Wyndham HRC 6 January 2020 – R 12 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA11958
Meet Title:
Wyndham HRC - 6 January 2020
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2020/01/06
Race Number:
R 12
Decision:
We thus find the breach proved.
Penalty:
Mr Hurrell is suspended from the end of racing on 9 January up to and including 15 January 2020. This is 3 South Island meetings.
Facts:
Mr Munro, Stipendiary Steward, alleged that Mr Hurrell (MOTORING MAJOR) drove carelessly in race 12 by shifting inwards when not fully clear of VIN SCULLY (R Holmes) which broke checking COOLHAND EASTON, PICK SIX TELF, LOCK IT IN EDDIE and NIRVANA BEACH.
Mr Munro demonstrated on the films that MOTORING MAJOR was near the front of the field and was racing one out at the first turn with Mr Holmes to its inside. The Respondent came across towards the pylons when not clear of Mr Holmes and placed Mr Holmes in restricted room. As a consequence, Mr Holmes’ horse broke and checked a number of following runners.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Munro demonstrated on the back straight video that the Respondent was not clear of Mr Holmes when he shifted inwards. It was too tight, and Mr Holmes was denied his rightful line of running. Mr Munro acknowledged that Mr Hurrell had taken corrective action, but it was too late in that the damage had already been done.
Mr Holmes stated that he was racing to the inside of Mr Hurrell on the first bend and was hunting his horse up to keep the trailing position. Mr Hurrell came cross, there was contact, and VIN SCULLY galloped. He yelled to Mr Hurrell that he was running out of room. Mr Hurrell did not respond. He said Mr Hurrell was never clear of him at the time VIN SCULLY galloped and never had been.
Mr Ferguson questioned Mr Holmes about the track marker at the end of the straight and asked if that was why VIN SCULLY had galloped. Mr Holmes replied that prior to that point he had been tightened and his horse had galloped before the marker. He said just after the winning post it had started to get tight. He had run out of room and VIN SCULLY had gone rough on the apex of the bend.
Mr Ferguson spoke on behalf of Mr Hurrell. He said the Respondent was trying to get to the pylons. When he realised he was not going to get across, he had tried to steer his horse out and MOTORING MAJOR had not responded. This was on the bend. He believed the marker peg had not helped. It was in the wrong place. However, he agreed it had been in that spot for the 11 previous races. He emphasised that Mr Hurrell was doing his best to keep out and the fault lay with MOTORING MAJOR. It had not responded to Mr Hurrell. The Respondent had not been too late. Horses were not machines and Mr Hurrell would not have been charged had MOTORING MAJOR done what was asked of it.
In summing up Mr Munro said the Respondent had attempted to push Mr Holmes down. He realised too late that this was not possible and there was contact with VIN SCULLY and that horse galloped. Mr Hurrell was careless in not allowing sufficient room.
Mr Ferguson confirmed his belief that had MOTORING MAJOR responded to the Respondent when asked, the incident would not have occurred. There was nothing unusual about Mr Hurrell’s move.
Reasons for Decision:
Mr Hurrell has attempted to shift to the pylons at the first bend. In so doing he has not allowed VIN SCULLY sufficient room. We do not believe the placement of the marker peg has had an influence on VIN SCULLY breaking. The horse clearly breaks when tightened prior to the peg.
We accept that the Respondent has taken corrective action in that MOTORING MAJOR’s head can be seen to be turned out slightly, but this is too little, too late. As Mr Munro said, the damage had been done. Mr Holmes had run out of room before then due to the respondent urging his horse forward and crossing Mr Holmes without being clear of him. VIN SCULLY galloped with adverse consequences to a number of the horses racing further back in the field.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Munro produced the Respondent’s record. He described Mr Hurrell as a busy Otago/Southland Junior Driver. He has had 883 lifetime drives; 165 this season and 380 the last. Mr Hurrell averages 4 to 5 drives per meeting. His record is clear under this Rule this season.
Mr Munro identified the starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide as being a 10 drive suspension or a $500 fine for a first offence. He said the breach itself was the low end of mid-range and noted that VIN SCULLY was not that tractable. However, the consequences of the breach were high with a number of horses, including favoured runners, being hampered, some quite badly. He submitted a penalty of 3 to 4 days’ suspension was appropriate.
Mr Hurrell emphasised his record has been good under this Rule and that he was a Junior Driver. He had tried his best to keep MOTORING MAJOR off VIN SCULLY for some distance. The horse had not responded. He sought a deferral of any suspension until after racing on the 9th.
Reasons for Penalty:
The breach is mid-range; the level of carelessness is not high, but the consequences were, with a number of horses having their chances affected and one having them extinguished. A mitigating factor is that Mr Hurrell eventually took corrective action, but far too late. We uplift the starting point to 4 days (16 to 20 drives).
We note that Mr Hurrell’s record is very good but there is no discount available for an admitted breach. After considering the nature and gravity of the breach and giving a one day discount for the Respondent’s record, we reach a suspension of 3 days.
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: 329d136bb95f7dafb287147c80156a9c
informantnumber: A12712
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 10/01/2020
hearing_title: Wyndham HRC 6 January 2020 - R 12 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Mr Munro, Stipendiary Steward, alleged that Mr Hurrell (MOTORING MAJOR) drove carelessly in race 12 by shifting inwards when not fully clear of VIN SCULLY (R Holmes) which broke checking COOLHAND EASTON, PICK SIX TELF, LOCK IT IN EDDIE and NIRVANA BEACH.
Mr Munro demonstrated on the films that MOTORING MAJOR was near the front of the field and was racing one out at the first turn with Mr Holmes to its inside. The Respondent came across towards the pylons when not clear of Mr Holmes and placed Mr Holmes in restricted room. As a consequence, Mr Holmes’ horse broke and checked a number of following runners.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Munro demonstrated on the back straight video that the Respondent was not clear of Mr Holmes when he shifted inwards. It was too tight, and Mr Holmes was denied his rightful line of running. Mr Munro acknowledged that Mr Hurrell had taken corrective action, but it was too late in that the damage had already been done.
Mr Holmes stated that he was racing to the inside of Mr Hurrell on the first bend and was hunting his horse up to keep the trailing position. Mr Hurrell came cross, there was contact, and VIN SCULLY galloped. He yelled to Mr Hurrell that he was running out of room. Mr Hurrell did not respond. He said Mr Hurrell was never clear of him at the time VIN SCULLY galloped and never had been.
Mr Ferguson questioned Mr Holmes about the track marker at the end of the straight and asked if that was why VIN SCULLY had galloped. Mr Holmes replied that prior to that point he had been tightened and his horse had galloped before the marker. He said just after the winning post it had started to get tight. He had run out of room and VIN SCULLY had gone rough on the apex of the bend.
Mr Ferguson spoke on behalf of Mr Hurrell. He said the Respondent was trying to get to the pylons. When he realised he was not going to get across, he had tried to steer his horse out and MOTORING MAJOR had not responded. This was on the bend. He believed the marker peg had not helped. It was in the wrong place. However, he agreed it had been in that spot for the 11 previous races. He emphasised that Mr Hurrell was doing his best to keep out and the fault lay with MOTORING MAJOR. It had not responded to Mr Hurrell. The Respondent had not been too late. Horses were not machines and Mr Hurrell would not have been charged had MOTORING MAJOR done what was asked of it.
In summing up Mr Munro said the Respondent had attempted to push Mr Holmes down. He realised too late that this was not possible and there was contact with VIN SCULLY and that horse galloped. Mr Hurrell was careless in not allowing sufficient room.
Mr Ferguson confirmed his belief that had MOTORING MAJOR responded to the Respondent when asked, the incident would not have occurred. There was nothing unusual about Mr Hurrell’s move.
reasonsfordecision:
Mr Hurrell has attempted to shift to the pylons at the first bend. In so doing he has not allowed VIN SCULLY sufficient room. We do not believe the placement of the marker peg has had an influence on VIN SCULLY breaking. The horse clearly breaks when tightened prior to the peg.
We accept that the Respondent has taken corrective action in that MOTORING MAJOR’s head can be seen to be turned out slightly, but this is too little, too late. As Mr Munro said, the damage had been done. Mr Holmes had run out of room before then due to the respondent urging his horse forward and crossing Mr Holmes without being clear of him. VIN SCULLY galloped with adverse consequences to a number of the horses racing further back in the field.
Decision:
We thus find the breach proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Munro produced the Respondent’s record. He described Mr Hurrell as a busy Otago/Southland Junior Driver. He has had 883 lifetime drives; 165 this season and 380 the last. Mr Hurrell averages 4 to 5 drives per meeting. His record is clear under this Rule this season.
Mr Munro identified the starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide as being a 10 drive suspension or a $500 fine for a first offence. He said the breach itself was the low end of mid-range and noted that VIN SCULLY was not that tractable. However, the consequences of the breach were high with a number of horses, including favoured runners, being hampered, some quite badly. He submitted a penalty of 3 to 4 days’ suspension was appropriate.
Mr Hurrell emphasised his record has been good under this Rule and that he was a Junior Driver. He had tried his best to keep MOTORING MAJOR off VIN SCULLY for some distance. The horse had not responded. He sought a deferral of any suspension until after racing on the 9th.
reasonsforpenalty:
The breach is mid-range; the level of carelessness is not high, but the consequences were, with a number of horses having their chances affected and one having them extinguished. A mitigating factor is that Mr Hurrell eventually took corrective action, but far too late. We uplift the starting point to 4 days (16 to 20 drives).
We note that Mr Hurrell’s record is very good but there is no discount available for an admitted breach. After considering the nature and gravity of the breach and giving a one day discount for the Respondent’s record, we reach a suspension of 3 days.
penalty:
Mr Hurrell is suspended from the end of racing on 9 January up to and including 15 January 2020. This is 3 South Island meetings.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr V Munro - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr M Hurrell - Junior Horseman
Otherperson: Mr C Ferguson - Open Horseman assisting Mr Hurrell, Mr R Holmes - Open Horseman - witness for the Informant
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 3c0f82c5ebf9f1a087dc845b8b4b22cc
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 12
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 5294d74833d4f698306ff1d0d7aeaf60
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 06/01/2020
meet_title: Wyndham HRC - 6 January 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: wyndham-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: PKnowles
meet_pm2: none
name: Wyndham HRC