Manawatu RC 1 April 2023 – R4 – Sam Weatherley

Evidence:

Following the running of Race 4, the Respondent Class A Rider Mr S Weatherley, admitted a charge of careless riding which was filed pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d).  The Information alleged that S Weatherley (LIFFEY) allowed his mount to shift inwards when not sufficiently clear hampering KING OF HEARTS (W Kennedy) which was dictated inwards onto FAME SHINES (L Sutherland) which was checked near the 100 metres.

Mr Weatherley 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 all available video angles, Stipendiary Steward Mr N Goodwin demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and Riders concerned.  Mr Weatherley had Mr Kennedy to his inside, with Ms Sutherland further back behind, and to the inside of Mr Kennedy. Around the 100-metre mark, Mr Weatherley shifted in gradually when not sufficiently clear of Mr Kennedy, who had to stop riding for several strides. This closed what had been a clear run for Ms Sutherland. Mr Weatherley tried to straighten his mount on 2 occasions, but continued to use his whip as well.

In response, Mr Weatherley said there were many contributing factors. There was a lot of movement from other runners before the check to Ms Sutherland occurred.  Ms Newman’s horse had come out onto Mr Lammas, who then moved out further into the line of Ms Sutherland. Mr Weatherley believed the gap had closed for her prior to him coming across. He said Mr Kennedy called out to him and he straightened his mount on multiple occasions.

Decision:

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

Submission for Penalty:

Stipendiary Steward Mr Oatham produced Mr Weatherley’s riding record over the preceding 12-month period:

3/8/22                 7 days

3/8/22                 9 weeks (reckless riding)

4/2/23                 6 days

1/4/23                  4 days

The Respondent has had 364 mounts in the past 12 months.

Mr Oatham said Stewards assessed the level of carelessness to be low level.

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering all submissions, the Adjudicative Committee determined Mr Weatherley’s carelessness to be at the low end. While his mount wanted to lay in over the concluding stages of the race, the films clearly showed Mr Weatherley taking corrective action by pulling his mount’s head outwards away from Mr Kennedy. At the same time, movement outwards from Mr Lammas and Ms Newman contributed to the gap closing for Ms Sutherland. Mr Weatherley’s inward movement was only part of the reason why Ms Sutherland had to check.  The Adjudicative Committee adopted a starting point of 5 days (suspension) which conforms with the NZTR Penalty Guide (as of February 2023).

Mr Weatherley admitted the breach as he was not the full 2 lengths clear when he came across onto Mr Kennedy’s mount, however there were other contributory factors as outlined above. These were not disputed by the Stewards. The Adjudicative Committee has afforded him a 1-day reduction in mitigation for his admission. Although this was Mr Weatherley’s second careless riding charge today, both occurred in the same race, both were low level breaches and the Adjudicative Committee did not see fit to apply an uplift.

Conclusion:

Mr Weatherley’s  licence to ride in races is suspended for a period of 4 days and will follow the previous suspension. His licence is suspended from the conclusion of racing on Wednesday April 12th, until after the conclusion of racing on Wednesday April 19th 2023.