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APQEII Cup News : Allan puts faith in tried and tested approach 19 April 2002 It is with some pride that Ivan Allan describes himself as an "old-fashioned trainer". He does not own a stopwatch and the changed methods of preparing horses in the late 20th century appear to have entirely by-passed his particular stable door. The techniques that so quickly made him stand apart from the rest in Singapore in the late 1960's are still the ones he has been using at Sha Tin this week and they include a firm belief in not over-working a horse. It can be no coincidence that Allan's Indigenous is able to compete for the sixth time in the Audemars Piguet QE11 Cup on Sunday. The former Hong Kong Horse of The Year has raced 61 times, and an extraordinary statistic reveals that the nine-year-old has done a mighty job since the last of his 15 career wins back in March 1999, managing a massive haul of HK$14 million in place money. "With a shower of rain, he could run a respectable race," Allan said, though the man who has kept this horse fresh enough to race at the top of the international tree for so long is as aware as any that this great servant to owner Louis Pang is now beginning to feel his age. Cheers Hong Kong also will represent the Allan stable and, while rain would help his cause, the fact that Allan says he is a better horse at 2400 metres suggests this one will be hard-pressed to reach the serious money at international Group 1 level. With Hong Kong Derby winner Olympic Express it could be a very different story. One of just a few horses that went down in Allan's notebook on a visit to Newmarket last summer, the runner-up in Royal Ascot's Britannia Handicap is now the property of Larry Yung. Allan won this race for Yung in 1996 with Oriental Express, who incidentally has recently left Hong Kong for luxurious retirement at the owner's estate in Sussex, the former home of the late Harold Macmillan, one-time British Prime Minister. "Meeting Larry Yung was one of the best things that happened to me. I would describe him as a founding member of my stable. More than that, he is a great sportsman who knows how to enjoy the big wins and how to accept defeat graciously," said Allan. What is it to be on Sunday - victory or defeat? "On a good track, Olympic Express has a fair chance," Allan says, though he adds: "I salute the Hong Kong Jockey Club for the hard work they have done to put on such a competitive Group 1 race, but that of course makes it much more difficult to win. As Ecclesiastical last year he (Olympic Express) was only a handicapper in England and, though he has improved since, it is a long step up to Group 1 level." Grandera, who also caught Allan's eye during his Newmarket visit but, as a Group 1 performer, had a much heftier price-tag, is the horse he fears and respects most on Sunday. It is unlikely the trainer will be betting on the outcome. Indeed, although Allan's charisma is partially based on stories of gambling prowess, the success of the twice champion Hong Kong-trainer has diminished the appeal of the betting windows. "In the days when I had $6,000 in the bank and a wages bill of $45,000 to find at the end of the week, the only way of bridging the gap was by gambling - as a means of survival. Then it was really exciting." Be that as it may, one certainty is that Ivan Allan, who some may be surprised to learn describes himself as a "devout Roman Catholic", will as always offer up a prayer before Sunday's race. Over the years they seem to be have been answered on a fairly frequent basis.
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