Cieren Fallon’s father had been riding for nearly 10 years by the time he won his first Group One race, in May 1997. The son of Kieren, the six-time champion, is setting a brisker pace. In his third season with a licence and still officially an apprentice, Fallon Jr took the July Cup aboard Oxted here on Saturday with the assurance of a rider with many years’ experience under his belt. No one could have guessed it was his second Group One ride.
Oxted has provided the 21-year-old with the biggest win of his career on three occasions: in the Portland Handicap at Doncaster last September and then in the Group Three Abernant Stakes at Newmarket before Saturday’s breakthrough at the highest level.
Roger Teal’s four-year-old was up with the pace from the off and took over from Golden Horde, the 2-1 favourite, a quarter of a mile out. Fallon’s mount had soon quickened into a decisive lead and Frankie Dettori – who had so many great battles with Fallon Sr in the past – could not get any closer than a length and a quarter away on Sceptical at the line.
Father and son had walked the course before one of the few British Group One contests Kieren Fallon never won. “He said to keep it simple,” Fallon Jr said. “Stay straight, don’t take back but don’t push, make sure you’re well balanced going into the Dip and as soon as you feel ready, let him go and see what you’ve got underneath you.
“I’ve had such good support from Roger and the owners, keeping me on him in a big race like this. He’s very fast and versatile, he’s won over five and a half and seven, he goes on soft and quick. It shows what a good horse he is and I was just a passenger on a very good horse.
“I always remember what my dad says at the back of my mind. He’s very proud and he’s helped me a lot this year. He was going to move to America but he’s stuck around to look after me and I can’t thank him enough.”
Kieren Fallon paid tribute to the trainer William Haggas, his son’s main employer, as another important figure in his rapid rise up the ladder. “He’s got so much confidence,” Fallon Sr said. “I wish I’d had half his confidence when I was riding.
“William has done so much with him behind the scenes, he’s sent him to Australia and he’s sent him to America. He’s doing everything to get him to where he needs to be at. He works hard and he’s dedicated, but without William, he wouldn’t be having this success.”
Like all British racing since its resumption on 1 June, the Group One card played out in front of empty stands, when nearly 40,000 spectators would normally have been expected over the course of the three-day July Festival.
There was some hopeful news from France, however, for a sport that urgently needs its fans to return. From Sunday 5,000 people – including racing professionals, spectators and staff – will be allowed at meetings, with facial coverings obligatory for all attendees and social distancing rules in operation.
Goodwood, which hopes to admit some annual members to its big meeting this month, and York, which is still selling tickets for Ebor Festival in August, are among the many British tracks that may take encouragement from the news.