Fallon loses appeal against ban

2008-02-08 21:14

Paris - Six-times champion jockey Kieren Fallon's appeal against an 18-month doping ban has been rejected, a French horse racing official said on Friday.

Fallon, 42, had lodged an appeal after being suspended from racing for 18 months last month following a positive test for a banned substance.

Henri Pouret, the head of French horse racing authority France Galop's rules department, said: "The commissioners met this week to study the appeal and ruled that the ban should stand.

"That means Kieren Fallon is suspended until August 7 2009," he added.

The jockey still has the possibility of lodging a further appeal before a superior commission.

Fallon, cleared of race-fixing at the Old Bailey in December, tested positive after a race at Deauville, France in August last year. The B sample confirmed the positive test.

The Irishman won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Dylan Thomas in October, the day before the start of his trial along with five other men, including two fellow jockeys.

The case collapsed when the trial judge said Australian racing steward Ray Murrihy, the prosecution's main witness, was no expert on British racing.

Fallon has already served a six-month ban after another positive doping test in France in 2006.

One of the world's greatest jockeys, Fallon, who turns 43 later this month, has won six champion titles in Britain and the Epsom Derby three times.

He is to rejoin top Newmarket trainer Michael Stoute as a work-rider. A former stable jockey to Stoute, Fallon won the Epsom Derby for him on Kris Kin in 2003 and North Light in 2004.

- Reuters