Kieren Fallon 'the best of his generation'

Keith Hamer pays tribute to Kieren Fallon, saying the jockey would have graced any era of British Flat racing.

Kieren Fallon was without doubt the best jockey of his generation and would have graced any era of British Flat racing.

He may not have been around at the very top quite as long as other recent heroes of the Turf such as Lester Piggott, Pat Eddery and Willie Carson, but he was as good as every champion in living memory and better than most.

Of Fallon's contemporaries, Frankie Dettori was always a much more popular figure with the general public and known to a wider audience thanks to his media profile and television appearances.

Fallon was a totally different character - but few would argue that he was a lesser rider.

It is virtually impossible to compare him with the greats of yesteryear like Gordon Richards, Steve Donoghue and Fred Archer.

But it is a fact that some of the best met troubled times along the way, none more so than the legendary Archer, who took his own life in 1886 after wasting when suffering from depression following the death of his wife.

Donoghue, champion from 1914 to 1923, was beset with problems, while Piggott had to suffer the ignominy of serving time in prison for tax evasion.

Fallon had to deal with the altogether different pressures of the late-20th and early-21st century. He was dogged by controversy throughout his career and is now seeking medical assistance to help combat depression.

However, in the saddle, and at his best, he had no equal in the present day - ask any punter in betting shops up and down the land.

Immensely strong, fiercely competitive and with a great judge of pace, he had all the qualities that make a champion jockey - and he had them in abundance.

His tally of 16 English Classic winners is a good one in anybody's books, but is particularly exceptional as 15 of those were achieved in a nine-year spell between 1997 and 2006.

He won the jockeys' title six times in seven years from 1997 to 2003, the run only being interrupted in 2000 when he suffered a career-threatening shoulder injury at Royal Ascot.

That would have finished a lot of jockeys, but not Fallon. He bounced back better than ever, despite ever increasing problems out of the saddle.

His time as first jockey to the hugely powerful Aidan O'Brien stable at Ballydoyle was testament to his skills both on the track and on the training ground as he has helped nurture the raw equine talent into the finished article seen on the world's racetracks.

The big rides by and large began to dwindle after he left, but the memories never will.

'King Kieren' will always have a special place in the heart of those who placed their faith and hard-earned cash in his abilities.

Kieren Fallon: Six great horses

As Kieren Fallon bows out from what has been a memorable career in the saddle, Press Association Sport looks back on some of the best horses he rode:

DYLAN THOMAS (Aidan O'Brien)

Labelled simply the "best I have ever ridden" by Fallon after his success in the 2007 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. The imposing Aidan O'Brien-trained colt was recording back-to-back wins in the Group One contest, both coming under Fallon, who also guided him to glory in the Irish Derby. His assertion would hardly have changed in the wake of his dramatic success in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe the day before the rider was due to appear at the Old Bailey.

OUIJA BOARD (Ed Dunlop)

Seven-times a Group One winner, the Ed Dunlop-trained mare undoubtedly goes down as one of the most brilliant members of her sex - and she was hugely popular with it. She was most latterly partnered by Frankie Dettori, but Fallon's influence on her career was immense. The Irishman partnered her to a famous English and Irish Oaks double in 2004, followed by her inaugural victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare at Lone Star Park later that year, a ride he executed to perfection. He also won the Hong Kong Vase on her.

GEORGE WASHINGTON (Aidan O'Brien)

The horse with the big ego met his match in Fallon, who handled him superbly to land five victories, three of them at Group One level. There were plenty of doubters heading into the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket but precious few afterwards as 'Gorgeous George' swept through to win going away from subsequent Derby hero Sir Percy. The horse was subsequently injured when bidding for a double in the Irish equivalent but bounced back to win the QEII at Ascot under Mick Kinane and was far from disgraced when sixth in the Breeders' Cup Classic on his final start before being retired to stud, only to return after proving far from productive in the breeding sheds. He returned to the track but was to meet a tragic end when fatally injured in the 2007 Breeders' Cup.

BOSRA SHAM (Sir Henry Cecil)

Not far behind Ouija Board in stature and the apple of Sir Henry Cecil's eye, the daughter of Hector Protector hit her greatest heights under Pat Eddery in the Fillies' Mile, 1000 Guineas and Champion Stakes, but Fallon was aboard for wins in the Prince of Wales's Stakes and the Brigadier Gerard, although he was controversially beaten on her in the 1997 Eclipse.

HURRICANE RUN (Andre Fabre)

No-one will ever forget the ice-cool Fallon conjuring a sensational burst up the far rail on Andre Fabre's colt in the 2005 Arc. The pair also recorded victories in the Irish Derby, Prix Niel and Tattersalls Gold Cup.

RUSSIAN RHYTHM (Sir Michael Stoute)

Simply magnificent at her best and a multiple Group One winner, four in total - all for Fallon. Her crowning moments came in the 1000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes, Nassau Stakes - where she stepped up successfully to 10 furlongs - and the Lockinge Stakes, where she beat the colts.