Stewards Inquiry

CARBERY CLEARED BY STIPES 

Stipendiary Stewards cleared Pat Carbery of everything but poor judgment when riding Ship Rock at Belmont on June 3, 2015.

The stewards panel, headed by Deputy Chief Steward, Harold Taylor, with Rick Mance and Martin Vickers, announced their decision at Ascot, on July 3, after a series of meetings, investigating the matter.

Carbery was charged under the Australian Rules of Racing 135 (b) which reads:  The rider of every horse shall take all reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race to ensure that his horse is given full opportunity to win or obtain the best possible place in the field.

Stewards alleged that Carbery, aboard Ship Rock, in the third race of the day over 2100m, had failed to meet those provisions between the 400m -300m mark of the race.

Stewards felt Carbery should have directed his horse to the inside rather than the outside when making his run. For most of the race the grey galloper had been in fifth position on the rails.

Stewards felt that with the pacemaker, Bolting, laying outwards there was a corridor of opportunity for Carbery to continue along the rails with an unimpeded run. By continuing to stride forward onto the heels of Bolting this took away this option, resulting in Ship Rock being blocked for a run the entire length of the home straight.

Carbery, in defence, was not convinced that Bolting was laying out, and that there was as much an opportunity on the outside of that horse as on the inside. Carbery further argued he could not be held accountable for Ellie Cockram’s riding (on Our Motown) to shift in and close the run that he anticipated would eventuate.

When that happened it was neither practical, nor safe to attempt to ease across heels to the inside. Carbery said his pre-race riding instructions were to ‘get out and into the clear’ at the stage he in fact implemented those instructions.

Carbery cited Browne’s case comments of Judge Lewis in a Victorian racing appeal case. The judge stated : “The onus is on stewards to prove the appellant has been in breach of the rule’ and that ‘the onus always remains with the stewards.”

Mr Taylor, continuing, acknowledged the jockey’s comments, saying in Briginshaw v Briginshaw, “a mere error is not a sufficient basis for finding a rule has been breached. The rider’s conduct must be culpable, in the sense that, objectively judged, it is found to be blameworthy.”

Summing up, Mr Taylor said it was this that the stewards had to deliberate on.

“ We are unanimous that by all of the evidence given by you (Carbery), at this hearing, that this was an error of judgment and that given all of the circumstances….falls short of you being culpable and therefore we accept your plea of not guilty and find you not guilty of the charge.”