Fallon follows his father’s footsteps
THE rapid rise of Cieren Fallon Jnr through the jockey ranks continued at Newmarket yesterday when he landed the Group One Darley July Cup on Roger Teal-trained Oxted.
It was a first top-level win for last season’s champion apprentice. Success not on only came in his third ride in a Group race but also in one of the few big prizes to elude his six-time champion jockey father Kieren Fallon, who won 16 Classics.
Father and son, who share a house in Newmarket, had walked together before the race and 21-year-old Cieren admitted that while he was grateful for all his father’s advice, he would revel in a rare opportunity of oneupmanship.
Fallon Jnr said: ‘I have one up on him now! He helped me today and told me how to ride Oxted. He said: “Keep it simple and stay straight and make sure you have him well balanced going into the Dip’’.
‘Oxted is a good horse and he is going places. I was just a passenger on a good horse.
‘I always remember what my dad says. Tonight will be interesting. I will definitely wind him up. He was going to America but he stuck around to look after me and I can’t thank him enough.’
Commenting on his son’s rise in the weighing room, Fallon Snr said: ‘He’s got so much confidence.
I wish I had half his confidence when I was riding.’
It is only 10 months since Oxted gave Fallon Jnr his biggest win in the Portland Handicap at Doncaster. The gelding also supplied his jockey with his first group winner in the Abernant Stakes at Newmarket last month.
The 12-1 shot’s length-and-aquarter win from Sceptical with favourite Golden Horde a neck further back in third was also a massive first Group One win in the career of Teal.
The trainer added: ‘It’s no surprise at all. We worked him last week and the lad who rode him said: “He wins the July Cup”. I said to Cieren to keep it simple as there had been winners coming down the middle the last couple of races.
‘We knew Golden Horde would go forward and I said to just take a lead off him and attack him up the hill.
‘He put the race to bed and won it nicely I thought.
‘I’ve had a lot of questions asking why we were still using Cieren as he couldn’t use his claim, but he’s just gelled with this horse and if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
‘I said to the owners we couldn’t take him off until he got beat on him. Cieren is inexperienced but he’s very calm.’
On the same card, Charlie Appleby-trained Master Of The Seas won the Group Two Superlative Stakes by three lengths at 4-1. William Buick steered the two-year-old to a convincing success and the Godolphin-owned juvenile is a 16-1 chance for next season’s 2,000 Guineas.
Meanwhile, 2-1 favourite Mohaather hammered the field in the Grade Two Summer Mile Stakes at Ascot yesterday. Marcus Tregoning’s colt beat San Donato by three-and-three-quarter lengths.