Banks Peninsula TC 20 March 2022 – R3 – Murray Edmonds

SUMMARY OF FACTS:

Following the running of Race 3, Alpine Village Inn/Challenge Lincoln Pace, the Respondent Driver Murray Edmonds denied a breach of Rule 869(2). The particulars of the charge are that the Respondent, as the Driver of FIRE IN THE RAIN in the race, used his whip with more than a wrist flicking motion in the run home.

Rule 869 provides that:

(2)  No driver shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Whip and Rein Regulations made by the Board.

The Whip and Rein Regulations provide:

3.1  A driver may only apply the whip in a wrist only flicking motion whilst holding a rein in each hand with the tip of the rein pointed forward in an action which does not engage the shoulder.

“Wrist only flicking motion” means “ensuring no force is generated by the use of the elbow or shoulder when applying the whip.”

Stipendiary Steward, Paul Williams, used the available video footage to demonstrate the breach. He pointed out FIRE IN THE RAIN, driven by Mr Edmonds pulling out from the one-one position shortly after entering the final straight. Mr Edmonds then commenced using his whip in what, Mr Williams alleged, was more than a wrist only flicking motion. The strikes were straight up and down, he said. After an initial single strike, there were four strikes in rapid succession, followed by a break before three more in quick succession.

Mr Edmonds referred on the video to the whip action of another Driver, and submitted there was no difference from his own whip action, for which he was being charged. He asserted that the other Driver had also used his elbow. He said that he had not hit his horse any harder then any other Driver. He had hit the horse straight up and down on the tail, with the reins in hand, and had not hurt it. Neither did it look bad, he submitted.

DECISION:

The charge is proved.

REASONS FOR DECISION:

The Regulations provide define “wrist only flicking motion” as “ensuring no force is generated by the use of the elbow or shoulder when applying the whip”.

The Adjudicative Committee was satisfied that Mr Edmonds had used his whip in more than a wrist only flicking action, as alleged, within that definition. He has clearly engaged the elbow and shoulder when applying the whip. The Adjudicative Committee was not concerned with the actions of any other Driver. That is a matter for the Stewards in their investigative role. Neither is it a defence to the charge for Mr Edmonds to say that he was only striking the horse straight up and down on the tail, or that he had not hurt the horse, or that it did not look bad. The Adjudicative Committee did not agree that it did not look bad.

SUBMISSIONS FOR PENALTY:

Mr Williams produced the Respondent’s record which showed two previous breaches of the Whip Rules:

On 29 December 2021 at Motukarara – fined $200 for using whip free of the reins; and

On 6 March 2022 at Methven – suspended 3 days for using whip free of the rein.

On the basis that this charge is a third offence, Mr Williams said, a suspension is called for. The breach may be considered in the low-to-mid range for which a suspension of 4 days would be appropriate.

The Respondent did not seek a deferment of any term of suspension.

REASONS FOR PENALTY:

This is the Respondent’s third breach of the Whip Rules. He received a suspension for 3 days as recently as a fortnight ago. A deterrent penalty needs to be imposed for this factor.

The Adjudicative Committee accepts that the strikes were not forceful but they were strikes nonetheless and applied with more than a wrist only flicking motion  as the Adjudicative Committee has found.

The Penalty Guide starting point for a second or subsequent offence is a 3-5 days suspension. The Adjudicative Committee has decided that a 4-days suspension is appropriate in this case, it being a third offence.

CONCLUSION:

The Respondent is suspended for 4 days commencing after racing  on 20 March 2022 up to and including 1 April 2022. The meetings intended to be encompassed by the period of suspension are NZ Metropolitan TC on 23 and 25 March, Waimate TC on 27 March and NZ Metropolitan TC on 1 April 2022.