Winton JC 15 October 2017 – R 2 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA10661
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Winton JC - 15 October 2017
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2017/10/15
Race Number:
R 2
Decision:
As Mr Johnson has admitted the breach, we find the breach of r 638(1)(d) proved.
Penalty:
We suspend Mr Johnson from riding from the end of racing on 27 October 2017 up to and including 8 November 2017. This is eight national riding days and encompasses two premier days.
Facts:
Mr Davidson, Stipendiary Steward, alleged that Mr Johnson (THE LUSTRE) rode carelessly when shifting inwards when not clear of SHE’S FUN near the 900 metres with that horse’s rider, Mr Kwo, being dislodged.
Mr Davidson demonstrated on the various video angles that the respondent was 3 wide and, as the field entered the apex of the bend, he allowed his mount to step in and, in so doing, the horse came into the running line of Mr Kwo. Mr Kwo clipped heels and fell.
Mr Davidson demonstrated on the videos that the respondent was not his length and another clear of Mr Kwo when his horse rolled inwards. Mr Kwo restrained his mount and tried to get out of the tight spot Mr Johnson had put him in. He can be seen on the video to be up around the neck of the horse after SHE’S FUN blundered and before he fell to the ground.
Mr Johnson stated his horse was very green. It was only its second start. At its previous start the horse had raced to the outside of the field and would not go near the other horses. He emphasised the field itself was inexperienced. He agreed with the Committee that he had looked inwards and he said he was aware Mr Kwo was in a tight spot. He said at the point of the bend his horse had shifted away from the runner to its outside. He believed the horse to his outside (TAP DIS), which was wearing a hood, was also shifting in at this time. He believed this had contributed to the incident.
Mr Johnson emphasised that he was trying to give Mr Kwo room and he believed he had shifted away from SHE’S FUN just before the clipping of heels. He thought THE LUSTRE may have changed strides as it neared the apex of the bend. He agreed this was difficult to determine from the video.
Mr Davidson responded that he accepted THE LUSTRE was green but Mr Kwo was in a tight position for some distance and the respondent had a duty of care to keep THE LUSTRE out, inexperienced horse or not. He demonstrated that at the apex of the bend there was “daylight” between Mr Johnson and Ms Wynne (the rider of TAP DIS). He said she was trying to give Mr Johnson room.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Davidson produced the respondent’s record, which evidenced two breaches under this rule on 13 October 2017, at Timaru, when he was suspended for a total of nine days. The previous suspension was on 21 June at Counties and the one before that at the Beaumont meeting at Wingatui on 20 March. Mr Davidson described this record as “not bad” when regard was had to the fact Mr Johnson was the country’s busiest jockey during this period.
Mr Davidson stated the Stewards believed the breach to be mid to low range. He stated that the respondent had tried to relieve the pressure on Mr Kwo. He submitted a 10 to 12 day starting point was appropriate, as the respondent’s carelessness had resulted in a fall.
Mr Johnson did not disagree with Mr Davidson’s assessment of the gravity of the breach, his description of the riding record, or his submission as to the starting point.
Both parties have agreed that Mr Johnson is a National rider.
Reasons for Penalty:
We take a 5-day starting point as in the JCA Penalty Guide. The breach is low to mid-range, as the Stewards acknowledge. The clipping of heels has resulted in a horse blundering and a jockey falling. Fortunately, Mr Kwo suffered no injury and the horse escaped with only a minor abrasion that was incurred when it attempted to jump a gate to get off the track. The breach is one where the consequences outweigh the gravity of the breach and indeed the respondent’s culpability.
In this regard, the videos clearly evidence Mr Johnson looking inside towards Mr Kwo on no less than six occasions prior to his horse rolling in. Some looks are no more than a very quick glance; others are more measured. Significantly, Mr Johnson can be seen to move his horse off Mr Kwo prior to the apex of the end. However, his carelessness lies in the fact that he allowed THE LUSTRE to roll in on the bend. He should have been aware that horses will step in on a bend, the more so on this occasion, when he was aware he was riding a green horse. THE LUSTRE’s inwards movement tightened SHE’S FUN. The horse blundered and Mr Kwo was dislodged from the saddle.
We increase the five-day starting point to nine days, to reflect the fact that a jockey has fallen. In so doing, we have recognised that the respondent’s culpability was in the mid to low range of the scale of seriousness, and have factored in that Mr Johnson was aware Mr Kwo was to his inside and can earlier be seen to be endeavouring to give him room.
The penalty we impose has to hold Mr Johnson accountable for his actions and also act as a deterrent to him and other jockeys from riding carelessly. Where there has been a fall, the safety of horse and rider is an important consideration, but we must not lose sight of the need to fairly assess the culpability of the respondent’s actions.
We have looked at comparable cases where horses have fallen. Mr Moseley received 6 South Island days on appeal on 22 October last. His culpability was a little higher than Mr Johnson’s, and horse and rider received injuries. Mr Hannam received a 12-day suspension on 14 July 2016. This breach was described as high range and involved two incidents of careless riding in the one race. In contrast to Mr Johnson, he had failed to relieve pressure on another rider. Mr McNab’s penalty was reduced to 11 days on appeal on 3 March 2016. This was a defended charge. The breach was low end but Mr McNab had had eight breaches of the careless riding rule in the past 12 months. Mr Magorrian was suspended on 12 February 2016 for 14 days for a defended charge that was described as high end. Ms Fawcett was suspended for nine days at Counties on 28 October 2016 after an admission of the breach. She did not attempt to straighten her mount’s line of running or relieve pressure. And unlike, Mr Johnson, she was an apprentice who had just embarked on her racing career. We view each of these cases as being more serious examples of a breach of the careless riding rule.
Mr Johnson’s record these past 12 months is reasonable when regard is had to the large number of rides he regularly has on raceday. We regard his record as being a neutral factor.
A mitigating factor is that Mr Johnson has admitted the breach and has been forthright in his analysis of his ride. As he said, he thought he was giving Mr Kwo room and his green horse has stepped in on the bend. We have incorporated this latter factor into our starting point but we give a one-day reduction for his admission of the breach.
Mr Johnson was suspended at Timaru up to and including 27 October 2017.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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hearingid: 072698f18e437c222e3b0d7047ffdc36
informantnumber: A9706
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Riding
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 17/10/2017
hearing_title: Winton JC 15 October 2017 - R 2 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Mr Davidson, Stipendiary Steward, alleged that Mr Johnson (THE LUSTRE) rode carelessly when shifting inwards when not clear of SHE’S FUN near the 900 metres with that horse’s rider, Mr Kwo, being dislodged.
Mr Davidson demonstrated on the various video angles that the respondent was 3 wide and, as the field entered the apex of the bend, he allowed his mount to step in and, in so doing, the horse came into the running line of Mr Kwo. Mr Kwo clipped heels and fell.
Mr Davidson demonstrated on the videos that the respondent was not his length and another clear of Mr Kwo when his horse rolled inwards. Mr Kwo restrained his mount and tried to get out of the tight spot Mr Johnson had put him in. He can be seen on the video to be up around the neck of the horse after SHE’S FUN blundered and before he fell to the ground.
Mr Johnson stated his horse was very green. It was only its second start. At its previous start the horse had raced to the outside of the field and would not go near the other horses. He emphasised the field itself was inexperienced. He agreed with the Committee that he had looked inwards and he said he was aware Mr Kwo was in a tight spot. He said at the point of the bend his horse had shifted away from the runner to its outside. He believed the horse to his outside (TAP DIS), which was wearing a hood, was also shifting in at this time. He believed this had contributed to the incident.
Mr Johnson emphasised that he was trying to give Mr Kwo room and he believed he had shifted away from SHE’S FUN just before the clipping of heels. He thought THE LUSTRE may have changed strides as it neared the apex of the bend. He agreed this was difficult to determine from the video.
Mr Davidson responded that he accepted THE LUSTRE was green but Mr Kwo was in a tight position for some distance and the respondent had a duty of care to keep THE LUSTRE out, inexperienced horse or not. He demonstrated that at the apex of the bend there was “daylight” between Mr Johnson and Ms Wynne (the rider of TAP DIS). He said she was trying to give Mr Johnson room.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Johnson has admitted the breach, we find the breach of r 638(1)(d) proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Davidson produced the respondent’s record, which evidenced two breaches under this rule on 13 October 2017, at Timaru, when he was suspended for a total of nine days. The previous suspension was on 21 June at Counties and the one before that at the Beaumont meeting at Wingatui on 20 March. Mr Davidson described this record as “not bad” when regard was had to the fact Mr Johnson was the country’s busiest jockey during this period.
Mr Davidson stated the Stewards believed the breach to be mid to low range. He stated that the respondent had tried to relieve the pressure on Mr Kwo. He submitted a 10 to 12 day starting point was appropriate, as the respondent’s carelessness had resulted in a fall.
Mr Johnson did not disagree with Mr Davidson’s assessment of the gravity of the breach, his description of the riding record, or his submission as to the starting point.
Both parties have agreed that Mr Johnson is a National rider.
reasonsforpenalty:
We take a 5-day starting point as in the JCA Penalty Guide. The breach is low to mid-range, as the Stewards acknowledge. The clipping of heels has resulted in a horse blundering and a jockey falling. Fortunately, Mr Kwo suffered no injury and the horse escaped with only a minor abrasion that was incurred when it attempted to jump a gate to get off the track. The breach is one where the consequences outweigh the gravity of the breach and indeed the respondent’s culpability.
In this regard, the videos clearly evidence Mr Johnson looking inside towards Mr Kwo on no less than six occasions prior to his horse rolling in. Some looks are no more than a very quick glance; others are more measured. Significantly, Mr Johnson can be seen to move his horse off Mr Kwo prior to the apex of the end. However, his carelessness lies in the fact that he allowed THE LUSTRE to roll in on the bend. He should have been aware that horses will step in on a bend, the more so on this occasion, when he was aware he was riding a green horse. THE LUSTRE’s inwards movement tightened SHE’S FUN. The horse blundered and Mr Kwo was dislodged from the saddle.
We increase the five-day starting point to nine days, to reflect the fact that a jockey has fallen. In so doing, we have recognised that the respondent’s culpability was in the mid to low range of the scale of seriousness, and have factored in that Mr Johnson was aware Mr Kwo was to his inside and can earlier be seen to be endeavouring to give him room.
The penalty we impose has to hold Mr Johnson accountable for his actions and also act as a deterrent to him and other jockeys from riding carelessly. Where there has been a fall, the safety of horse and rider is an important consideration, but we must not lose sight of the need to fairly assess the culpability of the respondent’s actions.
We have looked at comparable cases where horses have fallen. Mr Moseley received 6 South Island days on appeal on 22 October last. His culpability was a little higher than Mr Johnson’s, and horse and rider received injuries. Mr Hannam received a 12-day suspension on 14 July 2016. This breach was described as high range and involved two incidents of careless riding in the one race. In contrast to Mr Johnson, he had failed to relieve pressure on another rider. Mr McNab’s penalty was reduced to 11 days on appeal on 3 March 2016. This was a defended charge. The breach was low end but Mr McNab had had eight breaches of the careless riding rule in the past 12 months. Mr Magorrian was suspended on 12 February 2016 for 14 days for a defended charge that was described as high end. Ms Fawcett was suspended for nine days at Counties on 28 October 2016 after an admission of the breach. She did not attempt to straighten her mount’s line of running or relieve pressure. And unlike, Mr Johnson, she was an apprentice who had just embarked on her racing career. We view each of these cases as being more serious examples of a breach of the careless riding rule.
Mr Johnson’s record these past 12 months is reasonable when regard is had to the large number of rides he regularly has on raceday. We regard his record as being a neutral factor.
A mitigating factor is that Mr Johnson has admitted the breach and has been forthright in his analysis of his ride. As he said, he thought he was giving Mr Kwo room and his green horse has stepped in on the bend. We have incorporated this latter factor into our starting point but we give a one-day reduction for his admission of the breach.
Mr Johnson was suspended at Timaru up to and including 27 October 2017.
penalty:
We suspend Mr Johnson from riding from the end of racing on 27 October 2017 up to and including 8 November 2017. This is eight national riding days and encompasses two premier days.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(1)(d)
Informant: Mr M Davidson - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr C Johnson - Licensed Jockey (Class A)
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: cc82ca5e659deb208778acac341a6b59
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race_title: R 2
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meetdate: 15/10/2017
meet_title: Winton JC - 15 October 2017
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meet_chair: GHall
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