to declare ASAVANT a non-starter or not. The horse finished 5th and only approximately 1 length from the winner. Taking into account the several lengths lost at the start it is possible that ASAVANT could have finished in a dividend bearing position had she been allowed the same chances as all the other horses in the race. It was always Mrs Thornton’s intention to go to the front of the field and yet, due to the failure of the starting gate, she was forced to push her mount harder at the beginning than if she had not been slow away. As Mr Wall said this was the Wellington Cup and the biggest betting race of the day. For all those people who invested money on the horse they did not get a fair chance. The connections of the horse were concerned at the loss of the stake money however Mr Neal advised that this matter could be taken up with the Racing Club.
Decision:
In essence, due to ASAVANT being disadvantaged at the start, she was not given the same opportunity as the rest of the field to gain the best possible placing in a Group 2 Race. Taking into account the best interests of all parties involved the Judicial Committee declared ASAVANT to be a non-starter.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Request Ruling
Rules: 632
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent: Mrs K Parsons - Trainer of ASAVANT, Mrs T Thornton - Rider of ASAVANT, Mr B Wall - Representing Wellington Racing Club
Respondent:
StipendSteward: Mr R Neal - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Oatham - Stipendiary Steward
raceid: 03c2ee1cf59562197a0b8a10b9fddc96
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: abe5de30629f8b76eea631e667e67077
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 26/01/2013
meet_title: Wellington RC - 26 January 2013
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