No Turkish Delight For Fallon

Kieren Fallon's Turkish adventure ended in disappointment after his mount in the Prime Ministry Cup at Veliefendi Racecourse finished last.

Fallon partnered the Burak Tenezkan-trained Bors in the 10-and-a-half-furlong event but trailed home sixth of six runners.

Market leader Champs To Champs emerged victorious with half a length to spare from Popular Demand. Third-placed Kaneko finished a further half a length in arrears.

Fallon revealed the race was lost as the three-year-old entered the stalls in Istanbul.

'The horse kicked a lot in the starting gate and ended up hurting himself and getting bruises to his hind legs,' said the Irish rider.

'That was not the same horse that I've seen on video recordings before the race.

'He was very smooth in the beginning but didn't want to accelerate when I asked him to.

'But the atmosphere and course were great ? it was still a good experience.'

The six-times champion jockey failed on Friday in a High Court challenge to a Horseracing Regulatory Authority ban which prevents him riding in Britain.

Fallon, 41, was suspended by the HRA earlier this month until the conclusion of his trial on criminal charges of conspiracy to defraud.

But he is still able to ride in Ireland, where he is licensed, and will be in action at the Galway Festival tomorrow evening.

He has three booked rides, two for Aidan O'Brien and one for Ger Lyons, with his best chance likely to be Chivalrous in the GPT Access Equipment EBF Maiden.

Meanwhile, Fallon is looking forward to renewing his partnership with Hurricane Run in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe after the colt's storming performance at Ascot.

Andre Fabre's French raider powered to success under Christophe Soumillon in Saturday's King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes as Fallon watched from the sidelines.

The six-times champion missed the mount as he is currently banned from riding in Britain by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority after being charged with conspiracy to defraud following a City of London police investigation.

'It was probably one of the best King Georges we've seen for a very long time,' said Fallon.

'He's beaten the best from Japan (Heart's Cry) and Godolphin's Electrocutionist and it turned out to be a real thriller.

'It's great for Coolmore and hopefully I'll be back on him again in France.

'The ground was quite firm at Ascot and it just goes to show that he can go on any surface as there was a bit of ease in the ground when he won the Arc last year.

'He's a very versatile type of horse with a lot of ability,' Fallon told At The Races.

'He wasn't right last time at Saint-Cloud when he was beaten by Pride, he wasn't himself at all.

'He never travelled and they found a reason as to why he got beat. He's overcome that and he's proved himself as to what a great horse he is.

'He is still the one everybody has to beat. He is the highest-rated horse in the world and he has now won in England, Ireland and France.

'I would personally love to see him in America just so he can prove what a great horse he is. He was going to go out there last year but they found a little problem with him.

'The horse that ended up winning the Breeders' Cup Turf (Shirocco) finished fourth behind him in the Arc which proved how good the Arc really was.'

(C) PA Sport