Kieren Fallon escapes injury at Newbury
Whatever Kieren Fallon is made of it must be pretty tough material.
Last month he barely moved when an irate owner landed a punch flush on his jaw in the unsaddling area at Lingfield Park and today he walked out of a hospital having been carried in with a suspected broken leg.
The chances of the six-times champion jockey mounting a serious challenge for the title this year appeared to be in tatters when he was performing the relatively innocuous act of mounting his ride for the fifth race at Newbury, the Bridget Maiden Fillies' Stakes, in the parade ring.
However, jockeys are well aware that the parade ring can be a minefield where one unruly horse can set off a chain reaction, and that is exactly what happened to Fallon.
The jockey was just preparing to mount Ayam Zainah when another horse, Alioonagh, got loose and bolted across the paddock. Fallon’s horse became upset as the other horse careered past and lashed out, striking Fallon on the thigh. The Irishman fell to the ground, clearly in great pain, and paramedics rushed to his aid as racecourse officials erected a screen around the injured jockey.
Initially Fallon was taken to the racecourse medical room for an initial examination before being transferred by ambulance to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading for precautionary X-rays. He was later released when doctors were satisfied that there was no fracture or other serious damage.
Jump racing may appear to carry the more obvious risk factor and Ruby Walsh is one of a number of jump jockeys on the sidelines at present, after breaking his left arm in a crunching fall from Celestial Halo in the Aintree Hurdle last Saturday. However, falls in Flat racing, although far more rare, can bring serious injury because of the greater speed and the way that the runners are more tightly packed as a field. Ten years ago, at Royal Ascot, Fallon suffered a serious injury and almost lost the use of his left arm in a fall.
The injury threatened his career and led to him being out of action for six months and it is not the first time that the parade ring at Newbury has seen a former champion jockey injured. In September 1996 Willie Carson was kicked in the stomach by a horse he was about to ride. The force of the kick sent Carson flying across the parade ring and, ultimately led to his retirement.
Although no decision was being made last night there may be a chance that Fallon might try and be passed fit to take his six booked rides at Newbury tomorrow afternoon.
He has several fancied chances on the card headed by Lady Of The Desert in the Group Three Dubai Duty Free Fred Darling Stakes. If the filly wins she could join an enviable range of options that Fallon has for the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in a fortnight. On Wednesday he rode Music Show owned, like Lady Of The Desert, by Jabr Abdullah who laid down her own claims as a Guineas contender when she won the Group Three Leslie Harrison Memorial Nell Gwyn Stakes at Newmarket’s Craven meeting.
However, Fallon also has the prospect of riding Seta, trained by Luca Cumani, and the jockey said of her earlier this week: "She’s been growing all winter, she's yet to put on a bit of weight, I think she's just starting to fill out. I rode her last week and she's just starting to show what we expected. I always thought she was going to be a very good filly. It's early days but there's a couple of weeks to go."
Enough to make anyone get off their sick bed.
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