Riccarton Park – Canterbury JC 3 August 2024 – R1 – Hamish McNeill

Evidence:

Following the running of Race 1, the Respondent Class D Rider Hamish McNeill admitted a charge of failing to retire his mount from the race when not in contention, which was filed pursuant to Rule 638(5)(b).  The Information alleged that as the Rider of TREATY OF PARIS “he failed to retire TREATY OF PARIS when out of contention”. 

The Respondent acknowledged he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach.

Rule 638(5)(b) provides (where relevant): that a Rider in a Jumping Race must retire his …horse in the Race, immediately if ….

(d)  the horse is not in contention and/or is fatigued.

The Informant’s case was that TREATY OF PARIS was completely out of contention, and the Rule placed an obligation on the Rider to retire the horse from the contest.

Mr Oatham, with the assistance of Stipendiary Steward Mark Davidson, identified Mr McNeill riding TREATY OF PARIS when in contention, just prior to the fence at the 800m, where TREATY OF PARIS made a faulty leap. He showed the horse give ground rapidly and at the 650m, was a clear last, detached from the field and out of contention. Mr Davidson then pointed out Mr McNeill continue to ride TREATY OF PARIS out, using the whip and jumping the 3rd last fence awkwardly, when still out of contention. He showed that Mr McNeill then continued to ride the horse out when the horse was clearly fatigued and again not in contention, jumping the 2nd last fence poorly, and at the last hurdle, TREATY OF PARIS made another faulty leap and lost its Rider.

Mr Oatham stated that it was clear that TREATY OF PARIS was a beaten runner, fatigued and out of contention from soon after the 800m fence and should have been retired from the event before the next fence near the 600m, or thereabouts. He added that there were multiple indications that TREATY OF PARIS  was a beaten runner and Mr McNeill, as a highly experienced Jumps Rider, should have read the signals from the horse and retired from the event. Mr Oatham added that a vet check of TREATY OF PARIS revealed a slow recovery rate, clear indicators of a spent horse.

Mr McNeill stated that at least the horse did not fall and there were no injuries to either horse nor Rider. He understood the seriousness of the charge and concurred that he had made a poor judgement call.

Decision:

As Mr McNeill admitted the charge, it was deemed proved.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Oatham stated that there was no provision in the Penalty Guide for a breach of this Rule.  Mr Oatham stated that, historically, there was a breach of this Rule in May 2023, where a Jumps Rider was fined the sum of $500 for a breach of this Rule. He submitted that there were aggravating factors to consider, being that this was a significant meeting on the Jumps Racing Calendar and there was ample opportunity for Mr McNeill to read the signs of distress from the horse and retire him from the event. He submitted that a fine in the vicinity of $1,000 be considered as penalty in this case.

Mr McNeill submitted that a $1,000 was excessive and asked for a more conservative fine.

Reasons for Penalty:

In determining penalty, the Adjudicative Committee has taken into consideration that the Penalty Guide does not provide a starting point for a breach of this Rule, however it was able to access historic penalties, both being fines of $500. The aggravating factors in this case, is that there was no doubt by anyone viewing the race, would see that TREATY OF PARIS was a spent force near the 600m after a faulty leap near the 800m and going from racing in a prominent position to last place, in a short period of time.

Further to this, the Adjudicative Committee finds that at the 3rd last fence, the horse was clearly detached from the field, clearly out of contention and fatigued. Mr McNeill opted to continue on jumping the 2nd last fence on an obviously tired horse, which should have been another clear signal that the horse was a spent force and retired from the event. However, Mr McNeill continued on when well out of contention and detached from the field, opting to jump the last fence which nearly finished in disaster, as the horse made another faulty leap, nearly falling and losing Mr McNeill in the process. It was fortunate that neither Rider nor horse was injured.

Therefore, the Adjudicative Committee finds that Mr McNeil , a highly experienced Jumps Rider, has made a very poor judgement call on this occasion, by not retiring the horse after multiple signals that the horse was fatigued, out of contention and a spent force.

This Adjudicative Committee finds that the level of this breach to be at a high level and have determined that a fine commensurate with the offence will be a fine of $900. After taking all factors into consideration, the Adjudicative Committee adopted a $1,000 starting point and afforded Mr Mc Neill a $100 discount for his good record and to some degree, his admission, which was inevitable, with the overwhelming evidence presented.

Conclusion:

Mr McNeill is fined the sum of $900.