Kieren Fallon recounts the ‘genius’ of Sir Michael Stoute as retirement looms

Adam Morgan
September 10, 2024 4:57 pm

Trainer and former champion jockey enjoyed many great days together.

Kieren Fallon hailed the “trainer he always wanted to ride for” after Sir Michael Stoute announced he will retire at the end of the season.

Fallon and Stoute won two Derbys together with Kris Kin and North Light, enjoying plenty of other great successes during the Russian Rhythm years and with Golan, Islington, King’s Best and many others.

Speaking of his pride at riding for Stoute, former six-time champion jockey Fallon told the PA news agency: “All of the great jockeys have been there at some stage. Even Gary Stevens came over and rode for him.

“I was freelancing at the time, I had just finished with Henry (Cecil) and it was just luck of the draw for me and we ended up with all these great horses. Guineas, Derby, Royal Ascot the lot. Jeez, there were some great horses.

“They weren’t just one type, he had a bit of everything, from two-year-olds to sprinters to stayers.

Kris Kin – Epsom Races — Kris Kin and Fallon winning the Derby (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)

“I don’t like comparing trainers, but he was my favourite and he was the trainer I always wanted to ride for. I don’t know if it comes from Shergar or what, because of where I am from in the west of Ireland you could never have dreamed of being in his yard.”

Russian Rhythm’s CV included the 1000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes, Nassau Stakes and Lockinge, and Fallon went on: “He trained some of the greats, Shergar, and of course I rode Russian Rhythm who I thought was his best filly – she wasn’t just a two-year-old, three-year-old or four-year-old.

“King’s Best, unfortunately he broke down. He was a machine and look what he did in the Guineas going from first to last. I remember his last piece of work before he was going to go to Epsom and he got injured after that. I had never ridden anything like that piece of work.

“The horses loved it there and that was one of the reasons for his success. Notnowcato was a handicapper the year before he won the Eclipse and I told a friend of mine to buy him to go jumping as he was headed for the sales given he was a nice horse and would make a good jumper. He ended up winning the Eclipse with him and that kind of sums up how good he was.”

Fallon said Stoute was “firm but fair” and had the magic touch when it came to dealing with his riders.

EPSOM DERBY RACE — North Light returning after his Derby victory (Chris Young/PA)

He remembered: “He was a joy to ride for and I would always go and sit down with him. He would always ring me before a Classic or big race and he would say to come on up for glass of wine or whatever.

“We would sit there chatting away about cricket or things I have no interest in, but we’d chat away and just before I left he would say something simple like ‘so how are you going to ride this horse tomorrow?’ and he would just keep it simple rather than stand in the paddock in front of the owners. I thought it was another part of his genius.

“He knew when the gates opened anything can happen and he knew it was hard to say I want you to sit here or keep wide. When you are tied down things are not going to happen because you are always trying to correct them rather than letting a race happen as it does. He could read races and he knew that things happen.

“He was firm but fair and if you got anything wrong he would let you think about it for a while and wouldn’t say an awful lot.

“I was with him quite a while and there was only one little blip in all the years and all the rides.

Sagitta 1000 Guineas stakes — Russian Rhythm after her 1000 Guineas triumph (Andrew Parsons/PA)

“I was riding a filly at Windsor and I hated Windsor and I remember this filly missed the kick coming out of the stalls over a mile – she was a nice filly. There were plenty of runners and I got stuck on the outside and I got back too far and I didn’t ride a great race.

“I came in on the next work morning and rode work and went for breakfast and after he had finished checking over the horses, because he was so meticulous, he came in and I was sitting at the table with a paper and a cup of tea and he hits the table with his fist and said ‘I had a 33 per cent strike rate at Windsor before you started riding for me’. He was annoyed but that was the end of it – the great thing was he never dwelt on it when there were more important things to worry about.

“I also remember he would wait for the work riders and jockeys coming in after work and you would tell him something and he would pretend he was writing it down on a piece of paper using his finger and the palm of his hand. And when he would think it was a load of rubbish someone had just told him he would pretend to screw up the piece of paper and throw it away. It was usually Johnny Murtagh or Mick Kinane – I can’t remember him doing it to me, but he probably did at some stage.”