Fallon Case Collapses

Former champion jockey Kieren Fallon has attended a hearing in France following a failed drugs test.
The Irishman, 42, must wait to find out if he will be punished over a positive B sample following Myboycharlie's win at Deauville in August 2007.

His lawyers have indicated some aspects of the test result were "curious".

The news that Fallon had tested positive for a banned substance, believed to be cocaine, emerged the day after his race-fixing trial collapsed.

Fallon, six-times the champion jockey in the UK, was acquitted of conspiracy to defraud at the Old Bailey on 7 December.

He appeared before officials from the French racing authority France Galop on Wednesday.

"I have been to Paris for another hearing at France Galop," he said.

"I expect they will get in touch with me when they get in touch with me."

Fallon failed the test on 19 August in Deauville where he won the Group One Darley Prix Morny on Myboycharlie.

The jockey could face a lengthy ban, having already served a six-month suspension imposed by France Galop for testing positive for a metabolite of cocaine (produced by the body after it has processed a chemical) in June 2006.

That suspension effectively meant he could not ride on any racecourse in the world, as other governing bodies have a reciprocal suspension policy in such cases.

Fallon is 43 in February and his position as number one jockey to the powerful Coolmore operation, and trainer Aidan O'Brien, hangs in the balance.
 
There was never any semblance of a denial from Fallon that he had taken Cocaine, unlike the usual utterances of shock and amazement from athletes when they fail a test.

I'm sure his legal team would have queried the methodology behind the results for the current hearing. If there is scope within the rules of racing to rechallege it, I'm sure he will if there are sufficient grounds, but I would be surprised if this ends up as a full blown legal appeal.
 
If I was a police officer and my boss wanted me to do a drugs bust of Amphetamines and Cocaine.

I would either:

a) Raid an all night rave
b) Raid the Jockeys changing room

Unfortunately misuse of amphetamines and cocaine is extremely widespread in the racing world.

Im sure many people will bury there heads in the sand and disagree with me, but these guys are under pressure to keep there weight low and they also have extremely demanding schedules and a lot of travelling to do.

Amphetamines and Cocaine will give them the energy to complete there hectic days and will also surpress the appetite making it easy for them to stick to a low weight.

Sad but true.
 
Its interesting that both of his "busts" came in France. Dominique Boeuf is probably the highest profile French pilot to have fallen for the lure of the Bolivian Marching Powder, followed by a double wrap for Dean Gallagher (he certainly has the nostrils to hoover up the wides and longest of lines!).

Interesting the Frankie Dettori episode only resulted in a slap on the wrists. Granted he didn't fail a drugs test, but as a high profile role model his punishment could have been sterner.

I agree with Brig, the temptation to use drugs which are well known appetite suppressants must be huge for men who are in a constant battle with their weight.

I have loved watching the rise of Fallon from a Norton based journeyman to the plum jobs at Newmarket to the best job in racing.

It is tragic it ended this way. I hope he doesn't retire, but I will be surprised if Coolmore keep the job open now - the shareholders wouldn't stand for it surely?

Question is, who gets the gig? A return for J P "Frank" Spencer? Murtagh? Other than Murtagh I don't think Ireland has a jockey up to the job?

Over here all the top jocks seem to be otherwise contracted. Would they consider swooping for Soumillion or maybe Peslier?

Or even McEvoy?
 
With all the problems Fallon caused, would they risk Murtagh who has had his own demons to deal with in the past. Can Coolmore risk a resurfacing of those demons?

(ps. this is not to say I dont have the utmost sympathty with Murtagh's battles, I am just thinking in terms of cold business decisions).
 
I find it a shame that something as minor as cocaine use can effectively end a sportsman's career.

But hey, if it wasn't for rules the regulators wouldn't have jobs.
 
It's not a performance-enhancing drug.

There's an argument that the ban is justified if he was considered to be under the influence whilst riding, which puts himself, his horse and his fellow jockeys and their horses in potential jeopardy.

Apart from that, why should it be the sport that's making a judgement? Pass it on to the police, it's their job to investigate illegal drug use.
 
I'm with Betsmate on that, unless the amount in his system was enough to impair his judgement sufficiently to make him a danger on the track. If it was just traces from the night before it should be his own personal problem.
 
Don't get me wrong - I am not advocating it in the same way as multi-vitamins or oily fish.

If you take the premise that sports arbitrators are not the police and therefore are not interested in the legality aspect of drug-taking but their performance-enhancing nature then surely any punishment should fit within the structure of any other "cheating" related penalties.

It these terms what is worse: Artificially making a racing weight, dropping hands or excessive whip use?

I can't see the merits of an 18 month ban for the first and a matter of days for the latter two.

As for the wider drug taking/addiction argument this isn't the place to get into it, but for me the correlation between usage levels, problem cases and the judicial process just isn't balanced.

Edit - my post crossed with the two above, hence the repetition, but they clearly share similar sentiments. Melendez's point about significantly impaired judgement is a good one.
 
I think Gareth is correct. The effect of the drug could place the users life at risk due to artficially increased heart rate along with risking others as judgement could be impaired.

It is of course more likely the usage was as Melendez describes before the day of the race but remained in the system.

However the fact remains that having been caught out once, Fallon has only himself to blame. You could have argued the rules were wrong on the first occasions, but once he had already suffered a ban for use of this substance he should have been more careful.
 
he will have to take it like a man, he broke the rules and knew the penalty..no sympathy from me...and i would be a pro Fallon person in the main if we want to talk in those terms.

the problem I have with all this is that the bloke is a NATURAL target in life anyway...you only have to read the illwill from people on internet forums to know that anyone with the POWER to make his life a misery with the same depressing illwill is going to do just that.

it's quite clear the guy has issues...whereas all those that criticise him are perfect of course. shrug::

i'm not condoning his behaviour in any way...but the disgraceful individuals involved in the court case and on going conspiracy to destroy the bloke are imho one hell of a lot worse than Fallon...they are basically scum as human beings.

i'm sure many people who "hate" fallon will be smugly laughing to themselves tonight..betfair forum is full of that mentality..they also are far worse than KF as human beings.

This whole Fallon affair has been a little bigger than a jockey doing wrong and being punished...it's about pure hatred of a human being
 
EC1 you are not wrong.

As a punter Fallon was always first on my list of jockeys I could trust to do the business on a hot favourite.
 
Whatever anyone may feel about it, the bottom line is that taking coke is against the rules - the same as it is in many sports. Apart from anything else, Fallon is supposed to be a role model - how many young jockeys will think "ah, it's ok for Fallon, I'll have a go too?" Rules are rules - if you want to be a professional you have to abide by them. I have rules I have to abide by when at work which I don't like; I'm sure others do too but we follow them as most of us aren't arrogant enough to dismiss them and do what the hell we like anyway.

Coke not being performance enhancing has nothing whatsoever to do with it - you could say the same about alcohol - don't forget that the alcohol levels allowed to ride are half that of the levels allowed to drive by law in this country. Painkillers are non-performance enhancing yet iver the counter drugs like co-codamol are on the banned substance list. At the end of the day, if you want to do the job, you don't pick and choose which rules you follow.
 
you won't find me arguing with any of that SL

what i do find repulsive is how some people respond to "arrogance"...it must be crushed...it's a despicable trait etc.

there is far more at play against KF and has been for some considerable time...which culminated in the monstrosity of a court case brought by jealous nasty minded pieces of work..intent on destroying him.

do wrong...pay the price...but surely that must be done all round here

what price are the @stards that conspired to destroy him paying???

anyone think those involved in that trial should be paying the price for their actions???
 
".............Painkillers are non-performance enhancing................."

I have never agreed with this idea.

If a sportsman or woman has a cortisone injection to enable them to take part, when they couldn't have without it................then, to my mind, it has enhanced their performance.
 
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