Waikato TR 27 September 2023 – R1 – Joe Doyle

Evidence:

This charge arises from the running of Race 1, the Cambridge Equine Hospital 1550m. Stipendiary Steward, Mrs Selvakumaran filed an Information pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d) alleging the Rider of HIGHLY VINDICATED (J Doyle), allowed his mount to shift out when not sufficiently clear of NASHOBA, which was hampered near the 125 metres”.

Mr Doyle acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach.

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, Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr B Jones demonstrated the incident and identified the horses and Riders concerned; namely HIGHLY VINDICATED (J Doyle) and NASHOBA (S Spratt). Rounding the home turn into the straight, HIGHLY VINDICATED was outside the leader, challenging for the lead.  At that point,  HIGHLY VINDICATED commenced to shift out and Mr Doyle continued to ride forward into the running line of NASHOBA, who was hampered when looking to run into a gap between the eventual winner, STYX and HIGHLY VINDICATED.

Mr Jones said that Mr Doyle did take corrective action, but it was too late.  He said that at the time of the shift, HIGHLY VINDICATED was barely a length clear of NASHOBA.

HIGHLY VINDICATED finished second and NASHOBA fourth – half a head behind the third horse.

By way of explanation, Mr Doyle told the Adjudicative Committee that his mount “hit the front and started to wander outwards”.  He added that he corrected his mount, but accepted it was too late.

Decision:

As Mr Doyle admitted the breach, the Adjudicative Committee found the charge proved.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mrs Selvakumaran submitted that Mr Doyle has incurred three previous careless riding breaches during the past 12 months:

18/01/23 – 5 days

21/01/23 – 10 days (Karaka Millions)

18/03/23 – 8 days (The Oaks)

Mrs Selvakumaran said Stewards assessed the level of carelessness to be low range but pointed out that as a result of NASHOBA being hampered, its Rider, Ms Spratt, told Stewards that the check potentially cost NASHOBA the opportunity to finish third as opposed to fourth.

Mr Doyle sought a deferment to any proposed suspension until after racing on 1 October 2023. He said that the breach was the result of his mount’s racing manners in that it raised its head in the air and shifted out; and he took corrective action as soon as he could.

Reasons for Penalty:

After considering the submissions and reviewing the race film, the Adjudicative Committee determined Mr Doyle’s carelessness to be low range and adopted a 5-day (suspension) as the starting point.

The available films clearly established that Mr Doyle allowed his mount to shift out under pressure when less than one length clear of NASHOBA, who was checked. The margin between fourth and third was a half head.  There is some merit in Ms Spratt’s concern that the check to her mount may have cost it the opportunity to finish in a better position.  To his credit, Mr Doyle did take belated corrective action.

From the 5-day starting point, a one-day reduction is applied for Mr Doyle’s admission of the breach.  This reduction however is negated by the check suffered by NASHOBA who, according to its Rider (and supported by the films), potentially lost third place as a result of being hampered.  Accordingly, this is treated as an aggravating factor and a one day uplift is applied. This is now Mr Doyle’s fourth breach of the Careless Riding Rule since January 2023, and it is noted that he was not riding in New Zealand between April and end of July 2023.  His record is treated as a neutral factor on this occasion.

After considering the above factors, the Adjudicative Committee deemed a 5-day suspension to be appropriate in the circumstances.

Conclusion:

The Adjudicative Committee granted Mr Doyle a deferment to his suspension. Accordingly, his Licence to ride in races is suspended for a period of 5 days, commencing after racing on 1 October 2023 and concluding after racing on 11 October 2023.