On 7 December 2007, after an eleven-week trial, Kieren Fallon was cleared of all charges of racefixing. The judge heavily criticised those who had brought the case forward. A day later cam the news that the six-time champion jockey had failed a drugs test while riding in France in August earlier that year. Triumph and disaster have been inseparable companions throughout Fallon’s controversial career.
Widely regarded as the greatest Flat jockey of his generation, Kieren Fallon has won fifteen domestic Classics, including the Derby three times, and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe twice, the second time on the eve of his 2007 trial. He has an equal genius for getting the best out of his horses and for courting trouble.
In 1994, he pulled a jockey off his horse and was banned for six months. In 2004, he was treated at a rehab clinic in Ireland for alcoholism. The following year he was charged with conspiracy to defraud, but the case collapsed and a not guilty verdict was given. In 2006, he was banned from racing for six months after testing positive for cocaine.
Now, in the first full biography of the man, Andrew Longmore assesses Fallon’s career and complex personality, revealing how he drove himself from humble beginnings to become the best jockey of his time. Talking to many who have known Fallon since he arrived at the gate of Kevin Prendergast’s yard with give shillings in his pocket more than 20 years ago, Longmore provides a full and frank portrait of one of sport’s most intriguing and charismatic figures.
Hardback.