Fallon update.....

[NoChanceToDance]

Originally Posted by brockguy

this may seem very basic, but it seems to me that Fallon was just a nuisance to these guys.. yeah, he might have said things to people etc etc, but all he did was give these guys the run around and lose them money..

nochance, i suppose the defence has to say those things re: champion jockey etc.. for the jury to show just how high up he was in horse racing.. But yeah, its defo not the best pillar to rest a case upon..

There is every chance that could be true, but even so, you'd think he was intellgient enough not to get involved at all. Whether he was giving them the run-around or not.

People don't seem to understand what this case means to racing. Regardless of Fallon. If the BHA/Jockey Club lose this case they will be a laughing stock, jockeys will not be able to be charged with race fixing ever again. The fans will think they are a weak organisation and people will start to wonder whether the sport is safe within their hands.

They have put to much money into this.

I know the Fallon fans will probably be blind to this, but if he wins this case, British racings integrity is down the pan. People are already losing faith with the BHA and this will be the final straw.

I've said it once before and i will say it again. Racing cannot possibly win whatever the outcome. If Fallon is found guilty, we have lost a fantastic jockey (even though a cheat). If Fallon wins the trial, we will have lost faith in our governing body, racing fans will be asking themselves if they can trust them, they will wonder if they can bet without thinking of let off cheaters pulling the same stunts.

I'm being serious when i say this case could break the bone of British racing.

[brockguy]

the Ballinger Ridge race was on the news tonight.. Fallon only looks around twice. once at the furlong marker where he looks behind and starts to ease. the problem with this was that Rye was on the rails and it is entirely plausible that Fallon just didnt see Rye. He was still easing down when he looked round again, saw what was happening and started to shake up the horse and lost on the nod.. You dont deliberately lose a race on a headbobber..

regarding a point we discussed earlier about keeping winning distances low to protect their handicap mark. I know that the handicapper nearly always looks beyond the winning distance but jockeys nearly always try to do it and Ive heard plenty of trainer state their unhappiness when a jock wins by too far..

[NoChanceToDance]

Originally Posted by brockguy

the Ballinger Ridge race was on the news tonight.. Fallon only looks around twice. once at the furlong marker where he looks behind and starts to ease. the problem with this was that Rye was on the rails and it is entirely plausible that Fallon just didnt see Rye. He was still easing down when he looked round again, saw what was happening and started to shake up the horse and lost on the nod.. You dont deliberately lose a race on a headbobber..

regarding a point we discussed earlier about keeping winning distances low to protect their handicap mark. I know that the handicapper nearly always looks beyond the winning distance but jockeys nearly always try to do it and Ive heard plenty of trainer state their unhappiness when a jock wins by too far..

The problem is that he did lose though. He did lose a race he should have won with ease. Combine that with the huge amounts that Rodgers placed on the horse to lose and it doesn't take a genius to realise that something was wrong with the ride. It isn't like Fallon to ease up so far from the line. With Fallon there isn't such a thing as horses travelling on the bridle. He is the McCoy if the flat. Yes, to lose by a headbobber is impossible, but if you watch the race closely, it does appear for a couple of strides that Rye will win by much more than a short head.

I do realise that trainers dislike jockeys winning by too far, but as i have heard handicappers on many ocassions it really makes no difference. In fact i've heard handicappers say they will be more harsh on horses who have won when heavily eased because it can sometimes appear that they could have won by much further than they actually could. Easing a horse down to win by a length can (on the majority of occasions) look more impressive than the vicotry of a horse having to be ridden out by four or five. From what i remember willie muir saying after that race, he didn't seem to care, he was just very unhappy with the ride and thought he (ballanger ridge) should have won easily.

[brockguy]

I just hope that Fallon got caught up in an extremely sticky situation re: ballinger ridge. He thought rye would win and told people, the race itself was basically a 2 horse race, so you can why the gang laid him heavily to lose.. Im just trying to think. He cost them so much money. what would have happened had he won this race.. even more.. it was a massive error of judgement and he deserved the huge amount of criticism, but it may of been Fallon getting caught up big time... this is the only ride out of the 17 or so that fallon rode in that is under suspicion at all. He made a huge error of judgement and quite possibly, this race is the reason he is involved in this situation. hence me believing that he is either the stupidest person in the world or the unluckiest..

[NoChanceToDance]

Originally Posted by brockguy

I just hope that Fallon got caught up in an extremely sticky situation re: ballinger ridge. He thought rye would win and told people, the race itself was basically a 2 horse race, so you can why the gang laid him heavily to lose.. Im just trying to think. He cost them so much money. what would have happened had he won this race.. even more.. it was a massive error of judgement and he deserved the huge amount of criticism, but it may of been Fallon getting caught up big time... this is the only ride out of the 17 or so that fallon rode in that is under suspicion at all. He made a huge error of judgement and quite possibly, this race is the reason he is involved in this situation. hence me believing that he is either the stupidest person in the world or the unluckiest..

I was under the impression there was about five or six rides of his that are under suspicion. The ride he was talking about in a text at Goodwood for example?

[brockguy]

Originally Posted by NoChanceToDance

I was under the impression there was about five or six rides of his that are under suspicion. The ride he was talking about in a text at Goodwood for example?

sorry what i meant to say what that his actually riding was under suspicion.... this is the only one i believe that one can say he did anything wrong..

[NoChanceToDance]

Originally Posted by brockguy

sorry what i meant to say what that his actually riding was under suspicion.... this is the only one i believe that one can say he did anything wrong..

Getcha.

Off the top of my head, i can't think of anything other than Fallon's ride on a 2yo colt that my father looked after at Newmarket. First time out, a small trainer with Fallon booked. It already looks dodgy and the biggest price you could get was 4/1.

We were all on, we all thought he'd win. He's been working really well with a good horse of Michael Bell's before he made his debut.

He got in front and Fallon seemed to ease down. A filly of Luca Cumani's named Queens Lodge came and nailed him right on the line.

Now, i'm not saying this was on purpose but we were all slightly shocked about the ride he got at the time. A furlong out and there was only one winner from watching the race.... but it wasn't to be.

Fallon was very apologetic to my father when coming back in...... maybe too apologetic for a man who has been known for aggrresive behaviour? a repeated whispered "sorry" followed by a "i'd love to sit on this fella again"

One thing my father didn't tell me until a couple of days after the race was that Kieren said something along the lines of "i don't think this lad will win today" when he first got up on his back. Ofcourse, that could have meant several different things: he didn't think he was fit, he'd been told about another runner etc etc, but it seemed like a very strange thing for a top jock to say to a groom when he first got the leg up on the horse.