Racing: Gallagher's latest fall from grace may be last

By his own admission, Dean Gallagher's latest failure to say no to the lure of cocaine is likely to signal the end of his turbulent career in the saddle. Gallagher revealed yesterday that he is one of two jockeys who recently tested positive for the drug. Sure to face a lengthy ban and with doubts over whether those who have stayed loyal to him through many dark days will find the generosity to do so again, Gallagher, approaching the veteran stage for a jump jockey at the age of 34, recently married and with a one-year-old daughter, is in desperate need of a new career.

"I will try to maintain a career in racing despite this devastating news," Gallagher said, "and I remain committed to my recovery. My only request is that I be allowed some space and privacy to rebuild my life and support my young family.

"These are not hollow words. I am sorry that I will not be able to repay those who have supported me in the past two years and I cannot thank them enough for their understanding and patience."

Chief among those supporters has been Paul Green, the owner of Hors La Loi III, who gave Gallagher the brightest moment of a career that also shone with Couldnt Be Better's 1995 Hennessy Gold Cup triumph but frequently yielded fewer than 20 victories per year.

The troughs have been deep and all too frequent. In January 1998 Gallagher was arrested along with colleagues Graham Bradley, Jamie Osborne and Leighton Aspell as part of police investigations into allegations of race-fixing and doping. All were cleared, but Gallagher, who was rebailed six times over 14 months, had to sell his house to pay his solicitors' fees.

Then, in July 2000, Gallagher failed three tests in France for cocaine and was banned for six months. Only by completing a rehabilitation programme at Marchwood Priory, Bournemouth, an establishment where windows open no more than two inches and bedside lamps are welded to the lockers, did Gallagher convince the Jockey Club to return his licence.

"The clinic identified that I only took cocaine after I'd been drinking," he said later. "In this game you drink to celebrate a win and to commiserate after losing. We're in a dangerous game. Every ride could be your last and you live for the day."

A stark reminder of that statement came in April when Gallagher was knocked unconscious for four minutes in a horrific fall at Wetherby, an injury that kept him off the course until September, the month in which he failed his drugs test.

Gallagher has been unstinting in his support for the similarly afflicted and was the sponsor at Alcoholics Anonymous and a character witness in court for Timmy Murphy, the jockey who has just served 84 days in prison for indecently assaulting a flight assistant.

Murphy attempts to rebuild his career with a first ride since his release at Wetherby today. For Gallagher there may not be another chance.