Ashburton RC 6 July 2023 – R6 – Kavish Chowdhoory

Evidence:

Following the running of Race 6, the Respondent Class A Rider Kavish Chowdhoory, admitted a charge of careless riding which was filed pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d).  The Information alleged that “as the rider of PROSERVE he allowed his mount to shift inwards over the concluding stages, checking  RAINMAN, MISS TAVI and DEELS DONE.”  

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, Stipendiary Steward Mr Davidson, with the assistance of Chief Stipendiary Steward Nigel McIntyre, demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and Riders concerned.

Stipendiary Steward Mr McIntyre showed the available films and pointed out the incident. He said that over the final stages of the race, PROSERVE ridden by Mr Chowdhoory, had shifted in when under a ride, checking RAINMAN and MISS TAVI, and then making contact with DEELS DONE, just prior to the line. He added that PROSERVE was hanging in the straight and proving difficult to ride. Mr Davidson said that Mr Chowdhoory was trying to keep his mount on a true line, but was also riding the horse out, which resulted in the horse shifting inwards and causing interference to 3 runners. He added that the connections of 3rd placed DEELS DONE, had earlier made an unsuccessful protest against 2nd placed PROSERVE.

Mr Chowdhoory stated that PROSERVE is a difficult horse to ride and that he was doing his best to keep the horse in a straight line as well as get the best possible placing for the connections. He conceded that he had not done enough to keep the horse on a true line.

Decision:

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

Submission for Penalty:

Stipendiary Steward Mr Davidson produced the Respondent, Mr Chowdhoory’s riding record, which indicated 1 previous breach under the Careless Riding Rule in the last 12 months, namely Riccarton – 7 November 2022 – 7 day suspension for mid range in a Group 3 Race. He said that Mr Chowdhoory’s record was a good one, considering the number of rides he has had, and the fact that it was 8 months since his last breach.

The Respondent, he said, has had 363 mounts in the past 12 months.

Stipendiary Steward Mr Davidson, said Stewards assessed the level of carelessness to be in the mid-range.

The Respondent stated that he did not seek a deferment to any proposed suspension.

In terms of any proposed penalty, the Respondent elected to make no submissions except to request that it start as soon as possible.

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering all submissions, the Adjudicative Committee agreed with the Stewards and determined the Respondent, Mr Chowdhoory’s carelessness to be in the mid-range and accordingly, adopted a 7-day suspension as the starting point. This conforms with the NZTR Penalty Guide.

The Respondent’s good riding record is treated as an mitigating factor, as was his ready admission of the breach, with a combined discount of 1 day being applied.

There were no aggravating factors to consider, therefore no uplift in penalty warranted.

After consideration of the above factors, a 6-National Day suspension was imposed.

Conclusion:

The Respondent, Mr Chowdhoory’s Licence to ride in races is suspended for a period of 6 days, commencing after racing today, 6 July 2023, up to and including racing on 15 July 2023.