NZ Metro TC 26 June 2022 – R3 – Andrew Fitzgerald

BACKGROUND:

Following the running of Race 3, NZ Amateur Drivers Championship (Heat 4) Mobile Pace, Advanced Amateur Driver Andrew Fitzgerald, admitted a breach of Whip Rule 869(2). The particulars of the charge are that, as the Driver of SWEET AND SOUR in the race, he used his whip with more than a wrist only flicking motion in the run home.

Rule 869 provides that:

(2)  No driver shall during any race use a whip in a manner in contravention of the Use of the Whip Regulations made by the Board.

The Whip and Rein Regulations provide:

A driver may only apply the whip in a wrist only flicking motion whilst holding a rein in each hand with the tip of the whip pointed forward in an action which does not involve the shoulder.

EVIDENCE:

Stipendiary Steward, Mr Williams, showed a video replay of the final 200-300 metres of the race., He pointed out SWEET AND SOUR, driven by the Respondent, racing towards the rear as the field turned into the home straight. He then showed that the Respondent used his whip on two occasions in more than a wrist only flicking motion. The breach was low-level, Mr Williams said, but the offending strikes were too forceful. The Respondent had been issued with a warning at Addington on 21 April last for a similar offence and hence had been charged on this occasion, Mr Williams said.

The Respondent said that he was driving in a different cart which was longer than usual.

DECISION:

The charge is admitted and therefore proved.

SUBMISSIONS FOR PENALTY:

Mr Williams said that Stewards were submitting for a fine of $200, the breach being a low-level first offence.

REASONS FOR PENALTY:

The HRNZ Revised Penalty Guide describes a low-level offence as “when a driver inadvertently reverts to the old style (freehand, loose reining and/or more than a flicking motion) but promptly takes corrective  steps to return to a compliant style”. This breach fits squarely within that definition. It involved two strikes with the whip in more than a wrist only flicking motion. It was the Respondent’s first offence under the Whip Rules. The Penalty Guide suggests a starting point for penalty of a fine in the range of $200-400. A  fine at the lower end of that range is appropriate.

CONCLUSION:

The Respondent, Advanced Amateur Driver Andrew Fitzgerald, is fined $200.