Cambridge JC 15 June 2022 – R1 – Trudy Thornton

Evidence:

Following the running of Race 1, the Respondent Class A Rider Trudy Thornton admitted a charge of careless riding which was filed pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d).  The Information alleged that as the Rider of LA PALMA, Ms Thornton allowed her mount to shift in near the 1350m when not sufficiently clear of KAPONGA which was checked.

The Respondent acknowledged she understood the Rule and confirmed her 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 Mathew Williamson demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and Riders concerned.

He said that approaching the 1350 metre mark, Ms Thornton was racing in a 5 wide position. Shortly afterwards she looked to her inside, restrained her mount, and eased down towards the rails. In doing so, he said that Ms Thornton got into the line and checked the trailing runner KAPONGA. As a result, the Rider of KAPONGA had to take a firm hold.

He said in mitigation when Ms Thornton commenced the shift she was clear of the trailing runners, however the easing of her mount truncated the margin and resulted in the interference.

In response, the Respondent stated that she looked to her inside and thought she was clear of the runners behind her. She said she straightened her mount as soon as she realised she had got into the line of the trailing runner.

Decision:

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

Submission for Penalty:

Stipendiary Steward B Jones produced Ms Thornton’s riding record which indicated no previous breaches under the Careless Riding Rule in the last 12 months from 304 rides. He said that credit should be given for this very good record.

Mr Jones said that the Stewards assessed the breach in the low-mid range.

The Respondent had nothing to add in relation to Penalty submissions but advised she had commitments to ride through until Saturday the 18th of June.

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering all submissions the Adjudicative Committee determined Ms Thornton’s carelessness to be in the low-mid range and adopted a 6-day (suspension) as the starting point. This conforms with the NZTR Penalty Guide (as of 1 March 2022).

The available films clearly established that the Respondent shifted inwards when not the necessary distance clear of KAPONGA, checking this runner and forcing the Rider to take a hold to avoid heels.

The Respondent’s excellent riding record is treated as a mitigating factor and a 2-day reduction was applied to the 6-day starting point for her admission of the breach and record.

After consideration of the above factors a 4-day suspension was imposed.

Conclusion:

The Respondent’s request for a deferment is granted and her licence to ride in races is suspended for a period of 4 days commencing after racing on 18th June and concluding after racing on 25th of June.