Fallon back on Thursday!

[NoChanceToDance]

I just didn't want anyone to be getting too confident about him coming back, because even if he is allowed to ride from Thursday it will only be in Ireland, and even then, if the Court case goes against him in the summer he will never be abale to ride or work in racing anywhere in the world.

He is a fantastic jock, but he should have known better for getting involved in all of this in the first place.

[brockguy]

yeah the 3rd page of the Irish Field today has it. This is what it says
"
Kieran Fallon is expected to return to race riding at Tipperary next week. The former champion is serving a six-month suspension for failing a drugs test but the ban ends on Wednesday. It is understood that Fallon has already been booked to ride at Tipperary.
It could be a very important week for Fallon as he is expected to appear in the Old Bailey on Tuesday at the start of a hearing in which his legal team attempts to strike out the case against him in the City of London Police race-fixing investigation. If successful, Fallon could be back riding in Britain in time for Royal Ascot. If not, he will remain prohibited from riding in the Uk until the case against him is heard, probably in the autumn. The Australian and American racing authorities have reciprocated the British ban, though Fallon is believed to have been riding trackwork recently in the US in preperation for his comeback"

[NoChanceToDance]

He was silly to get involved in drugs, especially with all the other problems he is facing, it hardly helps him look like a 'straight' individual in court.

He will struggle to explain what he was doing on Ballinger Ridge all those years ago at Lingfield (sorry, i must have had Hexham on the brain.lol)

He is a brilliant jockey, the best i have witnessed but he has acted stupidly.

[brockguy]

yeah, I remember saying that he is one of the unluckiest men ever to be caught up in all the scandals he's had or they are more than just rumours.., The Ballinger Ridge affair looked awful to the casual viewer, but in fairness to him, he lost on a bobbing finish, yeah he should have won 10+lengths but with those low grade horses, trainers seem to hate when you win by large margins. The horse didnt want to quicken again..

And yeah, I fully agree re: drugs.. Its harder to sympathise with him when dabbling in that sort of stuff, no excuse for it whatsoever..

[NoChanceToDance]

Originally Posted by brockguy

yeah, I remember saying that he is one of the unluckiest men ever to be caught up in all the scandals he's had or they are more than just rumours.., The Ballinger Ridge affair looked awful to the casual viewer, but in fairness to him, he lost on a bobbing finish, yeah he should have won 10+lengths but with those low grade horses, trainers seem to hate when you win by large margins. The horse didnt want to quicken again..

And yeah, I fully agree re: drugs.. Its harder to sympathise with him when dabbling in that sort of stuff, no excuse for it whatsoever..

It was the big market drift in the morning on Ballinger Ridge, which is the worst part of it, giving the ride.

I couldn't think he would ever be involved in such antics, but...... the HRA would have to have solid evidence for them to go this far with it. Can you imagine how stupid they will look if Fallon wins? They won't want that.

As much as i'd love to see him win the trial, i just can't see it

[brockguy]

the way I see it, it'll be difficult to prosecute him. they are very specific charges of attempting to defraud betfair customers I think. I can see Fallon with all of Coolmore's legal support getting the case thrown out at some stage. I cant see how the evidence can be so watertight that they are confident of a prosecution.

[NoChanceToDance]

Originally Posted by brockguy

the way I see it, it'll be difficult to prosecute him. they are very specific charges of attempting to defraud betfair customers I think. I can see Fallon with all of Coolmore's legal support getting the case thrown out at some stage. I cant see how the evidence can be so watertight that they are confident of a prosecution.

If any of the accounts they have that have made money by laying Fallon's mounts have ANY link whatsoever to him, that will be it.

Agreed, the coolmore legal team will make it difficult but i doubt the HRA would have gone this far without having significant evidence. You know how tight the BHB are

I have my fingers crossed that he is innocent, because not only will we have lost a great jockey, but also i will feel very annoyed because i really liked the guy. He rode a horse of my dad's first time out as a 2yo at Newmarket, he was a flying machine. Fallon said when he got on him "i doubt he will win today" which was very strange. He was beaten a short head when he had the race in the bag. I hope it wasn't a case of race fixing, but that will always be in the back of my mind.