KIEREN’S TALENTS IMPRESS FATHER
KIEREN FALLON has lauded his son
Cieren’s temperament in and out of the saddle after watching him notch his third win at the highest level aboard Montassib earlier this month
A last-minute delay meant Fallon senior – one of the most decorated jockeys of his era – was not at Haydock to watch the 25-year-old add to the Group One triumphs he achieved with
Oxted in 2020 and 2021.
It was his first toplevel victory for
William Haggas, having been based with the Somerville Lodge handler since his apprentice days.
But it was Roger Teal’s speedster Oxted who helped propel the dual Champion Apprentice into the spotlight, winning the July Cup before registering a first Royal Ascot success when adding the King’s Stand Stakes to his CV.
Fitting
It is somewhat fitting that it is another latematuring sprinter that ended Fallon’s threeyear wait between Group One drinks, as he continued his tremendous partnership with Montassib at Haydock in the Betfair Sprint Cup.
The Merseyside triumph was Fallon’s fifth in partnership with the six-year-old and the jockey’s father was impressed by the way he timed his winning run.
“I was supposed to go up with him, but I just got held up a bit in the yard and by the time I got out of the yard, they had already gone,” said Fallon.
“It was probably a good job in the end that I didn’t, and I don’t really tell him how to ride races and he doesn’t ask all that often, too.
“You can guide them a little bit, but you can’t teach someone how to ride and the other most important thing you can’t teach is knowing when to sit and knowing when to kick.”