Kieren Fallon upon good times with century
The original prize may be so far out of sight that it barely registers on the horizon but Kieren Fallon has been learning many things this year.
Things like how to ride tracks that he had rarely seen since he first quit British racing to ride for Aidan O’Brien and then was denied the right to return because of various barriers that kept him on the sidelines. The Irishman has also had to learn a degree of patience, both in terms of his own abilities and the speed with which he can regain his position in a pecking order that has changed since Fallon was last champion in 2003.
The chance of regaining that title was consigned to the “to do” list some time ago but Fallon reached a century of winners when Poplin won her maiden at Goodwood. Fallon had Luca Cumani’s filly near the pace throughout, taking it up with two furlongs to run and, despite drifting left in the final furlong, progressed from two placed runs to beat promising newcomer Always The Lady by one-and-a-half lengths.
Fallon finds himself 43 winners behind champion-elect Paul Hanagan but has accepted what has been a learning curve campaign. “It wasn’t the target at the start of the season – I was looking for a lot more – but I didn’t realise it was going to be as competitive,” he said. “It’s tough – there’s a lot of good jockeys riding today and a lot of new faces.
“I’d more or less given up on it [the title] a couple of months ago and I started taking it easy. Now I’m not that far behind and, if I’d knuckled down and fought a bit harder, I probably would have been a bit closer. But Paul Hanagan is relentless.”
Vintage Fallon comes with relentless fitted as standard and the jockey nicknamed “the Assassin” has been slowly honing his skills with the first signs that the marksmanship was back on target with five winners in just two days at Salisbury last month. “I’ve started working harder since Salisbury,” Fallon admitted. “I’ve just found that I was kicking at the right time rather than going too soon or going too late. It’s fine timing.”
Brian Meehan’s two-year-olds seem to be winning good prizes with a timing that is bordering on the metronomic. Theyskens' Theory is market leader for the 1000 Guineas after winning the Group Three Prestige Stakes at Goodwood last month and Titus Mills strengthened Meehan’s hand in the colts division when he won the Listed Peter Willett Stakes.
Meehan had not disguised his belief in the colt – who won at Ascot in July - which did look slightly shaken when he was challenged in the final furlong by Big Issue. However when he was shaken up by Martin Dwyer, Titus Mills did not shirk the issue as he won by a half-length.
“We had a lot in the horse,” Meehan said. “Throughout the race there was always going to be moments when he was going to skip a beat. He was a little green to start with, but then he settled in around the bend and just drifted over left. Martin felt it was just greenness and the slow ground.
Gauging the quality of such races is not always easy but Meehan will be encouraged by the way that the first two came two-and-a-half lengths clear of the third horse, Surrey Star, who was beaten only a length by Native Khan in the Group Three Solario Stakes at Sandown Park last month. “He’s a class horse, Big Issue’s a very nice horse, the form is solid – I thought it was a very tidy Listed race,” Meehan said, adding in terms of a possible next race “we’ll get him back now, we’ll take stock and I would say maybe Dewhurst.”
Stable companion Waiter’s Dream runs in the Group Two Neptune Investment Management Champagne Stakes at Doncaster on Saturday and Meehan said: “It’s shaping up to be one of the toughest Champagne Stakes for a little while. We’re hoping to go with him, we’ve got a lot of confidence in him.”
Ryan Moore had the confidence restorer of a winner on the Meehan-trained Indigo Way, in the George Anthony Celebration Nursery, the jockey’s first winners since returning from a three-week spell on the sidelines with a wrist injury.
Moore went on to complete a treble on Longliner, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, and Compton Blue, for Richard Hannon.
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