BRITAIN:The first undercover pictures of the men accused of a £2 million race-fixing scam involving former champion jockey Kieren Fallon were released today.
The surveillance pictures show alleged syndicate boss Miles Rodgers meeting an Irish businessman who had flown in from Spain and then travelling to Newmarket, where Mr Fallon lived. The images were shown to the jury at the Old Bailey where six-times champion jockey Kieren Fallon, Mr Rodgers and four other men deny conspiring to fix races to make horses lose so they could win on bets.
The prosecution has alleged that Mr Fallon angered a crooked betting syndicate run by Mr Rodgers after he won on Russian Rhythm on May 15th, 2004, instead of losing.
Jonathan Caplan QC said that following a concerted effort to confront Mr Fallon, Dublin-based Daniel Kinahan flew into Leeds Bradford airport on May 26th and was met by Mr Rodgers.
Mr Kinahan, who the court has been told was not accused of involvement in the conspiracy, was driven to the West Park Hotel in Harrogate, north Yorkshire, by Mr Rodgers and joined by Shaun Lynch and Philip Sherkle. Later, Shaun Lynch and Mr Rodgers met at a nearby hotel, The Majestic, where Mr Lynch is alleged to have texted Mr Fallon. The court was told they were joined by Mr Lynch's brother, jockey Fergal Lynch, and they all left together.
Later that night, Mr Rodgers and Shaun Lynch arrived at the Bedford Lodge Hotel in Newmarket, Suffolk, and checked into rooms booked under false names. They were then joined by Mr Sherkle and Mr Kinahan. The prosecution alleges they then went on a late-night drive towards Mr Fallon's Suffolk home before spotting an unmarked police car following them.
Darryll Holland became the first jockey to give evidence in the case today. He was called to tell the court about an incident at Leicester on May 18th. He said he was due to give a lift to Newmarket to Mr Fallon and fellow jockey Seb Sanders in his private aircraft after racing at Leicester racecourse.
The taxi booked to take them to the local airport failed to turn up and Mr Fallon told him they could get a lift in another car. But during the 10-minute ride there was no conversation, Mr Holland said. "Normally when you get in the car, you are introduced. I think it was a bit strange but nobody spoke to me and I did not speak to them." The prosecution say the two men in the Mercedes were Mr Rodgers and Shaun Lynch and that they were attempting to speak to Mr Fallon following his win on Russian Rhythm.