NEWS
Fallon looks for spot to begin comeback
Posted: Monday, August 24, 2009 5:08 PM
Six-time champion jockey Kieren Fallon is close to making his return from an 18-month suspension for failing a random drug test in France in August 2007.
Fallon tested positive for a banned substance after he guided Myboycharlie to a victory in the Darley Prix Morny (Fr-G1) at Deauville. He received an 18-month ban in January 2008, and as the suspension nears its end, the winner of 15 British classics is looking for a spot to make his return.
Fallon, who also served a six-month ban for testing positive for a metabolite of cocaine in June 2006, is considering Catterick racecourse, Chepstow Racecourse, Lingfield Racecourse, and Kempton Park for his early September return as a springboard to bigger meetings later in the month.
Lingfield and Kempton both race on synthetic surfaces.
“Unfortunately, the meetings that we have are not the ones I would have chosen myself, we might have to go to Wales [Chepstow], and I haven't ridden on the all-weather at Kempton yet, so that will be an unknown,” Fallon told England’s Press Association. “Catterick would really sharpen you up. I actually love riding around Catterick, it sharpens you up. You have to be on the ball.”
Representatives from Catterick, Chepstow, and Kempton said they would be pleased to have Fallon at their track to begin his comeback.
“We'd be overjoyed if Chepstow was where he was being routed to, as any sport needs that sort of talent and it only enriches the sport,” Chepstow Clerk of the Course Tim Long told England’s Press Association. “There is nothing we can do really and it's all down to where his agent gets him on. I've always found him to be a very professional jockey when you have any dealings with him and personally, I welcome his return.”
Fallon was cleared in December 2007 of charges of conspiracy to defraud in the much-publicized race-fixing scandal that centered around an irregular betting pattern on the Internet betting exchange Betfair. He missed 17 months of riding in England when his license was revoked in July 2007 pending the trial. He had been riding in France and Ireland before his drug suspension.
