Fallon fined £1,500 by Jockey Club

KIEREN FALLON was yesterday fined £1,500 for misleading the Jockey Club disciplinary committee. Fallon had previously been suspended on July 18th for five days for failing to make sufficient effort to attend an inquiry about medical book irregularities eight days earlier.

But the Jockey Club subsequently contacted Fallon over allegations of his whereabouts on the night of July 9th and on the basis of Fallon's explanation, fined him £1,500.

Fallon's lawyer, Stephen Parker, addressed the Jockey Club's allegations over his client's whereabouts on the night before the July 10th inquiry.

Parker said: "Kieren Fallon failed to attend a hearing on July 10th of the Jockey Club Disciplinary Committee. The driver of Mr Fallon's car was successfully prosecuted for a road traffic offence in the morning of July 10th and has been dismissed from Mr Fallon's employment.

"The disciplinary committee accepted that Kieren Fallon was not in the car when the driver was stopped by police as previously alleged by the Jockey Club disciplinary committee. The committee also withdrew allegations that Mr Fallon went to Newmarket police station at 5 a.m. (on the morning of July 10th) to repossess his riding equipment that had been impounded in the car.

"Notwithstanding this, the committee was not satisfied with Mr Fallon's explanation on where he stayed on the night prior to the July 10th inquiry and imposed a fine of £1500.

"Mr Fallon is looking forward to another successful season next year to enable him to pay the Fallon was originally scheduled to appear before the Jockey Club Disciplinary Committee on July 10th, but on the day maintained that he had got lost in traffic in London in an effort to make the 9.30 a.m. start of the inquiry.

The 31 year old claimed that he rang and left a message with the Jockey Club saying that he had subsequently rerouted to Folkstone where he was booked to ride that afternoon. At the subsequent hearing eight days later Fallon was suspended for five days.

A Jockey Club statement on the Fallon inquiry under Rule 220 (viii) concerning the evidence he gave to the disciplinary committee on that occasion said: "Having considered the evidence, including a statement from Fallon the committee accepted that Fallon was not in his car when his driver was stopped by the police at 2.40 a.m. on July 10th as originally alleged.

"But nevertheless found him to be in breach of Rule 220 (viii) in that he had deliberately misled the committee concerning how he had spent the night prior to the disciplinary hearing on July 10th at which he had failed to attend."

Fallon has missed 14 days racing this season for riding offences as well as the punishment for failing to attend. He was originally summoned by the disciplinary committee after it was discovered that he had ridden twice at Southwell last November and December without being passed fit by the medical officer.

Fallon's jockey's medical book carried a "red entry" after having passed up rides a few days earlier because he was feeling ill. This had not been removed when he took the mount and he was fined £500 for this offence.