Auckland TR 19 November 2022 – R1 – Ashvin Goindasamy

Evidence:

This charge arises from the running of Race 1, the Ellerslie Event Centre 1200m. Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr Oatham filed an Information pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d) alleging the Rider of BLUE SKY AT NIGHT (A Goindasamy), “allowed his horse to shift out approaching the 150m which resulted in ARCEUS (C Grylls) being crowded and READY EDDIE GO (L Satherley) having to grab hold and being severely checked ”.

Mr Goindasamy 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 demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and Riders concerned; namely BLUE SKY AT NIGHT, ARCEUS and READY EDDIE GO.

Mr Davidson told the Adjudicative Committee that approaching the 150-metre mark, Mr Goindasamy’s mount was held up for a run. He shifted outward and in doing so, dictated ARCEUS onto READY EDDIE GO who was checked. He said that although he only shifted one horse width too wide, at the time he commenced and continued to shift out, he was never sufficiently clear of ARCEUS.

Mr Goindasamy said that he agreed with the Stewards’ interpretation of the incident. He said that his horse was held up and he angled out, shifting wider than he should have.

Decision:

As Mr Goindasamy admitted the breach, the Adjudicative Committee found the charge proved.

Submission for Penalty:

Mr Oatham submitted that Mr Goindasamy’s riding record is good, with him having had two previous breaches under the Careless Riding Rule in the last 12 months from 591 rides. His most recent breach was on 20/08/22 at Ruakaka and resulted in a 5-day suspension. The other was on 01/06/22 at Cambridge and resulted in a 5-day suspension.

Mr Oatham said Stewards assessed the level of carelessness to be slightly below mid-range.

Mr Goindasamy sought a deferment to any proposed suspension until after racing on 26 November 2022. He asked the Adjudicative Committee to consider his good record and the fact that his mount raced “a little greenly.”

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering the submissions and reviewing the race film, the Adjudicative Committee determined Mr Goindasamy’s carelessness to be mid-range and adopted a 7-day (suspension) as the starting point.

The available films clearly established that Mr Goindasamy allowed his mount to shift out when less than one length clear of ARCEUS, who was dictated onto READY EDDIE GO who was checked. It was also noted that one other runner was also inconvenienced because of the shift.

From the 7-day starting point, a one-day reduction is applied for Mr Goindasamy’s admission of the breach and his good riding record. On that basis the Adjudicative Committee deemed 6 (national) days to be an appropriate penalty.

Conclusion:

The Adjudicative Committee granted Mr Goindasamy a deferment to his suspension. Accordingly, his license to ride in races is suspended for a period of 6 days, commencing after racing on 26 November 2022 and concluding after racing on 7 December 2022.