Six-time British champion jockey Kieren Fallon is no stranger to controversy and once again his career seems to be in freefall.
From the high of witnessing a potentially ruinous race-fixing trial collapse, it was revealed that the Irishman tested positive for cocaine after riding the appropriately named Myboycharlie to victory in the Group One Prix Morny last August in Deauville.
The revelation came a day after he had seemingly regained his right to ride in England, the US and Hong Kong -- all countries which had banned him pending a trial verdict.
Triumph and disaster have rarely been far apart in Fallon's turbulent career with its ups and downs mirroring the undulating mile-and-a-half circuit at Epsom where his strength and skill in the saddle have inspired three Derby wins.
He has come back off the canvas numerous times just like when he guided Dylan Thomas to victory in this year's Arc de Triomphe before, 24 hours later, swapping the dark blue silks for a dark suit and attending his trial in London.
The pale-faced star has probably never had as stressful a time as during the court case and admitted that his heart had not been in his riding in the past season as the case hung over him.
He even thought of walking away from the profession.
However, a man who has battled a drink problem, a six-month ban in 1994 for pulling fellow jockey Stuart Webster off his horse and an acrimonious split with his then trainer Henry Cecil in July 1999 is made of stern stuff.
"Kieren goes into another land when he's riding," trainer Aidan O'Brien marveled as Fallon was cheered back into the Longchamp winner's enclosure by tens of thousands of his fans after the Arc triumph.
Now those fans wait to see what lies in store for the colorful jockey after this latest shock.
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