Auckland TR 25 November 2023 – R10 – Michael McNab

Evidence

This charge arises from the running of Race 10, the HR Fisken & Sons 1600.  Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr B Jones filed an Information pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d) alleging the Rider of LERADO (M McNab), permitted his mount to shift out crowding ANELA, which had to be steadied, with STILL BANGON being hampered and checked passing the 450 metres. Also affected was THE DIVINER, which was contacted and unbalanced.

Mr McNab 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 LERADO (M McNab), ANELA (J Doyle), STILL BANGON (S Spratt) and THE DIVINER (W Kennedy).

Mr Davidson told the Adjudicative Committee that approaching the 450-metre mark after the field entered the home straight, Mr McNab angled his mount out across the heels of runners directly in front and crowded two runners on his outer, ANELA and THE DIVINER.  As a consequence, STILL BANGON was hampered and checked.

In response, Mr McNab had nothing further to add.

Decision

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

Submissions for Penalty

Mr Jones produced Mr McNab’s riding record.  He said that this was his sixth breach under the Careless Riding Rule in the last 12 months.  He said that one of those breaches occurred on 14 October 2023 when Mr McNab was riding in Australia, and he was charged for breaching an equivalent Rule. His last NZ breach occurred on 6 August 2023. Mr McNab is an extremely busy Rider, having had 833 race rides in the past 12 months.

Mr Jones said Stewards assessed the level of carelessness in the low to mid-range and submitted that any proposed suspension should be commensurate with a low to mid-range penalty.

Mr McNab sought a deferment to any proposed suspension until after racing on 29 November 2023. In terms of penalty, he submitted that his mount ”came off the bridle” and he took corrective action as soon as possible.

Reasons for Penalty

After considering the submissions and reviewing the race film, the Adjudicative Committee determined Mr McNab’s carelessness to be in the low to mid-range.

The available films established that Mr McNab did allow his mount to shift out only one to two horse widths, but he was never the required distance clear of the runners on his outside, and as a consequence of his shift, three horses were affected to varying degrees.   ANELA had to be steadied, THE DIVINER became unbalanced after brief contact and STILL BANGON was hampered and checked.

Although Mr McNab’s record now includes six Careless Riding breaches, including the one that occurred in Australia, it is treated as a neutral factor given that he has had over 800 race day mounts during the past 12 months.

After taking into account all the above factors, the Adjudicative Committee considered that an appropriate suspension was 6 (national) days.

Conclusion

The Adjudicative Committee granted Mr McNab a deferment to his suspension until after racing on 29 November 2023.  Accordingly, his Licence to ride in races is suspended for a period of 6 days commencing on 30 November 2023, and concluding after racing 8 December 2023.