DeFilippi gutted over losing appeal to drive his own horse

Barry Lichter writes for Lincoln Farms that Colin DeFilippi was a crushed man when he left Riccarton racecourse today after losing an 11th hour bid to drive his own horse Heza Sport in Tuesday’s $600,000 IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup.

But he honourably urged his fellow horsemen not to mobilise any form of protest or boycott at Tuesday’s big meeting at Addington, which many have been threatening.

“They musn’t do that,” DeFilippi said. “I don’t want to hurt the club or the owners on such a big day, that’s not what it’s all about.

“But we the horsemen need to get together afterwards. We need to be stronger and have more of a say in the rules as we’re getting shat on at the moment.”

DeFilippi was appealing his three-day suspension for a whip rule breach at Kaikoura last Monday which meant he couldn’t drive on Tuesday because it is one day outside the allowable seven day window for fulfilling engagements.

“I didn’t really expect to win,” DeFilippi said. “I know what they’re like. They’re on a different wavelength.

“The hearing was a joke. They wanted to adjourn to make their decision without letting me speak – you could see they had their minds made up.”

DeFilippi said he took no consolation from the stewards, including chief Nigel McIntyre, who offered their sympathies after the result was declared.

“The stewards said they’re sorry but they were just doing their jobs. I replied: ‘You’re not sorry and you’re not doing a very good job’.”

DeFilippi said his wife Julie was actually more upset than he was over losing out on a 50-year dream to breed, own, train and drive a horse in the cup.

“I just lost my brother so I said you have to put it into perspective – it’s just a race.”

DeFilippi said he was really happy with Heza Sport and confident in the ability of Bob Butt to get the best out of him on Tuesday. The horse would go a lot better than his form suggested after he was treated for a recent infection.

King’s counsel Paul Dale … “The way the RIB is structured it wears too many hats.” King’s Counsel Paul Dale, who argued the case for DeFilippi remotely from Auckland, said it was a very disappointing decision.

DeFilippi had no other right of appeal and time and money ruled out further action in the High Court where he would have to show some administrative error was made.

“We were hoping for a good hearing from an independent appeal panel and the Racing Integrity Board needs to take a good look at itself. The way it is structured it wears too many hats.”

Dale submitted at the hearing that said there was clear precedent for a tribunal to modify a penalty to take into account special circumstances.

He pointed to a decision of November 2, 2018 where Natalie Rasmussen was up on charges 11 days before the New Zealand Trotting Cup for excessive use of the whip after she struck Sires’ Stakes heat winner A Bettor Act 11 times in the run home.

Ironically, Rasmussen was fined four days earlier on a similar charge at Kaikoura when fined $300 for 13 strikes of the whip.

While stipendiary steward Nick Ydgren said the breach warranted a suspension of three to five days, he supported an alternative sanction because Rasmussen would miss a full day of cup day drives, she was on the likely cup favourite (Thefixer, who won) and some betting markets were already open.

The tribunal chairman agreed and instead fined Rasmussen $1000 stating “committees may depart from the guidelines provided there is good reason to believe that the case has some special characteristics.”

Natalie Rasmussen … clear precedent of being allowed to drive on Cup day despite “poor” record with whip breaches.Dale said the case was a good example of tailoring the penalty to meet the interests of justice and DeFilippi should be given similar concession.

“The committee’s findings in the Rasmussen case of a disproportionate sanction for a breach of this nature is an apt description of the outcome in Mr DeFilippi’s case if the appeal is not allowed.”

Tribunal chairman Allan Harper and member Garry Thompson did not agree with the submission, saying that case was heard under a different rule and penalty structure and Rasmussen had hit her horse only once over the then permittable 10 strikes.

Harper said since 2018 attitudes towards use of the whip and matters of animal welfare had stiffened considerably.

“The only way this industry is going to retain its social licence is if there are strict animal welfare rules in place, which are rigidly enforced and appropriate penalties applied. So the way Rasmussen was treated in 2018 really doesn’t have too much of a bearing to matters in 2022.”

Dale acknowledged the committee at Kaikoura took the cup issue into account in imposing a three day suspension on DeFilippi, instead of five days, but there was a huge difference between missing out on a potential winning cup drive and driving at two more minor meetings.

Dale pointed to another case where the judicial committee had also deviated from the normal three-day suspension, one ironically chaired by the same person as ruled on the DeFilippi case at Kaikoura, Russell McKenzie.

It also involved Rasmussen and excessive use of the whip and followed the running of the 2018 cup which Rasmussen won on Thefixer.

Ydgren showed Rasmussen struck the horse 12 times from the 400 but instead of arguing for a longer suspension he submitted she could be dealt a shorter suspension plus a fine.

Despite McKenzie saying Rasmussen had a “poor” record – it was her third whip breach in less than three weeks – he agreed to a three-day suspension plus a $2500 fine.

Dale submitted that case illustrated the need for flexible sentencing.

It also flies in the face of McKenzie’s remarks at Kaikoura when he refused a plea by DeFilippi to have his penalty split between a shorter suspension and a fine to allow him to drive on cup day.

“No special concession can be made despite the respondent’s submissions,” McKenzie said. “Any such concession may create a dangerous precedent.”

Dale submitted it seemed unfair that people guilty of the same kind of offending could have such dramatically different outcomes for the sake of one day.

Under the rules, offenders can fulfil engagements only if they lie within the next seven days – DeFilippi’s breach was eight days out from the cup.

To read the full story, click here.

by Barry Lichter, reprinted with permission from Lincoln Farms