Kieren Fallon will have to wait until 0900 BST on Saturday to find out whether he will be allowed to race in the Epsom Derby later that day. On Friday, a High Court judge rejected an attempt by the owners of Native Khan, the horse at the centre of the dispute, to stop him riding the horse.
But Turkish owner Ibrahim Araci lodged an appeal against the judgement with the outcome due on Saturday morning. If cleared, Fallon will have just seven hours to prepare for the race.
Irishman Fallon, who attended Thursday’s initial hearing in London, denied any breach of contract and said there had been an “innocent misunderstanding”. However, presiding judge Mr Justice MacDuff emphasised that his decision to refuse an injunction “is not to be regarded in any way as a win for Mr Fallon”. He added that he was satisfied “that the true facts are that the defendant [Fallon] believed he could ignore this binding contract” and that in his judgement, the jockey had acted with “deliberate selfishness”.
But in exercising his discretion on whether to grant an injunction, there were a number of factors to be put into the scale, including the public interest. Fallon guided Native Khan to victory in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket earlier this year.
The horse will be ridden by Johnny Murtagh on Saturday for the race where the Queen’s horse, Carlton House, is the favourite – BBC
