Fergal Lynch
Born on 9 March 1978 in Derry, Fergal Lynch was champion apprentice jockey in 1996. He has been apprenticed to Jimmy Fitzgerald and Reg Hollinshead.
Big race wins include Clerkenwell in the 1996 Ebor Handicap and, future Derby Winner, Kris Kin in the Dee Stakes in 2003.
Fergal Lynch used to go out with Emmerdale's Claire King who is 16 years older than him. She told the Daily Mirror:
"It was nothing serious. I've known Fergal for years. He used to ride my horses and lives round the corner from me. We've turned into mates. Just because you're not having sex any more it doesn't mean you stop getting on."
Fergal Lynch graduated from the Northern Racing College in March 1994.
On 3 July 2006 the police announced that Fergal Lynch, 28, of Boroughbridge, York, was charged with Conspiracy to Defraud Betfair Customers.
Fergal Lynch together with Kieren Fallon, Miles Rodgers, Philip Sherkle, and Shaun Lynch went to trial at the Old Bailey in autumn 2007.
The BBC has an account of how the trial got underway and the prosecution's claim that Fergal Lynch acted as an intermediary between Mr Rodgers and Mr Fallon in a conspiracy to make horses lose.
Previously the Horseracing Regulatory Authority had decided not to renew Lynch's license until after the outcome of the trial.
In December 2007 together with Kieren Fallon and Darren Williams amongst others, Fergal Lynch was cleared of race-fixing, after the judge, Mr Justice Forbes directed the jury to find the defendants not guilty of conspiracy to defraud customers of Betfair.
Soon afterwards, the British Horseracing Authority handed Fergal Lynch his licence back.
Fergal Lynch has his first ride back on 4 January 2008.
