Waikato TR 17 September 2023 – R7- Shaun Fannin

Evidence

Following the running of Race 7, Ben & Ryan Foote Racing Great Northern Steeplechase 6500, the Respondent Shaun Fannin, Rider, admitted a charge of using his whip above shoulder height on a number of occasions in the last 200m.

Rule 638(3)(f)… provides that in a Jumping Race a Rider must not:

Use his or her whip; (ii) using an action that raises the rider’s arm above shoulder height

Using the available race films, Mr Jones demonstrated that from the 200m mark, Mr Fannin struck his mount at least 4 times above shoulder height, with other strikes assessed by Stewards as being questionable, in terms of the Rule. He added that a number of the strikes were forceful.

In response, by way of explanation, the Respondent chose not to comment.

Decision

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

Submissions For Penalty

Mr Jones produced the Respondent’s record which indicated one previous breach of the Rule within the reset period. This occurred in a Prestige Jumping Race at the Wellington Racing Club Meeting on the 15th of July and resulted in a $1,700 fine. He said the circumstance of that breach were not too dis-similar to this breach.

Mr Jones referred to the NZTR Directive relating to penalty setting and pointed out that any breach of a Whip Rule in a Prestige/Black Type Race, will result in a fine being imposed with a starting point of 50% of the Jockey’s stake earnings.

He said that in this case, Mr Fannin’s mount won the race and Mr Fannin’s share of the stake was $8,625.

Mr Fannin said in relation to penalty, he would prefer a large fine and a suspension.

Reasons For Penalty

The Penalty Guide starting point says for ALL  whip breaches in Prestige Jumping Races, the starting point should be the equivalent of 50% of a Rider’s stake earnings. With regards to Clause “F” of the Penalty Guide in relation to whip breaches, the Penalty Guide empowers Adjudicative Committees to assess cases on a fact dependent basis, as there are 8 wide ranging categories of breaches that fall within Clause “F” of the Whip Rules.

Having done so, the Adjudicative Committee took into account that 50% of the share of Mr Fannin’s stake earnings was $4,310. Several of the strikes were applied with considerable force and although Stewards pointed to 4 strikes being non-compliant, there were others that were questionable.

In addition, the Adjudicative Committee was mindful that Mr Fannin had 1 previous charge for the exact same offence at the Wellington Steeplechase Meeting on the 15th of July, and given this previous breach, he knew what the likely outcome was should he breach again. On that occasion, Mr Fannin was fined $1,700 of his $4,312 Jockey’s percentage.

Having taken the above matters into account, the Adjudicative Committee determined that a $4,000 fine to be appropriate in the circumstances.

Consideration was not given to a suspension, as there is only 1 meeting available that has Jumps Races for this Jumping Season.

Conclusion

The Respondent S Fannin is fined $4,000.