Wellington RC 9 December 2017 – R 2 – Chair, Mr N McCutcheon
ID: JCA12906
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Wellington RC - 9 December 2017
Meet Chair:
NMcCutcheon
Meet Committee Member 1:
NMoffatt
Race Date:
2017/12/09
Race Number:
R 2
Decision:
As Ms Andrew admitted the breach the charge was found to be proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly Ms Andrew’s Apprentice Jockey’s Licence was suspended from the close of racing on Saturday 16 December up to and including racing on Saturday 23 December 2017 (6 days).
Comment:
The lack of a Riding Mentor in the Central Districts is of concern and this Committee believes that all Apprentice Jockeys in the area are disadvantaged as a result.
Facts:
Following Race 2, (FASTTRACK INSURANCE “CHALMERS TWO MILE PREMIER”), Mr Oatham lodged an information with the Judicial Committee alleging a breach of Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) in that Ms H Andrew (STORMY HABIT) used her whip excessively in the home straight prior to the 100 metres.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) 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.
Mr Oatham had Mr Goodwin demonstrate the breach using the relevant films. Mr Goodwin said that Ms Andrew hit her horse with the whip 3-on 3-off several times prior to the 100m with the total number of strikes being 15. He said that the whip use was in excess of the guidelines.
Mr Gray said that he did not agree that Ms Andrew’s whip use was excessive as she used very little force. He said that he was perplexed that she was charged. He expressed concern that the Central Districts does not have a Riding Mentor and that in the Northern Region they have Mr Noel Harris and in the South Island they have Mr David Walsh who show film replays to the Apprentices and assist them with their riding and in particular the use of the whip. He believed that Ms Andrew should be given a chance until such time as she is provided with professional tuition and asked the Committee to show some leniency.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham produced Ms Andrew’s record which showed that this was Ms Andrew’s fourth breach of the Rule since 1 August 2017 with the most recent being on 18 November 2017 when a six day suspension was imposed. He added that her whip use on this occasion was unacceptable and said that it fell in the mid-range at least. He said that Ms Andrew needed to adjust her style. He said that New Zealand whip restrictions were more liberal than Australia and that the restrictions in New Zealand were only going to get tighter. He agreed with Mr Grey’s sentiments that the Central District Apprentices were disadvantaged by not having a Riding Mentor and said that he did not see any need for an increase on the last penalty imposed on Ms Andrew.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee gave a great deal of consideration with respect to the charge, in particular what would be a suitable penalty under the circumstances. The Committee recognised that Ms Andrew has a problem with the use of her whip and has difficulty riding within the guidelines. Today’s breach saw her use the whip three times and then give three strides respite with a total of 15 strikes. The Committee’s observation was that Ms Andrew did not use undue force and noted that the whip use was not continuous. Ms Andrew’s record regarding her whip use is unacceptable and it is clear that she does have a significant problem with this aspect of race riding. The Committee believes that Ms Andrew requires urgent mentoring and assistance to rectify this issue.
The Committee did not believe that imposing a lengthy term of suspension at this time would be in Ms Andrew’s best interest.
The Committee took note of the submissions made by Mr Gray regarding the absence of a Central Districts Riding Mentor and believed that Ms Andrew would benefit from tuition delivered by an experienced Mentor. The Committee took the view that this option would better achieve the goal rather than imposing a lengthy period of suspension.
The updated starting points for breaches of Rule 638(3) (b) (ii) are:
1st breach $300
2nd breach $500
3rd or subsequent breach 6-8 national riding day suspension
Ms Andrew was facing her 4th breach since August 2017. In deciding to suspend Ms Andrew for 6 riding days the Committee afforded her some leniency to account for the absence of a Riding Mentor in the Central Districts and encourage her to seek help.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: 66db20495e2eae30166f802210309bfb
informantnumber: A9215
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 10/12/2017
hearing_title: Wellington RC 9 December 2017 - R 2 - Chair, Mr N McCutcheon
charge:
facts:
Following Race 2, (FASTTRACK INSURANCE “CHALMERS TWO MILE PREMIER”), Mr Oatham lodged an information with the Judicial Committee alleging a breach of Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) in that Ms H Andrew (STORMY HABIT) used her whip excessively in the home straight prior to the 100 metres.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) 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.
Mr Oatham had Mr Goodwin demonstrate the breach using the relevant films. Mr Goodwin said that Ms Andrew hit her horse with the whip 3-on 3-off several times prior to the 100m with the total number of strikes being 15. He said that the whip use was in excess of the guidelines.
Mr Gray said that he did not agree that Ms Andrew’s whip use was excessive as she used very little force. He said that he was perplexed that she was charged. He expressed concern that the Central Districts does not have a Riding Mentor and that in the Northern Region they have Mr Noel Harris and in the South Island they have Mr David Walsh who show film replays to the Apprentices and assist them with their riding and in particular the use of the whip. He believed that Ms Andrew should be given a chance until such time as she is provided with professional tuition and asked the Committee to show some leniency.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Ms Andrew admitted the breach the charge was found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham produced Ms Andrew’s record which showed that this was Ms Andrew’s fourth breach of the Rule since 1 August 2017 with the most recent being on 18 November 2017 when a six day suspension was imposed. He added that her whip use on this occasion was unacceptable and said that it fell in the mid-range at least. He said that Ms Andrew needed to adjust her style. He said that New Zealand whip restrictions were more liberal than Australia and that the restrictions in New Zealand were only going to get tighter. He agreed with Mr Grey’s sentiments that the Central District Apprentices were disadvantaged by not having a Riding Mentor and said that he did not see any need for an increase on the last penalty imposed on Ms Andrew.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee gave a great deal of consideration with respect to the charge, in particular what would be a suitable penalty under the circumstances. The Committee recognised that Ms Andrew has a problem with the use of her whip and has difficulty riding within the guidelines. Today’s breach saw her use the whip three times and then give three strides respite with a total of 15 strikes. The Committee’s observation was that Ms Andrew did not use undue force and noted that the whip use was not continuous. Ms Andrew’s record regarding her whip use is unacceptable and it is clear that she does have a significant problem with this aspect of race riding. The Committee believes that Ms Andrew requires urgent mentoring and assistance to rectify this issue.
The Committee did not believe that imposing a lengthy term of suspension at this time would be in Ms Andrew’s best interest.
The Committee took note of the submissions made by Mr Gray regarding the absence of a Central Districts Riding Mentor and believed that Ms Andrew would benefit from tuition delivered by an experienced Mentor. The Committee took the view that this option would better achieve the goal rather than imposing a lengthy period of suspension.
The updated starting points for breaches of Rule 638(3) (b) (ii) are:
1st breach $300
2nd breach $500
3rd or subsequent breach 6-8 national riding day suspension
Ms Andrew was facing her 4th breach since August 2017. In deciding to suspend Ms Andrew for 6 riding days the Committee afforded her some leniency to account for the absence of a Riding Mentor in the Central Districts and encourage her to seek help.
penalty:
Accordingly Ms Andrew’s Apprentice Jockey’s Licence was suspended from the close of racing on Saturday 16 December up to and including racing on Saturday 23 December 2017 (6 days).
Comment:
The lack of a Riding Mentor in the Central Districts is of concern and this Committee believes that all Apprentice Jockeys in the area are disadvantaged as a result.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b(ii)
Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Ms H Andrew - Licenced Apprentice Jockey
Otherperson: Mr K Gray - Licensed Trainer assisting Ms Andrew, Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: f224b1d6900f17a1f21e890bc5c860e2
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 2
submittochair:
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race_otherexp:
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meetid: ccbea523933ce5eab9012eb782527657
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meetdate: 09/12/2017
meet_title: Wellington RC - 9 December 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
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tracklocation: wellington-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: NMcCutcheon
meet_pm1: NMoffatt
meet_pm2: none
name: Wellington RC