Kieren Fallon

Best remember Kieren for the positive attributes he gave to racing please.
Seeing him ride with a loose rein keeping his horses straight as an arrow used p@@s Willie Carson off no end but on a head on view showed his power and symmetry pushing his mount forwards.
He was the main reason APOB targets Chester with his Classic horses.
His knowledge of the English scene had AP winning Magnet Cups, targeting Ebor handicaps and other such races.
re stopping horses when stable jockey to gambling yards such as Fitzgerald's and Ramsden's has anyone a real choice in the matter ?
Winning when you are expected to is the main attribute required, regardless of pressure.
He has ridden for Cecil, Stoute, Ballydoyle, Godolphin, Wesley Ward, Fabre and Baron Von Ullman and none of these ever doubted Fallon's ability with horses or staff.

Some cv for anyone to have, especially a young lad from Clare whose main attribute as a teenager was his ability to hold cattle for a local vet who was astonished that someone so small could have such strong hands.
 
I disagree, Edgt. When you're given such a gift you have, imho, a moral obligation to use it for the greater good.

Let's not forget that Piggott, arguably the most gifted of them all, was jailed for being a tax cheat. And he probably threw more races than Fallon. Do people still consider him a good ambassador? If he suddenly declared he was undergoing mental health issues would we suddenly go all fluffy-wuffy on him?

I can assure you, nobody went anywhere near fluffy-wuffy with me when I was low and medication made me hit rock bottom. It took a a good shrink to sort me out and will be forever grateful to him.
 
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Great post,Edgt. Always admired KF for his ability to wait and wait until a horse was balanced before asking for his all, and many's the race he pulled out of the fire where lesser jockeys would have beat the horse unnecessarily.
 
reet hard said:
..........and being kicked when you were down helped, did it?
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Nobody's kicking him. They're merely telling the truth. When Tony Blair dies in 20 years' time, are we going to go all fluffy-wuffy on him, just because he's died?

And by the way, I was at my most vulnerable to kickings when I was down and got plenty of them. It didn't help at the time but I reckon they made me all the more determined to make sure I didn't fall into that hole again. It also taught me who my real friends were.
 
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Good post edgt but he didn't have to ride for the filthy RamsdeMs. Should also have been aware that would always tarnish him
 
Desert Orchid said:
I disagree, Edgt. When you're given such a gift you have, imho, a moral obligation to use it for the greater good.

Let's not forget that Piggott, arguably the most gifted of them all, was jailed for being a tax cheat. And he probably threw more races than Fallon. Do people still consider him a good ambassador? If he suddenly declared he was undergoing mental health issues would we suddenly go all fluffy-wuffy on him?

I can assure you, nobody went anywhere near fluffy-wuffy with me when I was low and medication made me hit rock bottom. It took a a good shrink to sort me out and will be forever grateful to him.
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Very honest and open reply Dessie.
 
Desert Orchid said:
I disagree, Edgt. When you're given such a gift you have, imho, a moral obligation to use it for the greater good.

Let's not forget that Piggott, arguably the most gifted of them all, was jailed for being a tax cheat. And he probably threw more races than Fallon. Do people still consider him a good ambassador? If he suddenly declared he was undergoing mental health issues would we suddenly go all fluffy-wuffy on him?

I can assure you, nobody went anywhere near fluffy-wuffy with me when I was low and medication made me hit rock bottom. It took a a good shrink to sort me out and will be forever grateful to him.
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Thanks for your candid reply.
You have hit a lot of nails on the head.
In Ireland we consider Lester a legend; always have, always will.
Ditto Kieren Fallon.
I remember some young jockey telling how he/she was hitting and slapping an also ran in a race and Fallon scolded them telling them to hold their horse together and push it out rather than use the whip in order to make them a better jockey.
He need not have bothered but he did.
Stable staff everywhere he rode work had great time for him as he had for them it seems.
Taking the ride on Recital in Epsom Derby rather than the grey horse was his biggest mistake imo.
he did his bit to redeem himself and i was delighted to see him back riding in Ireland and nearly win a Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.
All of us deserve the chance to redeem ourselves and help others redeem themselves; that is the best we can do for the greater good.
Everyone will mess up for whatever reason every now and again.
Here endeth the sermon for today.
Keep well DO and all who sail near you.
 
Tbh, Luke, that's the first I've opened up to anyone about it since the one person I did confide in (apart from the psychiatrist) died (several years ago now). I never thought I'd be able to do it again because where I was was a very very dark place.

I do understand - I think - some of what Fallon might be going through. Obviously it won't be the same for everybody.

I have my boss to thank for seeing signs I couldn't see. I wasn't drinking or anything like that and I am very lucky not to have an addictive nature. But he didn't ask me about it, just offered to source help for me if I felt I needed it.

I'd always mocked the idea of people seeing psychiatrists, most of whom I generalised as quacks but I knew someone who had recovered balance in their life with the help of a psychiatrist so decided to go along with the idea of seeing one.

I have to say, the guy was incredible. He had me sussed within about five minutes, explained to me all the things that had happened to me that had led to my being in a hole and how I was going to get out of it and move on. After failed months of medication and counselling (utter waste of time is counselling, by the way, especially when the first thing the counsellor says is "I'm not here to advise anything. I'm here to listen") one session with this doctor was the most uplifting experience in my life since the birth of my daughter.

If anyone has seen it, the episode of The West Wing in which Josh first meets the psychiatrist wouldn't be far off my own experience. If Fallon ends up going down that route I would have great hopes of his making a full recovery. I hope he gets as good help as I got.
 
You did well to find a consultant that helped you like that. When i had my troubles i found one or two working against my interests as a patient...the type of people who chose psychiatry as a career because they didn't have the brains and weren't good enough to pursue what they really wanted...to work in psyical care. It was a local GP with a PHD in common sense that really helped me. You can't beat a fantastic mother. And yourself wanting to bounce back is important too.
 
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I think we can only surmise a great deal of what possibly happens with regard to "bent" races and the jockeys that are involved. One thing is for sure is that there are/were quite probably some extremely unpleasant characters around who "control" jockeys. When you have the potential to make any sort of money through betting and most especially since the advent of betting exchanges, you are going to get those jockeys (and trainers I suppose) who are more vulnerable who are going to be targeted. I'm pretty certain I know of at least 2 jockeys who were threatened and had their families threatened whilst I had a licence. Bar speaking to Fallon on a few occasions in the weighing room (when incidentally you couldn't have met a nicer guy - I was forever trying to get him on one of my horses only to be thwarted by his agent - Fallon told me to keep at it and he promised he would ride for me!) I can't say I really knew him but he would have always been top of my list, reputation or not.
 
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