Waikato RC 22 October 2022 – R7 – Wiremu Pinn

Evidence:

Following the running of Race 7, the Respondent Apprentice Rider W Pinn admitted a charge of careless riding which was filed pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d).  The Information alleged that as the Rider of MR MOJO RISIN’, he permitted his mount to shift outwards when not sufficiently clear of THE RACKETEER near the 1000m, with GOLDBURG being hampered. 

Mr Pinn acknowledged he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. Miss D Young was present to assist.

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 A Dooley demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and Riders concerned.

Mr Dooley said that approaching the 1000 metre mark Mr Pinn had shifted out off the rail, after being crossed by M McNab on ACADEMY AWARD. As a result of this outward shift, he made contact with the RACKETEER, which in turn hampered GOLDBURG. Mr Dooley said that when Mr Pinn shifted outwards, he was only ½ length clear of the horses to his outer.

In response, Mr Pinn stated his horse doesn’t race well when crowded so he made the decision to try and give it some room by shifting off the rail. He said it was a misjudgement on his part and he didn’t mean to contact the horses on his outer.

Decision:

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

Submission for Penalty:

Mr Pinn’s riding record indicated 3 previous breaches under the Careless Riding Rule in the last 12 months, namely;

9/11/21 – Te Aroha 7 days

14/5/22 – Rotorua 4 days

12/10/22 – Avondale 4 days

Mr Pinn has had 326 mounts in the past 12 months.

Stipendiary Steward Mr Oatham said Stewards assessed the level of carelessness to be just above the low range, and an aggravating factor was that the breach had occurred in a Group 2 Race.

The Respondent advised of riding engagements through until the 1st of November and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension.

In terms of any proposed penalty, Mr Pinn made no comment.

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering all submissions, the Adjudicative Committee determined Mr Pinn’s carelessness to be in the low to mid range and adopted a 6-day (suspension) as the starting point. This conforms with the NZTR Penalty Guide (as of 1 March 2022).

The available films clearly established that Mr Pinn was careless when directing his horse off the rails, making contact with the horses to his outer.

A 1-day reduction was applied to the 6 day starting point for his admission of the breach and record.

Rule 920(2) empowers an Adjudicative Committee in imposing a penalty, to have due regard to such matters as it considers appropriate including: (a) the Status of the Race; (b) the stake payable in respect of the Race.; and / or (c) the consequences.  On this occasion due to the status of the race (Group 2), the Adjudicative Committee applied a 2 day uplift on penalty.

After consideration of the above factors, a 7-day suspension was imposed.

Conclusion:

The Respondent’s request for a deferment is granted and his licence to ride in races is suspended for a period of 7 days, commencing after racing on the 1st of November and concluding after racing on 11th November.