By Simon Mapletoft
Cieren Fallon gallops into 2026 with a new-found spring in his step after comfortably recording his best ever year in the saddle – an achievement he squarely puts down to the intuition of his boss William Haggas.
The former champion apprentice, who has ridden over 130 winners since New Year’s Day, sits among the front runners in the All-Weather jockeys’ championship following an impressive start to Season 13 which includes a Listed success on Haggas’s Dubai Honour.
Fallon, who rode 52 winners last year, puts his transformation down to several key factors, not least a heart-to-heart conversation with the master of Somerville Lodge last autumn as he headed towards his lowest annual total in seven full years as a jockey.
“The boss pulled me into his office one morning and sat me down,” he recalls. “He sensed I wasn’t quite myself and he was right. When my close friend Stefano Cherchi died after a fall in Australia last year it hit me harder than I realised.
“What happened to Stef took a huge toll on me, as well as having a bad time with long-term injuries. Looking back, I was feeling sorry for myself and just going through the motions, thinking ‘what’s the point’, but once I had a good chat with the boss everything seemed to click.”
Haggas gave his young jockey a much-needed vote of confidence when he entrusted him with the ride on Lake Forest in the £2.8 million James Squire Golden Eagle at Rosehill in Australia at the beginning of November 2024 – an opportunity a grateful Fallon seized with both hands.
“It was an amazing day. One I’ll never forget,” he adds. “Going over there for the first time to ride in such a prestigious race meant I had to prove myself. Lake Forest was an underdog but to win on him was a real turning point.
“I’d repaid my boss’s faith in me and when other trainers see you winning a big race on an international stage they sit up and take notice. Anyone can ride winners at Wolverhampton on a Monday night but cementing my reputation on such a big stage was massive for me.
“After that my mindset completely changed. Finishing the year on such a high and then starting off this year by winning the Lincoln for the boss (on Godwinson) gave me a real kick start. My work ethic changed and I was enjoying riding again. I got that drive and self-belief back.”
Fallon, whose maiden century featured stakes wins on Haggas stars Candleford, Elmonjed and Hamish, also puts his transformation down to his girlfriend Grace, who works as a property surveyor in London, a circle of close friends outside of racing and his parents Kieran Fallon and Julie, who are both based in Newmarket for much of the year.
“Grace has been very supportive,” he says. “Since meeting her my life has changed. We go away at weekends when I’m not racing and do lots of things that give me that mental break, which is so important. My best friend Adam, who I work out with at the gym most days, isn’t involved in racing – he’s a plumber - and I spend as much time as I can visiting my old mates up in Wigan, where I grew up.
“I’m loving my job again and pride myself on my work ethic but having that life balance has been so important. I get on well with everyone in the weighing room but riding that racing wave 100 per cent of the time isn’t ideal. It’s great to have that release when I don’t even talk or think about racing.”
The 27-year-old also cites his close relationship with his father Kieran as a vital part of his happiness but admits that being the son of the six-times former champion has come with its pressures. “Particularly at the start,” he says.
“There was no doubt that when I first got in to racing I was getting rides because Kieran Fallon was my dad. It gave me a leg up but I still had to prove I could do the job, otherwise I wouldn’t have got those chances.
“The flip side was that some people and the media questioned whether I would be anywhere near as good as my dad but that never bothered me, to be honest. I’m quite thick skinned when it comes to things like that. I’m Cieren with a ‘C’. We’re both different people.
“When I first started in racing I didn’t really understand his legacy. I grew up knowing nothing about the sport so it wasn’t until much later that I truly appreciated what he achieved. He was always my dad, not just one of the greatest jockeys that’s ever lived.
“Of course, he plays a big part in my life in and out of the saddle. If I’m unsure about anything I always ring him. With dad, the boss and my jockey coach Michael Hills I couldn’t wish for a better circle to have around me professionally.”
Kieran Snr is also Fallon’s partner on the padel court and together they face a high-stakes challenge with a racket in their hands, rather than a pair of reins.
“We’ve been having a bit of banter with your Sky Sports Racing colleagues Matt Chapman and Seb Sanders who have challenged dad and I to a padel match. They seem to think they can give us a run for our money but we’re looking forward to giving them a right old schooling.
“They’ve been running their mouths off but we’ll be playing into the corners just to see them face planting into the boards. It will all be for a good cause so Team Fallon is looking forward to putting them in their place,” he chuckles.
Back to more serious business on the track, Fallon hopes to maintain his good start to the winter season with one eye on the jockeys’ championship – and the £1 million Finals Day on Good Friday.
“A few of the lads above me in the table will be busy abroad so I’ll just keep working hard and see where I stand with a month to go. If I’m in with a chance I’ll give it a good kick, but it’s all about keeping the momentum going into next season.
“The boss has a lot of nice young horses to run and likes to target some of the bigger races so I’m hoping we may have a few for Good Friday,” adds Fallon, who won the Fillies’ and Mares’ Final for Haggas on Queen Aminatu in 2023.
“It was great to win the Listed Churchill Stakes at Southwell on Dubai Honour. I’m not sure what plans the boss has for him but the Group 3 Winter Derby would be an obvious target if he didn’t go abroad. Riding horses like him is such a privilege.
“The boss and his wife Maureen have been like a second set of parents to me since I first started riding so it means the world to me to be able to repay them with winners, especially in the bigger races.”
And with over 60 wins for the yard this year at a strike rate of more than 30 per cent, Fallon is certainly repaying their faith.
