Suss race

[broncobrad]

In regard to the stewards reaching their findings, they would be derelict in their duty if they did not look at previous driving patterns of the horses concerned. But they should still remain open minded and COMPLETELY objective whilst inquiring into the original race that raised all the questions. Trent in my opinion was entitled to do as much as he did to repulse O'Sheas unacceptable challenge. O'Shea was the major contributor into the downfall of both horses that night and should have had much of the blame apportioned and penaltys directed at him. IMO stronger charges should have been laid but were not. ERGO the lack of faith the average punter has in the sport. ERGO the lack of credibility and integrity the sport has in the average punters mind. We are all waiting patiently for integrity to be applied in disqualifications/suspensions that are handed down, not raps over knuckles or inconsistent rulings or incorrect rulings full stop. In a couple of weeks time Lukes boldenone case comes up. It will be interesting to see how that pans out in light of the recent disqualification of Barry Lew...but I digress.

Formie says Trent has no case to answer, I too think he is blameless in this case and should have his appeal upheld. I originally did not think Rue should have been charged and was suprised he was. When I first saw it, all I could see was a short priced fav being murdered and its not a good look.

On the upside have to thank Steve for pointing out they were racing last night, would have missed it otherwise. Thought the Camper was nearly a moral because surely they were not going to take him on again. He got a comfy lead and had a nice kick left in him on the corner. Took $7.50 fixed odds (even tho' he finished up about $9 fixed odds but only paid about $5 on the tote). On the downside, Kenmore Stars got too many tricks in his locker to a be horse you could ever back with confidence again...I am sure his foodbill is paid for by the bookies, they must love him.

[Thevoiceofreason]

I have just made a call to the Bankstown Bunker to get the results of the Trent Rue and John O'Shea drives we have been debating.

The Appeals were set down for yesterday.

The detailed findings are not yet available however so i will not speculate on the Judges actual reasons behind his decisions but here goes

Trent Rue appeal dismissed and penalty varied from 6 weeks back to 28 days, his appeal fee was forfeited.

John O'Shea appeal dismissed and penalty increased from 28 days to 6 weeks, his appeal fee was forfeited and he was ordered to pay additional costs of $250.

So it does not look like any apologies will be required by the stewards who made the original decisions, I always said the appeal results would be interesting.

[broncobrad]

Have just had a read through the John O'Shea appeal findings recently posted. http://www.hrnsw.com.au/assets/files...n%20170412.pdf Even though the case has now well and truly been finalised, a few interesting points come to light. As TVOR states the penalty was varied from four to six weeks. In pages 6 and 7 the tribunal outlines how it disagrees with the stewards view of O'Shea having a good driving history. He has held a driving licence since 2004, had over 3,000 drives, but has been suspended on 19 PREVIOUS OCCASSIONS, including two findings of misconduct...my point here is how often do we see penaltys reduced by stewards because of good driving historys that are littered by driving offences. Just what does define a good driving history and the jurisdiction an appellant is being tried under is a bit blurry.

In relation to the submission of costs, it is quite clear that if an appeal is frivolous/vexatious you can expect to have costs awarded against you. Apart from the fact Mr O'Shea considers it ridiculous and did not know about it, despite all documents explaining the same having been forwarded to him outlining what would be expected of him if his appeal failed, the Tribunal have accepted ignorance and self representation as mitigating circumstances in not awarding the full costs of proceedings which may have been up to approx $2,400, instead fining him only $500 less his appeal of $250 being forfeited. What a joke. John has not brought one bit of new evidence to the hearing, calls the whole thing ridiculous, represents himself and pleads ignorance to the finer points of the implications a failed appeal means to him. How does that not make it a frivolous appeal? I'm not having a shot at John, he did cop an extra two weeks. There were calls on this forum only a few months ago to free up the appeals process and this is the sort of defence (no defence) that is chewing up valuable harness racing finances. Hope Mr Nati has got some plans to knock this crap on the head. How about if a driver is racing on a stay of proceedings and loses their appeal and the appeal is proven to be frivolous, why not extend their vacation by the length of their stay of proceedings. That is only a suggestion, but something needs to be done if the stewards are going to be able to make decisions without fear of watching them crumble at a Tribunal hearing.

[Thevoiceofreason]

There are some interesting points you raise Brad.

Whilst John O'Shea was deemed by the judge to not have a good record I feel the stewards would not have considered interference charges and conduct charges when dealing with a breach under rule 149, whilst the judge is able to consider what he wishes these are not matters that stewards of any code would have normally considered.

I think every racing jurisdiction would love to implement your suggestion to stop people rorting the appeals and stay of proceedings system but it is not that easy The gallops in Victoria and NSW have it under control by having their appeals within days of the offence being proven, given the appeals system in NSW harness this is simply not achievable.

HRNSW are however leading the way with many drivers and trainers now not being granted a stay simply because they apply.

This is away from the norm and HRNSW need to be congratulated for taking the ball up hard on this issue. It would I am sure require a lot of work to convince the judge that a stay should not be granted so clearly they HRNSW are working hard to get confidence back into the integrity side of the industry.

[The Form Student]

I hope you all saw Kenmore Star gallop again tonight at Dubbo and cause a fall! As for the appeals decisions, yes, J O'shea obviously did not know how to present himself for an appeal, and lost out. T Rue, must be the unluckiest driver out there to be stood down over this matter.........all the tribunal judges said was that unless you can prove the steward in charge made an error the case is proven.............when evidence is submitted, they dismiss it without comment!.........However, in the J O'Shea case the judging panel said the stewards were in error saying that J O'Shea had a good driving record........on what basis do they come up with that?.......they did not qualify this remark.......the judging panel contradicts itself........why wouldn't someone appeal when the whole lot of them are incompetent!...........To crap on about what would Joe Blow in the public think about what happened in the race is a concern........if they could not understand what happened, then there needs to be an inquiry held, is just plain rubbish.........I suggest we then have a member of the public on every stewards panel to make sure everytime a favourite gets beat there needs to be an enquiry!......to be honest, the knowledge they all have could be written down on the "knuckle of a canary"! If I was T Rue or any other driver, I would not compete in a race that Kenmore Star was in...........and I would not be getting behind it until it learns to pace!......the stewards have done nothing to solve the Kenmore Star breaking problem..........it should be stood down for 5 trials minimum..........???
To be honest there was an opportunity to rectify the initial wrong decision, but they blew it! For the record, I would not know T Rue if he was sitting opposite me right now!

[broncobrad]

Wondered what happened to him tonight, thanks for posting that Steve. I saw a couple of them milling around and a bit later noticed the race was abandoned and then thought, did he cause a problem from the one. Like I said before, this horse has got too many tricks up his sleeve. His owners must be pulling their hair out.

Glad you read the appeal findings. It struck me as it did you, that they look at the race with "what would a reasonable minded spectator with some racing knowledge think or expect" (or words to that effect). These guys are supposed to be operating on the assumption that the stewards impressions are from an expert point of view and any decisions that the Tribunal makes should be based SOLELY on what the expert opinion is that is before them. That to me would be the professional position that any ruling body should be making any rulings or decisions on. Not what Joe Blow thinks. We are not the judge or jury, nor do we have any input that should influence what the Tribunal thinks. Deadset bloody well bewildering I reckon. Have not got a bone in my body that will ever understand how the law works, but I know the diff between right and wrong and what is passed off as justice, and the decisions in this case just don't make sense.

And I still don't think Trent had much of a case to answer.

[The Form Student]

You said it better than I did, because I was angry about the decision in the first instance and then when I watched the race and saw Kenmore Star begin fairly from the 1 and was crossed by the 2, and landed 1-1, then Amanda Turnbull decided to go and sit outside the lead, the horse appeared to be travelling well and then broke for no apparent reason....causing a chain reaction and one of the horses following hit the deck........KS recovered and then was sent 3 wide before the race was called off!
Re, Trent, the stewards and any one else had their chance to see Happy Camper come out and lead and beat KS (with it galloping again) after this, they had a 2nd chance and did not believe their eyes.........the only case against Trent was that the lead time was too fast at 37.5 secs in the eyes of the steward.......not that it only got beaten 13 metres after overdoing it so much early? As I said initially, every leader that get's beaten by more than 13 metres, from now on, the driver should be given 6 weeks! That is the stupidity of this situation.
Let's move onto something else.......what about the last race at Maryborough last friday......can someone watch this race and tell me what they think??

http://www.harness.org.au/video/vic/MHC27041204.mp4

[The Form Student]

Looks like I need to give you a hint..........I think the driver on the leader fell asleep!!!!!

[Greg Hando]

I hope you all saw Kenmore Star gallop again tonight at Dubbo and cause a fall! As for the appeals decisions, yes, J O'shea obviously did not know how to present himself for an appeal, and lost out. T Rue, must be the unluckiest driver out there to be stood down over this matter.........all the tribunal judges said was that unless you can prove the steward in charge made an error the case is proven.............when evidence is submitted, they dismiss it without comment!.........However, in the J O'Shea case the judging panel said the stewards were in error saying that J O'Shea had a good driving record........on what basis do they come up with that?.......they did not qualify this remark.......the judging panel contradicts itself........why wouldn't someone appeal when the whole lot of them are incompetent!...........To crap on about what would Joe Blow in the public think about what happened in the race is a concern........if they could not understand what happened, then there needs to be an inquiry held, is just plain rubbish.........I suggest we then have a member of the public on every stewards panel to make sure everytime a favourite gets beat there needs to be an enquiry!......to be honest, the knowledge they all have could be written down on the "knuckle of a canary"! If I was T Rue or any other driver, I would not compete in a race that Kenmore Star was in...........and I would not be getting behind it until it learns to pace!......the stewards have done nothing to solve the Kenmore Star breaking problem..........it should be stood down for 5 trials minimum..........???
To be honest there was an opportunity to rectify the initial wrong decision, but they blew it! For the record, I would not know T Rue if he was sitting opposite me right now!

Yes and the excuse was he hung in and hit a wheel. Brett Hutchings one of the driver's dislodged look's like being out for a long time suspected broken shoulder from it, scans will reveal all on Tuesday.

[broncobrad]

Looks like I need to give you a hint..........I think the driver on the leader fell asleep!!!!!

It looked like Greg was thinking about the taste of his first beer after the race, about the same time as his horse started to daydream and drift off the track. Sugars then fully focussed on getting his horses mind back on the job and straighten him up, totally unaware Madam Pom Pom was making her move. Just proves it can happen to the best of them. Judgement...asleep at the wheel.