Greg Fairley, the 2007 champion apprentice who was banned for 12 years for stopping a horse and sharing privileged information, is is set to make a contentious return to horse racing. Once considered one of the rising stars of Flat racing, Fairley rode 381 winners in Britain and tasted top-level success when Lady Jane Digby, trained by his former boss Mark Johnston, won a Group 1 race in Germany in 2010.

However, the Scottish jockey was expelled from the sport in disgrace in December 2011 after a British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel found him guilty of not riding The Staffy to his full potential at Wolverhampton in March 2009. The panel also handed down a 12-year ban to jockey Paul Doe, while Kirsty Milczarek received a two-year suspension and Jimmy Quinn was sidelined for six months. Additionally, Fairley was found guilty of sharing privileged information for personal gain.

Now aged 37, Fairley has been working as a tree surgeon during his period of exclusion but started riding work for trainer Sandy Thomson in 2021.

His path back to race-riding has been paved following a successful application for the reinstatement of his jockey's licence. "We are satisfied that Mr Fairley is now a person who can be trusted," concluded the licensing committee, admitting that the case was "very difficult to determine".

"We tend to the view that, given his experience over the last 12-13 years, he is unlikely ever to engage in dishonest or corrupt behaviour again and unlikely to breach any integrity Rules," it added.

Charlie Johnston, who took over from his father at Kingsley Park Stables in Middleham in 2023, has thrown his support behind Fairley's career resurgence.

"I was at university at the time it happened," he recalled, "but he was a big part of the team. The year he was champion apprentice, Joe [Fanning] had a bad fall at Glorious Goodwood and missed the rest of the season.

"Greg got thrust into taking a large proportion of the ride, including at Group level, even though he was still a claimer. He was a talented jockey. His misdemeanours were on horses not associated with us and I'm sure he regrets going down that path.

"But he's served a long and tough sentence and fair play to him for having the courage to try and come back. He phoned last night and said, 'This is going to be hitting the press, and I wanted you and Mark to know before it came out.'

"I'm sure there will be some owners who are still in the yard who had some success with him in years gone by. He's going to have to rebuild those relationships but I'm sure he will work hard at that."