RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
JJ Flash

Time Out for Olivia

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RIVEERED - out of position at the start despite the efforts of driver O Thornley. A warning was placed on the barrier record of the gelding. Shifted inwards near the 900 metres making contact with the legs of AMERICAN OUTLAW which broke checking trailing runners. Junior driver O Thornley (assisted by J Cox) admitted driving carelessly in this incident and after viewing the films and hearing submissions on penalty the Adjudicative Committee suspended her licence from the conclusion of racing tonight up to and including 15 September 2021 (2 months).

They certainly didn't miss her.2 months even though she pleaded guilty.

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2 hours ago, Blue said:

Would be mildly surprised if the horse didn't have a new home before long.

I thought the same- must be on borrowed time

Certainly wont be replace by Chase Auckland- officially retired after 14 wins

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5 minutes ago, Lee270744 said:

Harsh is right, there are 40 senior drivers who have driven more horses this season than Olivia has driven in her career I wonder if they would be treated the same also i think the leader should have said the front is not there.

Any thoughts on an  appeal on grounds of severity.?

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1 hour ago, JJ Flash said:

Any thoughts on an  appeal on grounds of severity.?

Hardly severe considering how many drives she gets or would get after that performance.

Mind you I also feel that Ben Hopes was just as much at fault - either control the horse or give it it's head before it chokes down.

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On 7/16/2021 at 9:20 AM, JJ Flash said:

Any thoughts on an  appeal on grounds of severity.?

My goodness! that is severe and not sure how that will help anything . How are they supposed to improve without any experience?.

Won't get any better just sitting on the sidelines. The young drivers need as many drives as possible , as each race they get just adds to improvement.

Jim O'Sullivan's young son Sean, in Victoria , drove an incompetent race early in year when he first gained licence,  so the stewards instead of banning/suspending him, sentenced him to 10 official trials , that he had to check off before resuming race driving. So there was no defined time limit on that.

Not only did he gain race-track experience from this (even though not a tote race intensity, BUT Every bit helps) people at the trials gave him drives to help tick it off , so was meeting trainers and getting new horses to trial, and some invaluable experience. Then came back to raceday driving and drove his first winner recently ! excellent. 

Now that was a much better 'punishment ' for youngsters !!.. stewards were honest with the poor race drive initially , so banned from races, but sent him round more (at trials ) to improve.

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18 hours ago, Pure Steel said:

My goodness! that is severe and not sure how that will help anything . How are they supposed to improve without any experience?.

Won't get any better just sitting on the sidelines. The young drivers need as many drives as possible , as each race they get just adds to improvement.

Jim O'Sullivan's young son Sean, in Victoria , drove an incompetent race early in year when he first gained licence,  so the stewards instead of banning/suspending him, sentenced him to 10 official trials , that he had to check off before resuming race driving. So there was no defined time limit on that.

Not only did he gain race-track experience from this (even though not a tote race intensity, BUT Every bit helps) people at the trials gave him drives to help tick it off , so was meeting trainers and getting new horses to trial, and some invaluable experience. Then came back to raceday driving and drove his first winner recently ! excellent. 

Now that was a much better 'punishment ' for youngsters !!.. stewards were honest with the poor race drive initially , so banned from races, but sent him round more (at trials ) to improve.

Great suggestion.....sadly those who control and regulate NZ Harness prefer the 'punitive' approach.

This seems counter-productive and the way of a past era !

Maybe the group of Industry participants currently in 'talks' with Industry heads should use this case to force change !

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