Fallon admits after 20 years: 'I still think about Bosra Shambles'

Kieren Fallon has admitted he still thinks about his ride on Bosra Sham in the 1997 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown, in which he finished third behind Pilsudski and Benny The Dip.

The jockey subsequently lost the ride to Pat Eddery in the Juddmonte International and says that despite the passage of more than 20 years he remains irked by the incident he dubbed the 'Bosra Shambles'.

Fallon, appearing on the Luck On Sunday show on Racing UK to promote his forthcoming autobiography Form, credited Pilsudski's rider Mick Kinane with a smart ride as he took advantage of the fact Fallon had found himself pinned against the rail.

"I still think about that," he said. "It doesn't haunt me, but you always think, 'Why did I kick in there, why didn't I sit and suffer', but one thing I used to do when I was riding, I would never just sit there and ride somebody else's race. I had to do something.

"It's a tough one to know whether she'd have won or not, maybe she would. Mick rode a great race, in fairness."

'It's a different world'

Fallon also paid tribute to his former boss Aidan O'Brien after Saxon Warrior on Saturday gave him a Flat world record 26th Group 1 victory in a calendar year.

"It's an amazing place, Ballydoyle, it has everything," said Fallon. "Inside those gates, it's a different world. The gallops, the horses, each individual that Aidan has around him are all what you'd expect. He's a genius and he has only proper people around him.

"I agree he has the best of the best, but you've to get the horses there. He gets them as babies when they're raw and he gets them there. Winter was a perfect example, he took her to a different level, and she wouldn't be the only one. The list is long."

Fallon's book, which is released on Tuesday, reflects on the many ups and downs of his remarkable career, including his alarming, almost daily reliance on flipping to make weights.

"At the start, I found it hard," he writes. "My eyes were popping through their sockets, my stomach was red raw and I was spitting blood because the acid cut my throat."

Fallon also details the extent of his mental troubles and reveals he battled with suicidal thoughts during 2016.

He writes: "I was kind of suicidal. I didn’t want to go on. I’m lucky I’m a weak person because I think I would have done something if I had had the balls."

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