Manawatu RC 18 December 2021 – R4 – Tegan Newman

Evidence:

Following the running of Race 4, the Respondent Ms Tegan Newman admitted a charge of careless riding which was filed pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d).  The Information alleged that T Newman allowed her mount MI CAROL to shift in shortly after the start when not sufficiently clear of ONEROA and PLEASURE which had to check off MI CAROL’S heels.

Ms Newman 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 Ms Selvakumaran demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and riders concerned. Ms Newman jumped from barrier 11 and could be seen looking across to her inside seeking a run closer to the rail. She crossed in front of ONEROA (Craig Grylls) when not the required distance clear causing Mr Grylls to check however he did not lose a great deal of ground. She then continued across into the line of PLEASURE (Sarah Macnab). Mrs Selvakumaran described the incident as a misjudgement by Ms Newman.

In response, Ms Newman said she thought Mr Grylls had taken a hold of his mount and that she was then clear to cross. She said the head-on view made the incident look worse than the side-on camera angle.

Decision:

As Ms Newman admitted the breach the Adjudicative Committee found the breach proved.

Submission for Penalty:

Mr Goodwin produced Ms Newman’s riding record which indicated 2 previous breaches under the Careless Riding Rule in the last 12 months. She received a 7 day suspension in March 2021 and a 5 day suspension in February 2021.  Ms Newman has had 520 rides this year.

Mr Goodwin said Stewards assessed the level of carelessness to be in the low/mid-range. Ms Newman should have gone another couple of strides before crossing. He also added that Ms Macnab was pulling back to let Ms Newman go ahead rather than being checked by her.

Ms Newman  advised of riding engagements through until Thursday December 23rd and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension.

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering all submissions the Adjudicative Committee determined Ms Newman’s carelessness to be in the low range. The side-on view of the incident showed that while Mr Grylls did have to check, the amount of ground lost was minimal and he went on to win the race. PLEASURE was the other horse mentioned in the Information as being affected, however Mr Goodwin said that the Rider (Ms McNab) pulled back of her own accord to allow Ms Tegan to go forward. We adopted a 5 day suspension as the starting point which conforms with the NZTR Penalty Guide as of 1 September 2021.

Ms Newman’s very good riding record and her admission of the breach are considered mitigating factors for which we allowed a 1-day reduction.

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

Conclusion – Penalty:

Ms Newman’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 Thursday December 23rd and concluding after racing on Thursday December 30th.