Yesterday's terse British Horseracing Authority (BHA) statement that Kieren Fallon is free to ride in Britain again will delight the controversial former champion jockey but will also reverberate throughout an industry whose governing body across the Irish Sea now faces a lengthy struggle in regaining lost credibility.
Throughout the three-year saga of racing's supposed "trial of the century" there has been widespread unease at the BHA decision in July of 2006 to ban Fallon from riding in Britain.
Even those not sympathetic to him pondered the principle of innocent until proven guilty and wondered if the call was premature. In fact, after yesterday's events, that pre-emptive BHA strike now looks to have backfired spectacularly.
All of which will be of little consolation to the 42-year-old Co Clare-born jockey. The 17 months that he has been out of action in Britain is complicated by a six-month drugs ban that ruled him out of riding anywhere in the world from December 7th of last year to June 6th this summer.
However, his absence has been costly on any number of levels.
Fallon missed out on eight Group One victories for Aidan O'Brien in Britain in the period the BHA ban operated. With Coolmore Stud's other interests in major British stables, such as Michael Stoute's, Fallon missed out on many more high-profile chances.
O'Brien won the trainers' championship in Britain this year with a prizemoney total of over €4.5 million. A jockeys' prizemoney percentage is just under 10 per cent.
Combined with prizemoney missed out on in the second half of 2006, not to mention what was missed because of the BHA ban being reciprocated in America and other racing territories throughout the world, it can be estimated that Fallon has missed out on almost €1 million in earnings.
Even for someone who has been at the top level of the sport for well over a decade that will be a sore point. But the Irishman's anger yesterday at the BHA and the City of London police will also have been coloured by regret.
For a famous horseman, the pain of having lost out on some golden moments by some of the best bloodstock in the world will take some time to disappear.
Fallon has described Dylan Thomas, the colt he rode to win October's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, as the best he has ever ridden. Having to watch last July as John Murtagh guided the horse to a career-high performance in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot will have hurt.
He also had to stand back and watch Murtagh win the Yorkshire Oaks and the Nassau Stakes on Peeping Fawn, while Michael Kinane was on Yeats when he landed the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.
The upside for Fallon after yesterday's decision is the continued support of the powerful Coolmore Stud team, who will have another hugely-powerful string of top-class horses in 2008.
Peeping Fawn will be back in action as a four-year-old, as will the Irish Derby winner Soldier Of Fortune. Also waiting for the six-time former champion is a team of potential classic horses, headed by the unbeaten Jupiter Pluvius, who already ranks among the favourites for the 2,000 Guineas. Paddy Power rate Fallon's chances of winning a fourth Epsom Derby at just 8 to 1.
It's an exciting prospect for a man who can expect to ride at the top level for almost another decade if he chooses to. It's certainly a more attractive outlook than what's confronting the BHA after yesterday's seismic events.
