A decision on whether jockey Danny Nikolic has the right to withhold his mobile phone from stewards has been reserved.Nikolic appeared before the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RAD) on Friday to fight his case after being charged with failure to comply with a directive by stewards to produce his mobile phone for inspection of his contacts list.Richard Smith SC, appearing for Nikolic, said Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) stewards were on "a huge fishing exercise" in requesting Nikolic hand
A decision on whether jockey Danny Nikolic has the right to withhold his mobile phone from stewards has been reserved.
Nikolic appeared before the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RAD) on Friday to fight his case after being charged with failure to comply with a directive by stewards to produce his mobile phone for inspection of his contacts list.
Richard Smith SC, appearing for Nikolic, said Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) stewards were on "a huge fishing exercise" in requesting Nikolic hand over his mobile phone.
"We say it was not reasonable or proper for stewards to ask for his entire list of contacts," Smith told the Board.
Smith said the rules related to such a charge were "serious breaches of privacy".
He said stewards had to articulate relevancy to obtain a phone.
"It's not good enough to say there is a relevance," he said.
"What if Mr Nikolic has numbers in his phone of an embarrassing or a confidential nature?" Smith said.
"What if some of the people in his phone don't want stewards to have their phone numbers?
"What if Mr Nikolic had (chief steward) Terry Bailey's wife's number in his phone. It would cause great embarrassment."
Smith said Nikolic was acting on legal advice and it was a test case of some importance surrounding the powers of stewards to demand production of equipment from any licensed person.
Paul Holdenson, represented the stewards and said they wished to see Nikolic's contacts after the following facts were established:
* there was a personal relationship between Nikolic and (professional punter/commission agent) Neville Clements.
* they had engaged in frequent telephone contact.
* Clements had laid between, at least November 2009 and January 2010 on Betfair for substantial amounts which exceeded his usual historic betting patterns, at this stage eight horses which were ridden by Mr Nikolic.
* telephone contact is proximate to, indeed precedes, the timing of the races in which Mr Clements has laid those, at this stage eight racehorses, which were ridden by Mr Nikolic.
* each and all of which have been beaten, all bar one of those horses which was laid for the place and ran a place."
The charge heard on Friday was one of two that Nikolic faces, emanating from the investigation into eight of his rides between September 1 and January 31.
Stewards have been investigating all betting activities on those particular events.
Nikolic has also been charged with using his mobile phone at Flemington races on January 1 without stewards' permission to contact Clements.
Stewards will hear that inquiry.
The Board found on Friday that Clements, an unlicensed person, was subject to the Rules of Racing.
A charge against Clements, for failing to produce his mobile phone contacts was adjourned for seven days to give him time to reconsider his position.
The Nikolic investigation has escalated from stewards originally looking at his ride on Finishing Card which finished second as an odds-on favourite at Mornington on January 8 and all betting activities on that race.
Smith said Nikolic denied any wrongdoing in relation to any of the rides in question.
Nikolic had viewed the patrol film with the trainers of the horses and stewards had not charged him in relation to those rides and there was not the slightest suggestion that they intend to do so.