Cambridge demolition derby

[All The Aces]

4 hours ago, curious said:

The stewards report is a bit bizarre isn't it? No explanation of the fall. Slipped, clipped heels? No veterinary explanation other than some sore teeth from the fall. Looks like they didn't even talk to Tayla before issuing the report. But they do that in an hour and can't conclude an inquiry into a race 6 weeks ago?

Stewards opened and adjourned an enquiry into an incident passing the 600 metres which resulted in DEEBEE BELLFER falling and LOOSE MONEY being brought down as a consequence. Initial evidence was taken from riders D Prastiyou and C Barnes. The matter was adjourned due to the unavailability of rider T Mitchell.

[curious]

5 hours ago, All The Aces said:

Stewards opened and adjourned an enquiry into an incident passing the 600 metres which resulted in DEEBEE BELLFER falling and LOOSE MONEY being brought down as a consequence. Initial evidence was taken from riders D Prastiyou and C Barnes. The matter was adjourned due to the unavailability of rider T Mitchell.

Thanks. I missed that.

[Newmarket]

On 21/09/2022 at 5:33 PM, nomates said:

That would be a bit friggen macabre .

Many of us care , just not the ones who can change things .

If people cared, we would have less horses falling. I was joking about the TAB option

[Freda]

9 hours ago, Newmarket said:

If people cared, we would have less horses falling. I was joking about the TAB option

We care all right.

But the solution isn't so easy.

I have some ideas, but many others may have differing ones.

[nomates]

Sam Weatherly suspended from 1st October till 3rd December , 2 months .

Not sure how i feel about the length of suspension , my first instinct is that it is not long enough , does it send the right message ? not sure .

It's a tough one , a serious incident but does he deserve to be hung, drawn and quartered for something i am sure he will regret for the rest of his life .

I am sure others will have differing opinions on what was correct .

[nomates]

Whilst looking at the suspended lists i also noticed that one S Wynne has been given approx 6 weeks for some indiscretion , she's a slow learner , been given plenty of warnings about her riding and has been stood down in the past to sort out her riding .

Also Callum Jones has been given 7 months , not back till late March , anyone have any idea what he has been up to to get this , i would think to do with digesting something illegal .

[All The Aces]

Jockey Sam Weatherley cops 9-week suspension for reckless riding after death of Taiki Yanagida

By 

Belinda Feek

27 Sep, 2022 06:00 PM6 mins to read

SaveShare

Top jockey Sam Weatherley, pictured in January 1, this year, has been suspended from riding for nine weeks after being found guilty of reckless riding. Photo / Trish Dunell

The actions of a top young jockey, which led to a promising Japanese rider's death at Cambridge, have been ruled "reckless".

But Sam Weatherley, 23, says it was a "freak accident" that he will continually struggle with for the rest of his life.

Taiki Yanagida died after injuries suffered in a fall at Cambridge Raceway last month after his horse, Te Atatu Pash, was bumped when Weatherley made an "abrupt" and "aggressive" turn with his horse, Jack Hammer.

Today, after a hearing by the Racing Integrity Board, Weatherley has been handed a nine-week racing suspension as result of his actions on the track.

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CCTV footage shown to the board's panel at the Te Rapa Racecourse in Hamilton, shows how a fatal series of events played out in a matter of seconds during the last race of the day on August 3.

It shows a group of horses rounding the final bend at the 300 mark.

Up until then, Weatherley had trailed the leading horse, Searchlight, on the inside barrier.

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Weatherley would later tell investigators at his initial hearing that he was looking for a "run" and then he's "just gone".

"I thought there was a run appearing out three wide and I've looked to come out for a run and obviously Darren Danis' mount has been going better than mine ... no disrespect to Darren but I thought that run would appear, just the nature of the way it happens."

However, as Weatherley attempts to make his "run", his horse made contact with the girth area of Danis' ride, Goodo Jo, which he says "overreacted quite badly".

"Unfortunately, it's just a freak accident and something that I've gotta live with for the rest of my life. It's very, very unfortunate," he said during his interview last month, which was adjourned to continue today.

Horse racing jockey Taiki Yanagida died after falling from his horse during a race at Cambridge in August. Photo / Trish Dunell

Footage of the race was shown multiple times to the adjudicative panel throughout the hearing. It showed Jack Hammer bumping into the girth of Goodo Jo whose hindlegs are then swung out to the right.

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That caused Te Atatu Pash to appear to tap the ankle of Goodo Jo and fall forward, throwing Yanagida to the ground, where he was stomped on by a horse following close behind.

Neither horse nor its rider could have avoided the collision.

Yanagida was rushed to Waikato Hospital and his Japan-based family flew over to be by his side, but he died from injuries to his brain and spine.

The accident stunned and divided the racing industry, Weatherley's co-counsel Philip Cornege told the panel today.

"Half of the industry have been quite supportive .. the other half have frankly branded him a murderer and it's quite wrong."

He said those people felt that Weatherley returning to the saddle was him "thumbing his nose" at Yanagida's death.

 

"But he literally had to get back on the horse. Sitting at home trying to cope with what had happened was not good for his mental health."

Weatherley's remorse was genuine, he said, and he'd not only met with Yanagida's mother but also contributed to the funeral and a headstone for his grave in Japan.

Dennis Dow, counsel for the board, earlier submitted Weatherley's actions were reckless and called two of its stipendiary stewards, Brady Jones and Warwick Robinson, along with its chief steward John Oatham as witnesses.

Robinson told the adjudicators Warwick Gendall and Noel McCutcheon that Weatherley "used his horse as a battering ram", after pulling it to get into a space, or gap, neither of which he said existed.

"You say gap, I'm saying there isn't a gap," he bluntly told Weatherley's co-counsel Fletcher Pilditch.

Robinson, a former jockey and stipendiary steward of 25 years, told the panel from his viewing of the race footage, Weatherley suddenly "shoots out at least two and a half horses" to his right as he finishes negotiating the final bend.

 

He explained to have a "gap" wide enough to head into, it needed to "at least" fit the horse's shoulders.

"Even if you see that it's still a very narrow gap to negotiate a horse through ... I think Mr Weatherley is a very experienced rider and knows the only way he could get through there is to make a gap."

However, fellow retired jockey Michael Coleman, said he could see the gap Weatherley was aiming for.

"There's no doubt in my mind that there's a reason why Mr Weatherley has jumped out for that run, because there's a gap there."

He said everything happens in "microseconds" riding at that pace and although he could have corrected, Weatherley's "instincts have taken over" and he's continued to aim for the gap that he saw before it's closed on him.

"There has been a run fixed for Mr Weatherley to take and as a competitive rider you would also try to go for that run."

 

He, together with Weatherley's counsel, submitted his actions were careless, not reckless.

However, after 45 minutes of deliberations, the panel found Weatherley guilty.

Dow pushed for a three-month ban, which would include uplifts for his "poor" riding history involving 11 charges of careless riding and seven convictions in the past 12 months, and more going back to when he started in 2016.

Pilditch said Weatherley had already been subjected to trial by social media.

"We live in a very vitriolic age. We operate in a world of social media where people are tried and judged via social media and that's certainly been the case for Mr Weatherley and his family who have faced very divisive views ... about his involvement.

"He really has suffered and will continue to suffer quite a high level of antagonism and animosity from people in the industry who really aren't in a position to be making comment.

"Good ole New Zealand has already done a fair amount of crushing through social media," Pilditch said.

 

He urged the board to hand down a suspension which left him with a "sense of hope" for his future career.

While Weatherley had always accepted culpability for his actions, he felt they were careless rather than reckless.

However, it was pointed out that Weatherley had been subjected, and pleaded guilty to, a charge of careless riding earlier in the same meeting.

Panel chairman Warwick Gendall said there was "no question" that there was never any intent by Weatherley to purposefully cause the fall.

"No jockey intends that, ever," he said.

In delivering not only their verdict on the charge but also the penalty, Gendall and McCutcheon found Weatherley's horse made "very firm" contact with Goodo Jo, "when in no time correcting his line exhibiting reckless behaviour".

 

"And the actions establish that he acted in a deliberate manner," Gendall said.

Gendall acknowledged it had taken a toll on Weatherley's mental health but reminded him he had "a great future" and wished him well.

Weatherley declined to comment when approached outside by Open Justice.

Yanagida was the first jockey to die in a race fall in New Zealand since Rebecca Black at Gore in December, 2016.

 

[The Centaur]

The two months suspension is a joke.

Compare with driving a car...

LAND TRANSPORT ACT 1998

38Contravention of section 8 causing injury or death

A person commits an offence if—

(a)

the person drives a motor vehicle, or causes a motor vehicle to be driven, carelessly; and

(b)

by that act or omission, causes an injury to or the death of another person.

(2)

If a person is convicted of an offence against subsection (1) or subsection (1A),—

(a)

the maximum penalty is imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine not exceeding $4,500; and

(b)

the court must order the person to be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver licence for 6 months or more.

Edited September 27, 2022 by The Centaur

[KickintheKods]

It is an interesting ruling and will no doubt be discussed over every stable morning tea table today.

Robinson showed his true colours for the prosecution - I would suggest you don't ride at any meetings he is officiating at Sam when you return.

On the defence side, King Coleman  gave a very strong view of how he saw it, and his riding record would finish a few lengths in front of Robinsons on any given day.

The bottom line is there are no winners here. We lost a fine young man who was admired by many.

 

[The Centaur]

5 hours ago, KickintheKods said:

It is an interesting ruling and will no doubt be discussed over every stable morning tea table today.

Robinson showed his true colours for the prosecution - I would suggest you don't ride at any meetings he is officiating at Sam when you return.

On the defence side, King Coleman  gave a very strong view of how he saw it, and his riding record would finish a few lengths in front of Robinsons on any given day.

The bottom line is there are no winners here. We lost a fine young man who was admired by many.

 

Robinson was a very good rider.

Here is one of his wins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t7ma1UZc5U

 

[the galah]

7 hours ago, KickintheKods said:

It is an interesting ruling and will no doubt be discussed over every stable morning tea table today.

Robinson showed his true colours for the prosecution - I would suggest you don't ride at any meetings he is officiating at Sam when you return.

On the defence side, King Coleman  gave a very strong view of how he saw it, and his riding record would finish a few lengths in front of Robinsons on any given day.

The bottom line is there are no winners here. We lost a fine young man who was admired by many.

 

 

If the is article correct,it clearly infers coleman thought weatherley was entitled to "go for the run" as coleman put it.

Surely that is a very disturbing assessment by coleman. Doesn't that just sum up the mindset of some jockeys and in effect highlight why this incident happened. How else could you interpret what coleman has said. 

[KickintheKods]

Certainly there is a case to say that some jockeys "see a gap" where others don't. They often only have a split second to make their decision, and sometimes there are awful consequences as a result of them.

Hugh Bowman is one of those. How Andrew Atkins wasn't killed in this incident at Rosehill at Rosehill two years ago is a miracle.

It was sickening to watch and, like Sam, many were baying for Bowman's head in the weeks after it happened.

He got 6 weeks, which many in the industry thought was far too lenient but the stewards, in their wisdom, thought otherwise.

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by KickintheKods

[KickintheKods]

"Unfortunately, the injuries sustained to Andrew, they're not life-threatening but they're significant," Bowman said.

"I've been found careless and despite the fact of pleading not guilty, I am remorseful the incident happened.

"I understand what we do is dangerous and split-second decisions can turn out to have bad consequences, as one has in this case."

Stewards generally use a careless-riding template to determine penalty but that was thrown out the window due to the seriousness of the incident.

[billy connolly]

20 hours ago, All The Aces said:

the adjudicators Warwick Gendall and Noel McCutcheon

Not sure of Gendall's history but McCutcheon is well past his use-by date. McCutcheon was one of the adjudicators responsible for rubbing out D. Walker for 6 years (effectively life) on a charge of not riding one on its merits, yet Weatherley is found guilty of reckless riding (with fatal consequences) and gets 9 weeks, even minor whip violations are dealt with more harshly.

I thought reckless riding was the second most serious charge in the book after foul riding, Weatherley is a lucky man.

 

[JMO]

Will this be the End of? Or is their still some court proceedings ongoing/coroner's report?

[Chief Stipe]

3 hours ago, JMO said:

Will this be the End of? Or is their still some court proceedings ongoing/coroner's report?

Ask @Turny he is the resident expert although he has been wrong so far.

I doubt there will be Court Proceedings against Weatherley.  If there are then the onus is on the Industry to pay his costs as a licensee.  In the past with these types of racing accidents it has been determined that there is an inherent high risk of injury in the sport.

Although proceedings may get hijacked by an anti-racing agenda.

[Turny]

1 hour ago, JMO said:

Will this be the End of? Or is their still some court proceedings ongoing/coroner's report?

A more meaningful and educated debate on Channel X, as you would expect.

Worth a visit and a read, addresses your question

[billy connolly]

1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said:

I doubt there will be Court Proceedings.  In the past with these types of racing accidents it has been determined that there is an inherent high risk of injury in the sport.

Correct, and even if there was an arraignment a Judge wouldn't interfere with the rules of racing (or the rules of any sport) unless it was a deliberate act which caused a persons demise.

 

1 hour ago, Turny said:

A more meaningful and educated debate on Channel X, as you would expect.

Worth a visit and a read, addresses your question

Why would we go there, squire? The imbecile at the wheelhouse of that site has booted/moderated most of us here.

[Turny]

16 minutes ago, billy connolly said:

Correct, and even if there was an arraignment a Judge wouldn't interfere with the rules of racing (or the rules of any sport) unless it was a deliberate act which caused a persons demise.

 

Why would we go there, squire? The imbecile at the wheelhouse of that site has booted/moderated most of us here.

Agree Part 1, Worksafe and Coroner can address many other Statutes

On Part 2, can't comment ... don't know don't care .... I prefer a more deeper meaningful site with significant contribution from 100s of active participants ... if you get my drift

[Chief Stipe]

13 minutes ago, Turny said:

On Part 2, can't comment ... don't know don't care .... I prefer a more deeper meaningful site with significant contribution from 100s of active participants ... if you get my drift

As long as you give the Comic Dog your full and undying sycophantic love.  

But anyway you were wrong regarding the RIB inquiry.  So let's leave it at that.  BTW where did you get your training to read Statutes?

[Turny]

Just now, Chief Stipe said:

As long as you give the Comic Dog your full and undying sycophantic love.  

But anyway you were wrong regarding the RIB inquiry.  So let's leave it at that.  BTW where did you get your training to read Statutes?

You really are absent with nouse.

Not wrong at all, just let it unfold .... you will see how correct I have been.

Your site His site .... no choice us there ... just take an hour out and read your site .... enough said

[Chief Stipe]

1 minute ago, Turny said:

You really are absent with nouse.

Not wrong at all, just let it unfold .... you will see how correct I have been.

Your site His site .... no choice us there ... just take an hour out and read your site .... enough said

Well at least here you can post what you want and even have a go at abusing the owner.  Try that on the Comic Dogs site and see where it gets you.

BTW be careful what you say over there in private messages because the aren't private from Snoopy aka Scooby.

[nomates]

17 minutes ago, Turny said:

Agree Part 1, Worksafe and Coroner can address many other Statutes

On Part 2, can't comment ... don't know don't care .... I prefer a more deeper meaningful site with significant contribution from 100s of active participants ... if you get my drift

I get your drift , you don't like this site but you keep coming back , your now bagging the site because some on here disagree with you .

As for the other site having deep and meaningful contribution from 100's of active participants , i don't think so , many post rarely and not often meaningfully . the most posts are when the picking comps are on , fair weather contributors i would suggest . 

The little fella doesn't like anybody who doesn't follow the party line . I got moderated because i wouldn't let him have the last word on some inane topic , if that's how you like your debate , fill your boots . 

[Turny]

4 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Well at least here you can post what you want and even have a go at abusing the owner.  Try that on the Comic Dogs site and see where it gets you.

BTW be careful what you say over there in private messages because the aren't private from Snoopy aka Scooby.

Really Doug .... same old same old as thin as it now is.

Try and move on Doug and create a good site with robust discussion with many active posts.... appreciate His site annoys the hell out of you but I suggest you strife for the success he has.

Enjoy

[Turny]

3 minutes ago, nomates said:

I get your drift , you don't like this site but you keep coming back , your now bagging the site because some on here disagree with you .

As for the other site having deep and meaningful contribution from 100's of active participants , i don't think so , many post rarely and not often meaningfully . the most posts are when the picking comps are on , fair weather contributors i would suggest . 

The little fella doesn't like anybody who doesn't follow the party line . I got moderated because i wouldn't let him have the last word on some inane topic , if that's how you like your debate , fill your boots . 

I very clearly stated in my first post on this subject that I rarely visit or post on this site .... the reasons are obvious given responses to the posting, but the sad matter is far from over .... time will tell.

Not about being right by the way, about meaningful debate and that ingredient very much missing on this site, hence my non involvement 

Sure you understand