Wyndham HRC 16 March 2024 – R10 – Mark Hurrell

Summary of Facts

Following the running of Race 10, Open Driver Mark Hurrell admitted a charge that, as the Driver of DAWSON in the race, he failed to maintain a straight course in the run home, shifting down into the passing lane and causing interference to BOBBIES ROCK (K Green) near the 60 metre mark.

Rule 869 provides:

(4) No driver shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress.

The Passing Lanes, False Rails and Home Straight Regulations provide:

4.  In the last lap of any race the leading horse on the running line shall, upon entering the home straight, maintain as straight a course as possible parallel to the running line and allow the trailing horses full access to the expanded inside lane.

Mr Hurrell endorsed the Information, ‘I do admit a breach of the Rule.’ He confirmed to the Adjudicative Committee his admission of the breach, and that he understood the Rule and the nature of the charge.

Mr Munro used the race videos to show, with the assistance of Mr Burke, that Mr Hurrell was trailing the leader, QUADDIE VC (J Cox) on the home bend. QUADDIE VC was shown to have moved wider just prior to the passing lane becoming available. Mr Munro said that, under the Rules, this meant that Mr Hurrell was now deemed to be driving the leading horse and was obliged to maintain a straight line to the finish and leave the passing lane clear. DAWSON outfinished QUADDIE VC in the closing stages of the race. Stewards also identified BOBBIES ROCK running home strongly in the passing lane. At the 60 metre mark, Ms Green was forced to restrain BOBBIES ROCK due to Mr Hurrell having shifted down into the passing lane. DAWSON won the race by three-quarters of a length from QUADDIE VC, with a further one-and-a-quarter lengths to BOBBIES ROCK in third place. Ms Green subsequently viewed the race videos and decided not to lodge a protest due to the margins, Mr Munro said. However she told Stewards the interference had affected her chances. With an uninterrupted run in the home straight, Ms Green thought she would have finished second, Mr Munro said. In response to a question from the Adjudicative Committee, Mr Munro estimated that Mr Hurrell had become Driver of the leading horse only some 5 metres from the start of the passing lane.

Mr Hurrell said he was established in the trail and did not realise DAWSON had become the leading horse in the brief moment between Mr Cox rolling wider and the start of the passing lane being reached. It was hard to decipher this in the heat of the moment, he said. Mr Hurrell said he thought at the time that the passing lane was available to him. He added that his horse didn’t help matters by lugging in and wanting to run down the track. Mr Hurrell said no horse was in the passing lane and he tried not to fight his horse because he wasn’t running straight. He said by the time he was aware of Ms Green seeking a run along the passing lane, his horse had already moved down the track.

Mr Munro noted that irrespective of where on the track the leading horse is in the home straight, a straight course must be maintained.

Decision

As Mr Hurrell has admitted the breach, it is found to be proved.

Submissions as to Penalty

Mr Munro produced the Respondent’s record, which was clear under this Rule. Mr Munro referred to the Penalty Guide and said that the starting point for a first breach of this Rule was a 2-day suspension. He further submitted that Ms Green’s chances of finishing in second place had been adversely affected by Mr Hurrell, and this should be taken into account. Stewards made no specific submission as to what they believed was an appropriate penalty in this case.

Mr Hurrell asked whether a fine might be considered instead of a suspension. He was advised that the Penalty Guide under this Rule, while not binding, does only refer to periods of suspension. Mr Hurrell said he would not be requesting a deferment of any suspension that might result from this breach. He asked that any period of suspension take into account upcoming Addington meetings, where he sometimes drives. Stewards objected to this, with Mr McIntyre identifying Mr Hurrell’s most recent drive at Addington as being some three months prior, on 10 December 2023. Mr Hurrell was unable to specify any upcoming engagements at Addington meetings.

Reasons for Penalty

As Driver of the leading horse on the running line prior to the passing lane, Mr Hurrell had an obligation under the Home Straight Regulations to maintain as straight a course as possible in the run to the finish. This he did not do. Mr Hurrell contends he was not aware that his horse had become the leading horse, as defined by the Home Straight Regulations, in the brief period between Mr Cox shifting wider on the track when coming off the home bend, and the start of the passing lane being reached. The Adjudicative Committee considers it telling that Mr Hurrell did not utilise the passing lane for most of the straight and did, for the majority of the run home, maintain a reasonably straight course in the running line. His shift inwards meant Ms Green, near the 60 metre mark, was denied space in the passing lane that was rightly hers. Ms Green believes this cost her second place. Having reviewed the videos, and how strongly Ms Green’s horse was finishing the race, the Adjudicative Committee agrees with her assessment. The degree of interference and the consequential effects are an aggravating factor. The possibility of a fine instead of a suspension, as raised by Mr Hurrell, is not considered appropriate. The Adjudicative Committe takes a starting point of a two day suspension, as per the Penalty Guide, and finds in the circumstances that an uplift to a 3 days suspension is warranted. In mitigation, Mr Hurrell is given credit for his clear record under this Rule and his admission of the breach. This affords him a 1-day reduction in penalty. The Adjudicative Committee therefore arrives at a 2-day suspension. The Respondent was unable to specify any drives he had booked for upcoming Addington meetings, so these meetings have not been included in the period of suspension.

Conclusion

The Respondent’s Licence to drive in races is suspended for 2 days. This starts at the conclusion of today’s meeting and is up to and including 28 March 2024.