Oamaru HRC 11 December 2024 – R8 – DARE DEVIL

Mr Williams alleged that horse 3, DARE DEVIL, placed 2nd by the Judge interfered with the chances of horse number 4, VRILO, placed 4th by the Judge at the start of Race 8 when it shifted outwards checking VRILO.

Judge’s placings were:

1st   5    EBURY STREET

2nd  3    DARE DEVIL

3rd  10   THE HIGHLANDER

4th   4     VRILO

Margins were: 1 1/2 lengths, neck, nose.

Rule 869A(2) provides: When a placed horse or its driver causes interference to another placed horse and the Adjudicative Committee is satisfied that the horse interfered with would have finished ahead of the horse that, or whose driver, caused the interference the Adjudicative Committee must, in addition to any other penalty that may be imposed, place the horse that, or whose driver, caused the interference immediately after the horse interfered with.

Evidence

Mr Williams called Mr McIntyre to demonstrate the incident on the videos. DARE DEVIL, which was close to the pylons and the starter, shied at the start and shifted outwards and, in so doing, checked VRILO which lost some 20 metres. DARE DEVIL was also slow away, losing a little ground.

VRILO caught the field reasonably quickly and by about the 1500 metre mark of the 2000 metre race, was in the favoured one out one back position. DARE DEVIL settled 3 back on the pylons. Both horses remained in these positions, with DARE DEVIL racing to the outside of VRILO until the home straight. DARE DEVIL was held up in the early and mid-stages of the run home, while VRILO had a clear run to the line. When DARE DEVIL finally got a late run, it made up good ground, running past VRILO and finishing 2^nd.

Mr McIntyre said the interference was at the start and there were a lot of variables to consider during the running of the race.

Mr Williamson agreed that VRILO had been checked and lost significant ground. He questioned the positioning of the Starter so close to the starting point of the standing start race and believed this had contributed to DARE DEVIL having shied at the Starter. He acknowledged that DARE DEVIL had recovered more quickly than VRILO. Ms Holbrough confirmed Mr Williamson’s comments.

Mr Morrison said DARE DEVIL had shied away from the Starter and VRILO had bobbled and taken time to get back into its gait. He emphasised he had lost quite a bit of ground at the start and the nose, neck margin at the finish. He accepted that while VRILO had ended up in a favoured position, it had had to make up ground to get there.

Mr Williams summed up by saying both DARE DEVIL and VRILO had bobbled away. The latter horse had taken a bit longer to get going. VRILO had ended up in the one/one with a clear run to the line, while DARE DEVIL got a late run and finished strongly.

Reasons for Decision

DARE DEVIL has shied at the Starter and has checked VRILO. Both horses have bobbled away, with VRILO losing considerably more ground than DARE DEVIL. VRILO has taken longer to get going. The first consideration is whether or not there been interference to VRILO by DARE DEVIL. The answer to that is that there has been.

The next issue is whether the Adjudicative Committee is satisfied that had this interference not occurred, that VRILO would have finished ahead of DARE DEVIL. Relevant considerations in this regard are degree of interference — VRILO galloped briefly and lost about 20 metres before regaining its gait; where the interference occurred — in this case it is at the start of the race; the next consideration is the consequential effect — VRILO ended up in the one/one with a clear run to the line, while DARE DEVIL raced 3 back on the pylons and was held up for a run, only getting clear late, before running past VRILO close to the winning post; and finally the margin — a neck and a nose.

Decision

Taking into consideration all factors including the nature and degree of the interference, the official margins of a neck and a nose, the running of the race, and fact that DARE DEVIL has come from behind VRILO in the straight and has finished better than that horse, this Adjudicative Committee is not satisfied that on the balance of probabilities, that VRILO would have finished ahead of DARE DEVIL. In these circumstances the protest is dismissed.

Placings are as the horses crossed the line. Stakes and dividends are to be paid accordingly.