Riccarton Park – Canterbury JC 9 November 2024 – R6, R7 and R8 – Craig Grylls

Evidence:

The Applicant, Chief Stipendiary Steward, John Oatham filed an Information pursuant to Rule 346 (3) alleging that Class A Rider, Craig Grylls failed to make the contracted weight for his mounts in Race 6, TIKKI, Race 7, MAZZUCATO and Race 8 MEHZEBEEN.

The Respondent was present at the hearing and confirmed his admission of the breach.

Rule 346(3) provides:

346 A Rider must not:
(3) fail to ride a horse at the weight at which it is handicapped to carry subject to the conditions of
the Race; or

Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr Oatham advised that TIKKI was handicapped to carry 53kg, MAZZUCATO to carry 54kg and  MEHZEBEEN to carry 53kg. He said that at weigh out, the Respondent was 55kg and unable to make the weight on all three runners.

Mr Oatham explained that Mr Grylls made contact with the Stewards on the morning of the races, to admit he was unable to make the weight for three of his rides. He said that this was an important race day, 1st day of the Cup Meeting with 2 of the races being Listed Races with stakes of $90,000 and $100,000 respectively.

By way of explanation, the Respondent said that he had just come back from a 10 day suspension and normally rides at 53kg. He stated that yesterday, he was at 55kg and with only 2kg’s to lose, thought he was on target to meet the weights. Mr Grylls said that he called his Agent, Michael Coleman, about 7.30am on the morning of the races, who in turn spoke to the connections of the affected runners. Unfortunately, Mr Coleman did not inform the Stewards of the situation and they were only made aware later in the morning.

Decision:

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

Submission for Penalty:

Mr Oatham said that this is the Respondent’s 1st breach of the Rule, within the last 120 days.  He said breaches are normally dealt with by way of Minor Infringement Notice (MIN), but due to the status of two of the races being Listed Races, Stewards elected to proceed by way of an Information, as opposed to having the matter dealt with by way of MIN. He added that Mr Grylls’ record did show 3 previous breaches this year, being 21 January 2024 – MIN $100, 3 February 2024 – Taranaki – Group 3 Race – $350 and 9 March 2024 – MIN $200, all outside the 120 day reset.

Mr Oatham submitted the breach could be dealt by way of a fine in the vicinity of $300, as was imposed for the Group 3 Race at Taranaki.

The Respondent agreed that a fine would be an appropriate penalty.

Reasons for Penalty:

The MIN schedule establishes a $100 fine as the starting point for a first breach of this Rule.  In circumstances where Stewards elect to file an Information, determination of penalties are fact dependent.

The Adjudicative Committee considered the submissions and for consistency, took some guidance from previous penalties for similar breaches.

Aggravating factors included, were the status of the races and that two of the races were Listed, with stakes of $90,000 and $100,000.

Given the circumstances, and balancing the interests of the Respondent, other stakeholders, and consistency, the Adjudicative Committee determined that a fine commensurate with the Group 3 penalty is an appropriate penalty.  Therefore, it was determined that a fine of $350 was appropriate.

Conclusion:

The Respondent, Mr Grylls is fined $350.