Winton HRC 29 December 2016 – R 6 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA14605
Meet Title:
Winton HRC - 29 December 2016
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2016/12/29
Race Number:
R 6
Decision:
We thus find the breach of r 869(3)(b) (careless driving) is proved.
Penalty:
Mr Walkinshaw’s horseman’s licence is suspended from the close of racing today (29 December) up to and including 4 January. This is 2 southern days — Omakau 2 January and Roxburgh 4 January.
Facts:
Mr Tidmarsh, Stipendiary Steward, alleged that in race 6 Mr Walkinshaw (ARGYLE BEACH) drove carelessly near the 2000 metres when shifting inwards when not clear of SPEEDY MACH (Mr M Williamson) resulting in his runner sustaining a flat tyre.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr N McIntyre, General Manager Stewards, demonstrated on the videos that at the apex of the first bend the respondent shifted inwards towards the pylons when not clear of Mr Williamson. The result was contact by his inside sulky wheel with a foreleg of SPEEDY MACH. Mr Williamson had to grab hold of his horse. Mr Walkinshaw’s tyre then deflated.
Mr Tidmarsh stated that Mr Williamson was driving into the bend and could not shift any further down. He reiterated that Mr Williamson had to restrain his horse and the videos evidenced this with horse’s head skying up in the air. He said there was contact through the respondent not being clear when shifting ground and thus Mr Walkinshaw was in breach of the careless driving rule.
Mr Walkinshaw stated that he was proceeding to the lead and had every right to come across. At the time, he thought he was clear of Mr Williamson. He emphasised that Mr Williamson had the opportunity to shift down on the track and had he done this rather than take hold of SPEEDY MACH, contact would not have been made. He emphasised it was only a light touch between his wheel and the outside leg of Mr Williamson’s horse.
Reasons for Decision:
The video evidence is clear. On the first bend Mr Walkinshaw has made a move across the body of the field looking for the lead. In so doing, he has come into contact with the off foreleg of Mr Williamson’s horse. The obligation upon Mr Walkinshaw is to be clear of other runners when making a sideways movement on the track. There is no onus on other drivers to keep out of Mr Walkinshaw’s way. Whether or not there was room to Mr Williamson’s inside is open to debate, but his response to take hold of his horse is quite understandable. SPEEDY MACH may have over-reached, as Mr Walkinshaw has alleged, although we saw no evidence of this. The key point is Mr Walkinshaw, when he shifted ground, was not clear of Mr Williamson, there was contact, and Mr Walkinshaw received a flat tyre.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Tidmarsh produced the respondent’s record, which evidenced a previous breach at Wyndham in November last when a fine of $350 was imposed. The starting point for the breach before us was thus 3 days’ suspension. Mr Tidmarsh described the breach as low end, although he emphasised Mr Walkinshaw had to race with a flat tyre for some 2200 metres. He noted the horse was the second favourite and finished sixth.
Mr Walkinshaw stated he preferred a suspension and asked that this be at the low end.
Reasons for Penalty:
Mr Walkinshaw’s previous breach dictates that we adopt a 3-day starting point as provided by the JCA Penalty Guide. We agree the breach is low end. It was a gradual movement and there was only a slight misjudgement. It was a brief touch to the wheel. Mr Williamson’s horse was only briefly inconvenienced and there was no disruption to the field. While Mr Walkinshaw has a recent breach of the careless driving rule, his record prior this, and extending into the previous season is clear. He is a busy driver, having had well over 400 drives in this time. We thus regard his record as good. A one-day discount is given for the combination of these 2 factors.
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: 992012fd735300780a461be7bf77c518
informantnumber: A8539
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 30/12/2016
hearing_title: Winton HRC 29 December 2016 - R 6 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Mr Tidmarsh, Stipendiary Steward, alleged that in race 6 Mr Walkinshaw (ARGYLE BEACH) drove carelessly near the 2000 metres when shifting inwards when not clear of SPEEDY MACH (Mr M Williamson) resulting in his runner sustaining a flat tyre.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr N McIntyre, General Manager Stewards, demonstrated on the videos that at the apex of the first bend the respondent shifted inwards towards the pylons when not clear of Mr Williamson. The result was contact by his inside sulky wheel with a foreleg of SPEEDY MACH. Mr Williamson had to grab hold of his horse. Mr Walkinshaw’s tyre then deflated.
Mr Tidmarsh stated that Mr Williamson was driving into the bend and could not shift any further down. He reiterated that Mr Williamson had to restrain his horse and the videos evidenced this with horse’s head skying up in the air. He said there was contact through the respondent not being clear when shifting ground and thus Mr Walkinshaw was in breach of the careless driving rule.
Mr Walkinshaw stated that he was proceeding to the lead and had every right to come across. At the time, he thought he was clear of Mr Williamson. He emphasised that Mr Williamson had the opportunity to shift down on the track and had he done this rather than take hold of SPEEDY MACH, contact would not have been made. He emphasised it was only a light touch between his wheel and the outside leg of Mr Williamson’s horse.
reasonsfordecision:
The video evidence is clear. On the first bend Mr Walkinshaw has made a move across the body of the field looking for the lead. In so doing, he has come into contact with the off foreleg of Mr Williamson’s horse. The obligation upon Mr Walkinshaw is to be clear of other runners when making a sideways movement on the track. There is no onus on other drivers to keep out of Mr Walkinshaw’s way. Whether or not there was room to Mr Williamson’s inside is open to debate, but his response to take hold of his horse is quite understandable. SPEEDY MACH may have over-reached, as Mr Walkinshaw has alleged, although we saw no evidence of this. The key point is Mr Walkinshaw, when he shifted ground, was not clear of Mr Williamson, there was contact, and Mr Walkinshaw received a flat tyre.
Decision:
We thus find the breach of r 869(3)(b) (careless driving) is proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Tidmarsh produced the respondent’s record, which evidenced a previous breach at Wyndham in November last when a fine of $350 was imposed. The starting point for the breach before us was thus 3 days’ suspension. Mr Tidmarsh described the breach as low end, although he emphasised Mr Walkinshaw had to race with a flat tyre for some 2200 metres. He noted the horse was the second favourite and finished sixth.
Mr Walkinshaw stated he preferred a suspension and asked that this be at the low end.
reasonsforpenalty:
Mr Walkinshaw’s previous breach dictates that we adopt a 3-day starting point as provided by the JCA Penalty Guide. We agree the breach is low end. It was a gradual movement and there was only a slight misjudgement. It was a brief touch to the wheel. Mr Williamson’s horse was only briefly inconvenienced and there was no disruption to the field. While Mr Walkinshaw has a recent breach of the careless driving rule, his record prior this, and extending into the previous season is clear. He is a busy driver, having had well over 400 drives in this time. We thus regard his record as good. A one-day discount is given for the combination of these 2 factors.
penalty:
Mr Walkinshaw’s horseman’s licence is suspended from the close of racing today (29 December) up to and including 4 January. This is 2 southern days — Omakau 2 January and Roxburgh 4 January.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr L Tidmarsh - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Walkinshaw - Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr N McIntyre - General Manager of Stewards
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 7b7d968250f236d1cc5f44a0b8673271
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
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meetid: a20761abd5c47f667b37edef3aece837
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waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 29/12/2016
meet_title: Winton HRC - 29 December 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: winton-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: PKnowles
meet_pm2: none
name: Winton HRC