Ashburton RC 17 March 2022 – R8 – Krishna Mudhoo

Evidence:

Following the running of Race 8, the Respondent Class A Rider, Krishna Mudhoo admitted a charge of careless riding which was filed pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d).  The Information alleged that as the Rider of FEELIN’ FANCY  “he permitted his mount to shift inwards when not sufficiently clear dictating ST ANDRE inwards crowding DA VINCI GIRL and ITSONLYMONEY with DA VINCI GIRL being checked losing ground passing the 1200 metres”. 

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

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

Using the available race films Ms Algar with the assistance of Mr Oatham, demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and riders concerned.

Mr Oatham said that approaching the 1200 metre mark the Respondent has shifted ground inwards dictating ST ANDRE (T Jonker) inwards, crowding two runners, resulting in a check to DA VINCI GIRL who lost her position.

In response, the Respondent stated he had nothing to add and agreed with the Stewards’ description of the incident.

Decision:

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

Submission for Penalty:

Ms Algar produced Mr Mudhoo’s riding record which indicated no previous breaches under the Careless Riding Rule in the last 12 months.

Ms Algar said Stewards’ assessed the level of carelessness to be in the low range.

The Respondent advised of riding engagements through until 26 March and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension.

In terms of any proposed penalty, Respondent Mr Mudhoo made no submissions.

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering all submissions the Committee determined that Mr Mudhoo’s carelessness to be in the low range and adopted a 5-day (suspension) as the starting point. This conforms with the NZTR Penalty Guideline (as of 1 March 2022).

The available films clearly established that Mr Mudhoo has made an error of judgement and only needed to be two or three strides further down the track to be clear.

The Respondent’s riding record is treated as a mitigating factor and a 1-day reduction was applied to the 5-day starting point for his admission of the breach and record.

After consideration of the above factors, a 4-day suspension was imposed.

Conclusion – Penalty:

The Respondent’s request for a deferment is granted and his Licence to ride in races is suspended for a period of 4 days commencing after racing on 26 March 2022 and concluding after racing on 3 April 2022.