Invercargill HRC 30 April 2022 – R6 – Alex Milne

Evidence:

At the conclusion of Race 6 the Foveaux Communications Ltd Mobile Pace, an Information A16529 was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Miss R Haley alleging that Mr A Milne (WRECKING BALL) drove carelessly near the 200m mark, hampering inside runners.

Mr Milne admitted the breach and confirmed that he understood the Rule, and was present at the hearing.

The Rule reads 869(3)(b) :

No driver in any race should drive carelessly. 

Miss Haley asked Stipendiary Steward Mr Munro to use the available video footage to identify the horses involved in the incident. Mr Munro said that “Mr Milne had entered the home straight on his horse (WRECKING BALL) in the four wide position with Mr Hurrell (SAGWITCH) racing on his inside and Mr Morrison (FRANCO HUNTINGTON) racing on the inside of SAGWITCH.” Mr Munro stated that “WRECKING BALL was hanging in with his head on one side and was proving difficult to drive.” However he noted that Mr Milne, in his opinion, had taken too little action too late to avoid the general tightening inside him, in particular to Mr Hurrell’s horse SAGWITCH.

Mr Milne said that “WRECKING BALL was a difficult horse to drive” and that “he had done his best” and he believed the incident was simply a racing incident as opposed to his careless driving, as he also believed that there had been some movement from the inside outwards.

However, Mr Milne did admit the breach.

Decision:

The charge is admitted by Mr Milne, the Respondent, and is therefore deemed proved.

Submissions for Penalty:

Stipendiary Steward Miss Haley produced the Respondent’s record which indicated there to be no previous breaches.

Miss Haley stated that Mr Milne had had 6,080 lifetime drives, 133 last season and 21 this season.

Miss Haley believed the level of carelessness in this case was low to mid range and confirmed that the Penalty Guide provides a 3 day suspension, in this instance.

Reasons for Penalty:

After taking into account the submissions from both the Applicant and the Respondent, noting the race video and the resultant impact on affected runners, the Adjudicative Committee assessed the breach at a low to mid range and adopted a 3 local day suspension as the starting point.

The Respondent was given credit for his good record and admission of the breach and the challenging drive that WRECKING BALL is, however this was countered by the fact that the hampering of the inside runners was too significant to reduce the penalty below the 3 day starting point.

Conclusion:

The Respondent, Mr Milne, was suspended from the conclusion of racing on the 30th of April 2022 until the conclusion of racing on the 21st of May 2022, 3 local race days.