Fallon rides out the storm
On October 8 of this year, Fallon and five co-defendants were brought to trial; yesterday the agony finally ended when the case dramatically collapsed.
Fallon, who began his career in the early 80s apprenticed to Kevin Prendergast at the Curragh, is a man who has courted controversy all his life.
He often lived on the edge and, in January 2003, entered a rehab clinic after admitting drink problems and underwent a 30-day treatment programme.
Despite a chequered career, Fallon was head-hunted by Ballydoyle and Coolmore and, in February of 2005, was installed as Ballydoyle’s number one jockey, when Jamie Spencer departed after just one season.
His last ride for Ballydoyle was on Dylan Thomas, when he cooly produced him with impeccable timing to land the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October.
Fallon quickly decided he would not be seen again until his criminal trial was finished, as he prepared for the greatest battle of his life.
One of the first things to emerge from this trial was the admission by the prosecution that they had no evidence Fallon benefited in any way from the alleged conspiracy to defraud Betfair customers.
Immediately one sensed the prosecution was facing an uphill struggle and, as the weeks rolled by, that became more and more evident. That Fallon was naive and a trifle stupid in his dealings with fellow defendant, Philip Sherkle, is beyond dispute. But since when did naivety and stupidity form the basis for bringing criminal proceedings?
Sherkle was a barman and Fallon told of being introduced to him in a pub. Fallon said he knew Sherkle as “an ordinary racegoer” for whom he occasionally provided race badges.
Fallon informed police he often told Sherkle about horses he fancied or didn’t fancy and that they frequently sent text messages to each other. In many of those messages the letter ‘n’ appeared and the prosecution’s case was that this referred to “non-trier”.
The problem for the prosecution, however, was that the horses referred to often won and the ‘n’ could just as easily have meant not fancied, or at least not overly fancied, or, perhaps, a long way short of being a certainty. Who knows?
Fallon claimed it was “impossible” to fix races and said he had never deliberately lost a race.
When questioned if he knew of the practice of “stopping a horse”, he responded that he had read about it in Dick Francis stories and seen it in Mickey Rooney films.
It was clear the prosecution’s case was holed below the waterline and they had little or no evidence.
They brought Australian steward Ray Murrihy across the world to contribute — a bizarre decision.
Murrihy may well be an expert on Australian racing, but had little understanding of the British game. He didn’t know the horses involved, the trainers, jockeys or the characteristics of particular racecourses.
Then the prosecution wheeled in some top trainers and all were united in their praise of Fallon.
Michael Stoute, for instance, was quizzed about six of his horses, five of them ridden by Fallon. One of them, Daring Aim, scored at Newmarket and was given what Stoute said was a “brilliant” ride. Said Stoute: “She was not helping him. He gave her one smack and, as she really resented that, he put the whip down quickly. That has won him the race.”
Other trainers very much on Fallon’s side were Michael Bell, Ed Dunlop and David Loder. And then there was Alan Jarvis, who told the jury that Fallon was “the best jockey in the world”. “He always tries and I never had any doubts about horses he has ridden for me.”
The case has been a shambles and the British racing authorities and police emerge with little credit.
For Fallon, in particular, it has been nothing short of a disaster. He is at the peak of his powers with the biggest job in the game, first jockey to the powerful Ballydoyle-Coolmore organisation.
But the fact he has been prevented from competing in Britain has, essentially, left him riding with one hand tied behind his back.
He has missed many big days through the season, as Aidan O’Brien was forced to turn to the likes of Johnny Murtagh and Michael Kinane.
O’Brien and Coolmore’s John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith have every reason to feel justified.
They stuck by Fallon from the beginning. It was a judgement call they got spot on.
Fallon, disgracefully banned in Britain for 17 months, is now free to ride there again. He is entitled to his outrage, and the only question in this observer’s mind was when would the trial collapse?
It lasted two months and is estimated to have cost £10 million. The real surprise was that it took until now for it to sink without trace.
