Wellington RC 4 January 2025 – R5 – Luke Currie

The Applicant, Stipendiary Steward Mr N Goodwin filed an Information pursuant to Rule 346(3) alleging that L Currie (FIELD OF GOLD) failed to make the contracted weight in a Group 3 Race.

Mr Currie was present at the hearing and confirmed his admission of the breach. He explained the events that led to him facing the charge today. Mr Currie’s manager in Australia was arranging rides for him at Wellington in conjunction with Mr Brad Taylor  from RACE.  His main ride, and the reason for his visit to Trentham, was to take the ride on SKEW WIFF in the Group 1 Telegraph. Mr Currie advised his manager that since he was on holiday prior to riding in NZ, the lightest he could comfortably ride would be 56.5kgs. Mr Currie had no further involvement in discussions. When the fields came out, he had been declared for three rides:

Race 3: VICTORTHEINFLICTOR – 58.5 kgs

Race 5: FIELD OF GOLD – 55.5 kgs

Race 7: SKEW WIFF – 56.5gks

VICTORTHEINFLICTOR was ultimately scratched and Mr McNab was the replacement Rider on FIELD OF GOLD.

Decision:

As Mr Currie admitted the breach, the Adjudicative Committee finds the breach proved.

Submissions for Penalty:

Stipendiary Steward Mr Goodwin said as far as he knew, this was Mr Currie’s first overweight charge. Mr Currie confirmed this, saying he had not faced a charge of overweight since he was an Apprentice Rider, and that he was now 43 years old.  He had sweated for 3 hours this morning and could  have ridden FIELD OF GOLD half a kilo over, but did not think that was fair to the connections.

Stipendiary Steward Mr Goodwin submitted the breach could be dealt with by way of a fine.

Reasons for Penalty

The MIN schedule sets a $100 fine as the baseline for a first breach of this Rule. However, when Stewards file an Information, penalty determinations become fact-dependent.

The Adjudicative Committee reviewed previous penalties for similar breaches to ensure consistency. It acknowledged Michael McNab as a suitable replacement Rider, but considered the race’s Group 3 status, stakeholder interests, and the need for consistency. Consequently, the Adjudicative Committee decided a slight increase from the MIN schedule’s starting point was appropriate.

The Adjudicative Committee recognised Mr Currie’s responsible approach to the situation, and noted he might feel justifiably aggrieved, given that it appeared to be communication issues between his agent and Mr Taylor that led to this charge.

Conclusion:

Mr Currie is fined $300.