Auckland TR 30 November 2024 – R6 – George Rooke

Evidence

This charge arises from the running of Race 6, the NHR Group 1300.  Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr Jones filed an Information pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d) alleging the Rider of ROCABABY (G Rooke), permitted his mount to shift inwards when not sufficiently clear of MACTHIEF and OPEN MINDED near the 1150 metres.

Mr Rooke 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, Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr Oatham demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and Riders concerned; namely ROCABABY (G Rooke), MACTHIEF (U Holmquist) and OPEN MINDED (M McNab).

Mr Oatham told the Adjudicative Committee that approaching the 1050-metre mark, Mr Rooke directed his mount inwards, hampering both MACTHIEF and OPEN MINDED. Riders of both horses had to take a hold of their mounts, who were checked. Mr Oatham added that Mr Rooke was never the required distance clear when shifting in.

In response, Mr Rooke said that his mount was fast away from the barrier (6), and he was trying to get across the field.  He said that he looked at least four times to ensure that he was clear.  He said that MACTHIEF kicked up inside of his mount and OPEN MINDED was racing keenly.

Decision

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

Submissions for Penalty

Mr Jones advised that Mr Rooke has a clear record under the Rule.  Since recently arriving in New Zealand from the UK, he has had 95 raceday mounts.

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

Mr Rooke sought a 7 day deferment to any proposed suspension and in terms of penalty, offered no specific submissions.

Reasons for Penalty

After considering the submissions and reviewing the race film, the Adjudicative Committee determined Mr Rooke’s carelessness to be in the low-range and adopted a 5-day starting point.

The available films established that Mr Rooke did permit his mount to shift inwards when not clear of MACTHIEF, who was crowded.  As a further consequence, OPEN MINDED was inconvenienced and checked. At the time of the inward shift, ROCABABY was no more than a length clear of MACTHIEF.

Having recently commenced race riding in New Zealand, Mr Rooke has a good record under the Careless Riding Rule. Taking his record and admission into account, a 1 day reduction is applied to the 5-day starting point. Accordingly, the Adjudicative Committee considered a 4 day suspension to be appropriate.

Conclusion

The Adjudicative Committee granted Mr Rooke a deferment to his suspension and his Licence to ride in races is suspended for a period of 4 days, commencing after racing on 7 December 2024 and concluding after racing on 13 December 2024.