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Reefton JC 7 January 2021 - R 3 - Chair, Mr S Ching

Created on 10 January 2021

Rules:
614(2)
Committee:
SChing (chair)
Name(s):
Mr P Harris - Licensed Class A Trainer
Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
Informant
Mr M Davidson - Stipendiary Steward
Information Number
A11768
Plea:
Admitted
Charge:
Neglect in saddling
Evidence:

Following the running of Race 3, the Fahey Contracting & Dawsons Hotel 1020m, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr M Davidson, against Licensed Trainer, Mr P Harris, after SERAPHIC and WHIPPERSNAPPER were both declared late scratching’s after arriving at the start with incorrect saddles.

Rule 614(2) reads as follows;

(2) A person must not be neglectful or careless when saddling a horse.

Mr Harris had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted. Mr Harris confirmed his admission of the breach at the hearing and that he understood the charge and Rule it was brought under.

Mr Davidson gave evidence stating that Mr Harris had three runners in the field being SERAPHIC, ridden by L Callaway, WHIPPERSNAPPER, ridden by D Bothamley and LIGHTNING RIDGE, ridden by T Moseley. He stated that when Jockeys, Bothamley and Callaway went to take their mounts in the birdcage there was some confusion as to which horse was to be ridden by which rider. Mr Davidson said that Mr Bothamley claimed he was being put on the wrong horse and the saddle on that horse was not his. This, he said led to more confusion and as a result both horses were resaddled after the riders reweighed.

Mr Davidson said that after the horses arrived at the start if was observed that the brands of the respective horses did not correspond with the saddle numbers of the horses. This, he said, led to a delay to the start and eventual late scratching of both runners as the Stewards could not be sure that the correct horses were running with the correct riders.

Mr Harris stated that Mr Bothamley could not swayed off the opinion that he was on the black horse, SERAPHIC, not the bay horse, WHIPPERSNAPPER. He said his insistence that he was not on the horse with the correct saddle and number on it confused everyone to the point that the horses were reweighed and resaddled with Mr Bothamley on the black horse as he insisted. He added that the right horses with the right saddles were presented initially but Mr Bothamley's insistence that he was riding the black horse led to a comedy of errors which led to further confusion and both horses being scratched at the start after being discovered that the riders, saddles and horses were incorrect.

Decision:

As Mr Harris had admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.

Submission For Penalty:

Mr Davidson stated that Mr Harris had a clear record in regard to this Rule. He said that there were historic breaches on record where two horses had been incorrectly saddled and presented to race with most being dealt with by way of a fine of $300. He added there were some mitigating factors, being Mr Bothamley's involvement, to consider as well as aggravating factors in that 2 horses were withdrawn from the field, the Race ran 9 minutes late and the effect on the connections, Club and TAB. Mr Davidson stated that he would leave it up to the Committee to determine a penalty with those factors taken into consideration.

Mr Harris stated that there were mitigating factors to consider but conceded that the responsibility for the incident rested with him as trainer of the horses.

Reasons For Penalty:

The JCA Penalty Guide does not provide a starting point for a breach of this Rule where two horses have been presented with incorrect saddles or saddlecloth numbers. The starting point is therefore left to individual Committees to determine, depending on the circumstances of the particular case. Below are historic breaches where the mistake has been noticed and rectified before the horses left the birdcage with no aggravating factors involved.

M Faber at Rotorua on 27 December 2018 - $300
M Daly at Timaru on 28 December 2018 - $300
J Gordon at Ashburton on 4 July 2019 - $300.
D Crozier at Riccarton on 7 August 2019 - $300

This case is different in circumstances as there were several aggravating factors to consider as noted above. This Committee determined that due to the aggravating factors in this case an uplift in penalty from the historic cases above was warranted. That uplift we set at $200. There were however mitigating factors to consider, being the involvement of Mr Bothamley’s insistence that he was riding the black horse, Mr Harris’ good record and frank admission of the breach, which warrants a combined discount. This discount we set at $100. We therefore determined that a $400 fine was an appropriate penalty in this case.

Penalty:

Accordingly, Mr Harris is fined the sum of $400.

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