Fallon: I'll quit racing if found guilty

Kieren Fallon has hinted that if the saga surrounding his trial relating to charges brought regarding conspiracy to defraud Betfair customers does not end soon he will quit the saddle.

The former champion jockey has been in Australia for the past three weeks overseeing the preparation of Melbourne Cup favourite Yeats for trainer Aidan O’Brien.

However Fallon, who has been banned from riding in Britain since July, has insisted that if the trial has not been resolved by the beginning of the next Flat season, he will hang up his riding boots.

Fallon is currently stable jockey for the Coolmore empire, one of the biggest jobs in racing, but the 41-year-old Irishman realises that his job would be seriously under threat if the situation continues to drag on.

“If I sound disillusioned, it’s because this thing has hung over me too long and time is running out,” Fallon told The Times.

“If I don’t get it resolved before the start of the next Flat season that’s me finished – I’ll have to retire.

“I’m told we’re looking at January now as the earliest time for a hearing. If it’s not finished then, my team (Coolmore) won’t wait any longer – they can’t, they’ll need a jockey who is free to ride everywhere. And if the job went, I’d quit.

“I wouldn’t carry on riding no-hopers round Listowel . . . not after riding favourites in all the classics.”