Fallon receives 13-day ban

Champion jockey Kieren Fallon faces a serious battle to retain his crown after receiving one of the longest bans of his turbulent career.

Fallon headed to London this morning 13 winners ahead of Richard Hughes in the title race but expecting a lengthy suspension after an irresponsible riding ban at Newmarket last month saw him referred under the Jockey Club's totting-up procedure.

His worst fears were confirmed after a brief hearing at Portman Square.

The Newmarket suspension was rubber-stamped, and the Disciplinary Committee handed Fallon a 13-day ban with a further four days to be activated should he commit the same offence again during the next three months.

His suspension begins on 13 September, effectively ruling him out of a string of big races including the St Leger and the Ayr Gold Cup, though he will be back in time for Ascot's Festival of British racing, beginning on 27 September.

Ironically, Hughes has also had his share of trouble with officialdom of late and returns from a five-day ban with some good rides at Kempton on Saturday.

He could find himself very close to Fallon by the time the champion returns if he can up his strike-rate over the next couple of weeks, and his booking to ride Highest in the Leger is just one of a clutch of good rides that Fallon would have been hoping to secure had he been available.

Most bookmakers suspended betting on the Jockeys' Championship until Fallon's fate was known, but Coral have reassessed the situation in the light of this morning's events.

Fallon is on offer at 1-2 to notch his fifth title in six years, while Hughes is available at 6-4 to seize the crown for the first time in his career.