Manawatu RC 17 December 2022 – R1 – Joe Doyle

Evidence:

Following the running of Race 1, Information A15600 was lodged alleging the Respondent, Class A Rider, Mr J Doyle, struck his mount PIGNAN six times consecutively with these strikes being forward of the shoulder.

Rule 638(3)(g)(ii) provides that a rider must not:

1. ii) strike a horse with a whip in consecutive strides at any stage of the race.

and

Rule 638(3)(f)(i) provides that: a Rider must not use his or her whip:

(i) forward of the Rider’s horse’s shoulder or in the vicinity of its head;

Mr Doyle confirmed to the Adjudicative Committee that he understood the Rule and did not admit the breach.

The incident occurred soon after the start of the race after PIGNAN jumped from barrier No 2. She had been fractious behind the barrier and Mr Doyle rode her forward out of the barrier in a vigorous manner. He used his whip initially once but then soon after applied six strikes in succession. Mr Oatham said he accepted Mr Doyle had his hand on the reins but the way he used the whip was more akin to a strike than a slap. Close up images of the horse and Rider showed the whip landed forward of the shoulder.

Mr Doyle defended the charge on the basis that his hand did not leave the reins. He said the filly had been slow away at her first two starts and finished an unlucky third on both those occasions. He had been instructed to get her away early so when she jumped out of the barrier a little slowly, he “woke her up a bit”. Mr Doyle said he thought his actions were allowed because his hand remained on the reins. He disputed that the strikes were forward of the shoulder.

Decision:

Rule 638(3)(g)(ii) states that a rider must not strike a horse with a whip in consecutive strides at any stage of the race. The film clearly showed Mr Doyle did exactly this as he hunted PIGNAN forward out of the barrier. His hand was raised up with the rein and he hit her quickly and forcibly on 6 occasions. This is a clear breach of the Consecutive Whip Rule which makes no mention of whether the hand is on the rein or not.

Close up and slow-motion replays were also played with the Adjudicative Committee satisfied that the whip landed forward of the shoulder.

Both parts of the charge were found proved.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Oatham said that Mr Doyle has been riding in New Zealand for a little over a month and has had 67 rides in that time.

He has had a couple of reprimands for his whip use and the following breaches:

15/11/22              7 strikes – $250

3/12/22                3 strikes above shoulder – $250

7/12/22                6 strikes (3 with excessive force) – $350

Mr Doyle explained that he had readily admitted the previous whip breaches and was trying very hard to adjust to New Zealand Rules after riding in Ireland and the UK. Today however, he did not believe he had done anything wrong because his hands had not left the reins. In Ireland this would not have been a breach of the Rules.

Reasons for Penalty:

Current Penalty Guidelines provide for a 5-day suspension for a first breach in circumstances of four or more consecutive strikes. While the Adjudicative Committee could understand Mr Doyle’s reasons for defending the charge and his frustrations at adapting to a different set of Regulations the Whip Rules are in place for the welfare of the horse and are stringently applied.

After consideration of the facts, a 5-day suspension is imposed.

For the breach of Rule 638(3)(f)(i), a fine of $500 is imposed which is consistent with the small number of other penalties.

Conclusion:

Mr Doyle’s License to ride in races is suspended for 5 days from the conclusion of racing today 17^th December 2022 until the conclusion of racing on 26th December 2022.  He is also fined $500 for striking his mount forward of the shoulder.