Wellington RC 18 March 2023 – R4 – Jasmine Fawcett

Evidence:

Following the running of Race 4, the Respondent Class A Rider, Ms J Fawcett admitted a charge of careless riding which was filed pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d).  The Information alleged that she angled her mount LAVITA VISHVI outwards when not sufficiently clear of HAIL DAMAGE which was forced outwards onto MASSO which was crowded and checked near the 400 metres.

Ms Fawcett acknowledged she understood the Rule and confirmed her admission of the breach.

Rule 638(1) (d) provides: A Rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be careless.

Using head-on, side, back and drone views Stipendiary Steward, Mr N Goodwin demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and Riders concerned.

He said Ms Fawcett came around the bend in the one -off position. At the time her mount was travelling hard, and she elected to angle out but was not clear to do so. To her outside in order, were HAIL DAMAGE (Mr Goindasamy), MASSO (Mr Colgan) and OSO SAVVY (Mr Lammas). While all these runners were hampered to some degree it was Mr Colgan (MASSO) who was most affected when Ms Fawcett dictated Mr Goindasamy out onto Mr Colgan. Mr Goodwin estimated Ms Fawcett moved out approximately 5 horse widths.

In response, Ms Fawcett said she was happy where she was moving to, up until a point where her mount over-reacted a little. She was trying to keep straight but misjudged her position.

Decision:

As the Respondent admitted the breach the Adjudicative Committee finds the breach proved

Submission for Penalty:

Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr Oatham produced Ms Fawcett’s riding record over the preceding 12-month period:

12/6/22 – 7 days

16/7/22 – 6 days

1/11/22 – 7 days

27/11/22 – 7 days

11/2/23 – 7 days

The Respondent has had 456 mounts in the past 12 months.

Mr Oatham said Stewards assessed the level of carelessness to be above mid-range. When Ms Fawcett first shifted ground she was no more than ½ length clear. She went on to finish 4^th in the graded Listed race. In addition, Mr Oatham said her record is of some concern to the Stewards.

Ms Fawcett asked the Adjudicative Committee to consider she was a busy Rider sitting in the top 10 Riders of most rides in a season.

She advised of riding commitments through until Saturday March 25^th and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension.

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering all submissions the Adjudicative Committee determined Ms Fawcett’s carelessness to be above mid-range. The incident occurred near the 400 metres when Ms Fawcett riding LAVITA VISHVI angled out abruptly (5 horse – widths) without taking precautions to ensure she was clear of horses to her outside. As a result she caused interference to 4 horses with Mr Colgan being significantly inconvenienced. We adopted a starting point of 8 days (suspension) which conforms with the NZTR Penalty Guide (as of February 2023).

Riders must take responsibility for their actions and ensure that they do not put other horses and Riders at risk during a race. The Respondent’s riding record is treated as an aggravating factor, and an uplift of 1 day reflects the concern of the Adjudicative Committee. Ms Fawcett blatantly breached the careless riding Rule, and no credit was given for admission of the breach.

Rule 920(2) empowers an Adjudicative Committee in imposing a penalty to have due regard to such matters as it considers appropriate including: (a) the Status of the Race; (b) the stake payable in respect of the Race.; and / or (c) the consequences.  On this occasion due to the Listed status of the Race the Committee applied a further uplift of 1 day. In addition, Ms Fawcett ran 4^th in the race earning $400 in stake money.

After consideration of the above factors a 10-day suspension and a $200 fine was considered appropriate.

Conclusion:

The Respondent’s request for a deferment is granted and her Licence to ride in races is suspended for a period of 10 days commencing after racing on Saturday March 25^th and concluding after racing on Friday April 14^th.