All horses ridden by Wiremu Pinns disqualified!

[Chief Stipe]

Stewards finish Pinn inquiry | RACING.COM

www.racing.com

Horses ridden by talented apprentice Wiremu Pinn have been disqualified, but connections will be able to keep their prizemoney following a Racing Victoria stewards inquiry.

The inquiry was opened following a miscommunication between RV and New Zealand authorities which saw the apprentice allocated an incorrect claim.

Pinn had been incorrectly claiming 3kg, but that was reduced to 2kg following an audit of the young rider’s New Zealand wins.

The audit came off the back of stewards receiving contrasting information over the calculation of his claim.

Connections of the 29 starters ridden by Pinn were issued with a show-cause notice last Tuesday as RV ramped up its inquiry.

Of those 29 starters, Pinn rode five winners with 25 of the 29 securing prizemoney for connections.

“The Stewards, having considered all the facts and the submissions received from connections, have determined to disqualify the 29 horses ridden by Pinn in Victorian races between 27 May 2023 and 12 June 2023,” an RV statement read.

“In reaching their decision, the Stewards considered that those horses who competed against the Pinn-ridden horse in each of the 29 races were at a disadvantage as a result of the incorrect claim.

“Pursuant to AR 274, where a starter is disqualified from a particular race, the placings will be amended, and prizes or money are to be awarded as though the disqualified horse had not started in the race. 

“As a result, the owners, trainers and jockeys of horses who finished behind the disqualified starter, will be paid by RV the balance of any prizemoney owing based on the amended placings in the next prizemoney payment cycle.

“Having considered the findings of the Stewards’ inquiry and the basis on which their position was reached, the RV Board determined it will not demand the repayment of any prizemoney from the owner(s), trainer, or jockey Pinn from the 29 horses disqualified by the Stewards.

“The RV Board reached this position in consideration of all the circumstances, including that the error in miscalculating Pinn’s claim was not attributable to him, nor the owners and trainers of the 29 horses who all acted in good faith in booking Pinn in the races in question.

“The RV Board notes that the error was made without ill intent and apologises, on behalf of RV, to all affected parties for any distress that this unique situation has occurred.”

In its statement, Racing Victoria revealed how the error regarding Pinn’s claim came about.

“Following receipt of a request by Pinn to transfer his services on loan from NZ to Victoria, RV licensing officials requested a list of eligible wins from their New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) counterparts for the purposes of calculating his Australian claim,” the statement read.

“The RV request to NZTR was imprecise in its wording which led to it being misunderstood by NZTR officials who furnished, in good faith, what they believed was the requested list of wins. RV licensing officials accepted the list as a complete representation of the desired results and proceeded to allocate Pinn a 3kg claim based on that information.”

RV added that a eview of the relevant systems and processes to ensure this error is avoided in the future’.