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| Ron Cox Friday
December 1, 2006 Kieren Fallon will be back. That was the message yesterday from the legal team representing the six-times champion jockey, who in some quarters was said to be ready to quit the saddle after being hit with a six-month ban for testing positive for a prohibited substance in France. The substance, confirmed in a B sample tested in a Geneva laboratoty, is understood to be Benzoylecgonine, the principal metabolite of cocaine. An independent analysis, undertaken by an expert witness, Dr Michael Lewis, on Fallon's behalf, found the reading to be exceedingly low.
But under the rules of France-Galop, who view a positive test as a strict liability offence, Fallon's six-month ban, which begins on December 7, was automatic. "Kieren fully intends to be back. He certainly doesn't regard this as the end of his career," said the jockey's solicitor, Christopher Stewart-Moore, last night. "France-Galop adopt a no threshold policy on this matter, so the rule is clear. But it seems to be a flawed law," he added. Stewart-Moore explained that Fallon was informed in mid-August about the positive test, which stemmed from a sample the jockey gave at Chantilly on July 9. "There was a delay with the results of the B sample, then the medical commission told us October 13 was the first date they could do," says Stewart-Moore. "Another three weeks passed before their findings were given to France-Galop. And we had several meetings with the medical commission, among whom there was some disagreement. But it is nonsense to suggest, as some have, that Kieren wanted the announcement delayed until he came out with a statement of his own." Coolmore, Fallon's high-profile employers, have stated they will continue to use the best jockey available throughout the latest ban which means Fallon will miss key races in Ireland during May - Fallon is currently banned from riding in Britain by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority pending his possible trial on criminal charges of conspiracy to defraud in a City of London police investigation. That has not stopped speculation that Ballydoyle will appoint a new stable jockey, sooner rather than later, and yesterday Seamus Heffernan, who has had some big-race success for Aidan O'Brien, was a popular choice with bookmakers William Hill in their betting on a possible successor to Fallon. Put in at 3-1, Heffernan was cut to 2-1 favourite. Last night the jockey said: "I ride out here at Ballydoyle every day and I'm available whenever they want me. But I haven't heard anything about what will happen next year. I would hope to get good rides, though." Heffernan, 34, signed off last season with a timely Group One victory for Ballydoyle on Mount Nelson in the Criterium International at Saint-Cloud. "It was a great spare ride," said Heffernan, who also won the Derby Trial at Leopardstown on Dylan Thomas. "I've ridden most of the top ones here in recent years, like Galileo and High Chaparral," said Heffernan, "and I won the Irish 1,000 Guineas on Imagine in 2001." The jockey was taken aback by the latest downturn in Fallon's fortunes. "It was a big shock to all of us in the yard," he says. Yesterday Denis Egan, chief executive of the Irish Turf Club, which is expected to uphold Fallon's French ban, questioned whether the jockey has the "mental strength" to make a comeback next year. "He's having a really bad time at the moment what with the investigation in the UK and being tested for a prohibited substance," said Egan. "Whether he has the mental strength to remain out of the game for six months and bounce back with all that's going on around him is going to take a huge effort." |
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