Kieren Fallon

Andrew Longmore

Kieren Fallon is the most successful Flat jockey of the modern era. Yet controversy is never far away, whether it is attempting to pull a rival jockey from his horse in mid-race or checking in to a rehab clinic because of drink problems. Yet even this was as nothing compared to when he was charged with conspiracy to defraud in July 2006, a charge he strenuously denied. But there is a different side to Fallon, a man who never got on a race horse until he was almost eighteen and yet quickly he developed a natural rapport with his horses that makes them respond to him like no other jockey. Six times he has been Champion Jockey, and a seventh title was taken from his grasp when he had an horrific, career-threatening fall in June 2000. He has won thirteen Classics, including the Derby three times, and is now based in Ireland at Ballydoyle with Aidan O'Brien. Award-winning sports writer Andrew Longmore has talked to those who know Fallon best, and assesses what drives him to his fearsome competitive streak. Like his fellow countryman Roy Keane, Fallon combines supreme ability with a brooding dark side that makes him a hugely captivating and fascinating character.