R Te Aroha 9 November 2021 – R7 – Niranjan Parmar

Evidence:

Following the running of Race 7 Class B (Apprentice) Rider Niranjan Parmar admitted a charge of careless riding which was filed pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d).  The Information alleged  that as the Rider of “THUNDER, he angled his mount outwards when not sufficiently clear of PROJECT near the 350 metres”. 

Mr Parmar acknowledged he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. He was assisted at the hearing by Mr N Harris (Rider Mentor).

Rule 638(1) (d) provides: A Rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be careless.

Using the available race films Stipendiary Steward, Mr Davidson demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and Riders concerned.

Mr Davidson said that approaching the 350 metre mark the Respondent has angled THUNDER out causing the Rider of PROJECT, Ms Barnes, to take a firm hold and check her mount.  He added the Respondent was never sufficiently clear when he shifted out and Thunder went on and won the race.

In response, the Respondent stated that his mount was hanging for much of the race and into the straight was travelling well.  He said he shifted out and in doing so misjudged the distance between his mount and Ms Barnes’ mount.

Decision:

As the Respondent admitted the breach the Adjudicative Committee finds the breach proved (Rule 915(1)(d) refers).

Submission for Penalty:

Mr Davidson advised that the Respondent commenced riding on 29 May 2021 and has since had 32 mounts.  He said this is his first careless riding charge and should be given credit for his admission of the breach.

Mr Davidson said Stewards’ assessed the level of carelessness to be in the low to mid-range range.

The Respondent sought a deferment to any proposed suspension until after racing on 13 November 2021.  He offered no submissions as to penalty.   On his behalf, Mr Harris said that up until now he has had no concerns about his riding manner.  He said that the win on Thunder was his second winning ride for the day and he is a promising Apprentice Rider.

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering the submissions the Adjudicator determined the Respondent’s carelessness to be in the low range, albeit bordering on low to mid, and adopted a 5-day (suspension) as the starting point. This conforms with the NZTR Penalty Guide (as of 1 September 2021).

The available films clearly established that the Respondent shifted out when he was not sufficiently clear of PROJECT who was checked.

The Respondent’s riding record is good, but this has to be tempered by the fact that he has only been riding for 5 months and has only had 32 raceday rides.  On that basis his record is treated as a neutral factor.  No doubt with the assistance of Mr Harris’ tutelage the Respondent will use this breach as a learning opportunity.

A 1-day reduction is applied to the starting point for his admission of the breach.

After consideration of the above factors the Respondent’s deferment is granted and a 4-day suspension is imposed.

Conclusion – Penalty:

Mr Parmar’s Licence to ride in races is suspended for a period of 4 days commencing after racing on  13 November 2021 and concluding after racing on 19 November 2021.