Wyndham HRC 6 January 2015 – R 1
ID: JCA16199
Meet Title:
Wyndham HRC - 6 January 2015
Meet Chair:
NSkelt
Meet Committee Member 1:
GHall
Race Date:
2015/01/06
Race Number:
R 1
Decision:
Mr O’Connell having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr O’Connell was fined the sum of $200 and also suspended from the conclusion of racing on Tuesday January 2015 until the conclusion of racing on 24 January 2015 (6 days).
These meetings include:
8/1/2015 - Oamaru
13/1/2015 - Wyndham
15/1/2015 - Invercargill
18/1/2015 - Oamaru
19/1/2015 - Invercargill
24/1/2015 - Invercargill
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1 The Top line Fencing Ltd Handicap Trot an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Renault alleging a breach of rule 869(3)(f) and passing regulation 3 in that as the driver of MIRI he drove improperly near the 1800 metre when improving his position to the inside of KATIE DAWN (A Kyle).
Stipendiary Steward, Mr Renault and Mr O’Connell agreed that all of the evidence that was presented in the protest hearing was accurate and that neither party had any further additional evidence to present.
Mr Renault showed the video clip of the incident, highlighting MIRI driven by Mr O’Connell improving into the passing lane, gaining an advantage over KATIE DAWN driven by Mr Kyle.
The rule reads 869 (3) No horseman in any race shall drive (f) improperly.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault informed the committee that Mr O’Connell had 35 drives in the 2013/2014 season and has had 10 drives this current season prior to today.
Mr O’Connell has had no breaches under this rule in the past 12 months.
Mr Renault referred to the penalty guide which suggested a starting point of a $1250 fine or a suspension of 25 drives. Mr Renault suggested that a fine and a suspension may be appropriate on this occasion.
Mr O’Connell stated that he had 3 horses in work, 2 which were in racing order, and that he supported Mr Renault’s suggestion of a fine and a suspension.
Reasons for Penalty:
The committee took into account in determining penalty Mr O’Connell clear driving record and his admission of the breach. It was clear that his horse MIRI had gained an advantage by Mr O’Connell‘s error of judgement, however no other horses were interfered with as a result of his actions.
The committee believe that the degree of improper driving was at the low end of the scale. Mr O’Connell as the trainer and driver of the horse also suffered some financial loss as the horse was relegated from third placing.
The committee also considered three other penalties under this rule in determining penalty.
16/02/2012 - Mr McNally $200 - Addington
22/08/2013 - Mr Salaivao $200 - Cambridge
28/01/2014 - Mr D Nyhan $200 - Rangiora
It was unknown whether these penalties involved horses being relegated from stakes, or dividend bearing places.
The committee was able to afford some significant financial and reduced driving days to the mitigating factors as presented.
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: c8d4c599e0a3b88eb1e5f12323ea8f4b
informantnumber: A4405
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Improper driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 29/12/2014
hearing_title: Wyndham HRC 6 January 2015 - R 1
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1 The Top line Fencing Ltd Handicap Trot an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Renault alleging a breach of rule 869(3)(f) and passing regulation 3 in that as the driver of MIRI he drove improperly near the 1800 metre when improving his position to the inside of KATIE DAWN (A Kyle).
Stipendiary Steward, Mr Renault and Mr O’Connell agreed that all of the evidence that was presented in the protest hearing was accurate and that neither party had any further additional evidence to present.
Mr Renault showed the video clip of the incident, highlighting MIRI driven by Mr O’Connell improving into the passing lane, gaining an advantage over KATIE DAWN driven by Mr Kyle.
The rule reads 869 (3) No horseman in any race shall drive (f) improperly.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr O’Connell having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault informed the committee that Mr O’Connell had 35 drives in the 2013/2014 season and has had 10 drives this current season prior to today.
Mr O’Connell has had no breaches under this rule in the past 12 months.
Mr Renault referred to the penalty guide which suggested a starting point of a $1250 fine or a suspension of 25 drives. Mr Renault suggested that a fine and a suspension may be appropriate on this occasion.
Mr O’Connell stated that he had 3 horses in work, 2 which were in racing order, and that he supported Mr Renault’s suggestion of a fine and a suspension.
reasonsforpenalty:
The committee took into account in determining penalty Mr O’Connell clear driving record and his admission of the breach. It was clear that his horse MIRI had gained an advantage by Mr O’Connell‘s error of judgement, however no other horses were interfered with as a result of his actions.
The committee believe that the degree of improper driving was at the low end of the scale. Mr O’Connell as the trainer and driver of the horse also suffered some financial loss as the horse was relegated from third placing.
The committee also considered three other penalties under this rule in determining penalty.
16/02/2012 - Mr McNally $200 - Addington
22/08/2013 - Mr Salaivao $200 - Cambridge
28/01/2014 - Mr D Nyhan $200 - Rangiora
It was unknown whether these penalties involved horses being relegated from stakes, or dividend bearing places.
The committee was able to afford some significant financial and reduced driving days to the mitigating factors as presented.
penalty:
Mr O’Connell was fined the sum of $200 and also suspended from the conclusion of racing on Tuesday January 2015 until the conclusion of racing on 24 January 2015 (6 days).
These meetings include:
8/1/2015 - Oamaru
13/1/2015 - Wyndham
15/1/2015 - Invercargill
18/1/2015 - Oamaru
19/1/2015 - Invercargill
24/1/2015 - Invercargill
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(f)
Informant: Mr SP Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr D O'Connell - Trainer/Driver of MIRI
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 0074559c0c1137552e6e374af4eb17cc
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 1d5937cea923325607a5e17e1aca467c
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 06/01/2015
meet_title: Wyndham HRC - 6 January 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: wyndham-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: NSkelt
meet_pm1: GHall
meet_pm2: none
name: Wyndham HRC