In racing and in life, sometimes all you need is a bit of luck.
That is Ben Allen’s philosophy and he reckons he’s been pretty lucky on and off the track.
The only question Allen gets asked more at the moment than what horse he’s most excited to ride this spring is how he managed to get a Chadwick model to go on a date with him.
He likes to think that his beautiful partner Delainey Mary is a fan of his big personality, but the 26-year-old is the first to admit that he’s still scratching his head as to how he scored the girl of his dreams.
“It’s amazing the amount of times I’ve been asked that,” Allen said. “It’s a bit of luck, just a fluke I’d say, and I’m still trying to work out how I did it. She didn’t really have anything to do with racing but I’d like to think I’ve recruited her across. She absolutely loves racing now and we seem to match up quite well.”
The truth is Allen is a likeable guy.
Not only is he an elite jockey that has enjoyed multiple Group 1 wins, but he represents racing’s ‘new age’ and is already helping recruit the next generation of racing club members, punters and owners to the track.
He’s savvy on social media, happy to engage in traditional media and doesn’t take himself too seriously.
He’s building a profile off the track as well as via his ‘hobby’ as a DJ and is even planning some post-raceday events during the spring under his ‘After The Last’ banner, with a Manikato Stakes after party already locked in.
“I try to mix it up a bit and have a life outside of work but at the same time, spring is probably a time when you need to be 100% invested in racing,” he said.
“So riding is definitely my number one focus at the moment but I’ve got a couple of events in the works for the spring. The original plan was to see if we could get some stages at the races and give people a chance to make it a bit more of a day out, instead of having to leave straight after the racing is over. I just want to give people some entertainment after the last race.”
“The first time I played at Moonee Valley we were able to do that, keep people there a bit longer, and I think it worked well. I feel like that sort of thing helps attract a younger crowd, and that’s what racing needs a bit more of these days, whether it’s young members, young owners or young punters.
A lot of the clubs already have their entertainment booked so we’re looking at a few nearby venues and organising some buses to take people after the races.”
Allen’s Group 1 tally stands at two thanks to Pinstriped’s 2024 Memsie Stakes win and Marabi’s 2022 Oakleigh Plate victory.
He’s bullish he can add to it over the coming months, although he’s under no illusions that opportunities in the big races will be few and far between in a weighing room that includes Shinn, Williams, Lane, Melham, Zahra and Brown, but he’s finding form at the right time, including a valuable Stakes win at The Valley last month and a recent four-timer at Pakenham.
“The spring is a tough time of year, and for me, there’s nothing set in stone with which horses I’m going to ride,” he said. “The jockeys’ room in Melbourne is so powerful and there are so many good riders in there, so getting a shot on something with a chance in those good races is quite difficult.
”My attitude is to take it as it comes and try to make the most of the opportunities I get. I’m pretty mindful of staying as light as I can over spring in case any opportunities come my way in some of those bigger handicap races. A lot of it is about luck and sometimes you’ve just got to get on the right horse in the right race on the right day.”
The king of the after party 👑 @bennallen44 #LoveTheValley pic.twitter.com/pG4JBOhKFR
— Moonee Valley Racing Club (@TheValley) September 29, 2023
One horse Allen is unlikely to ride is Pinstriped, who ran last in Saturday’s Group 1 Memsie Stakes with Mick Dee back in the saddle.
As well as last year’s Memsie, Allen steered the gelding to victory in the 2024 Feehan Stakes and partnered the horse in the Cox Plate, All Star Mile and Champions Stakes in the last two seasons, but in a sign of the cut-throat nature of the sport at this time of year, he was dropped by connections after Pinstriped’s below par first-up run last month.
“I spoke to EJ and the owners were keen to go with someone else, which is fine,” he said. “I don’t think they were too happy with the way I was riding the horse so they chose to go with someone else, and ultimately that’s fine because he’s their horse and he doesn’t owe me anything. It was a bit flattening, especially given he’s a horse that I’ve previously won a Group 1 on. I’ve been taken off plenty of horses – not in Group 1 races – but it’s something that happens quite a bit so you learn to roll with the punches.”
A week can be a long time in racing and Allen will get the opportunity to put that disappointment behind him when he teams up with Baraqiel in the Group 1 Moir Stakes on Saturday.
Allen is all the injury-plagued sprinter has ever known and they’ve combined in each of the horse’s 11 starts to date, including victory in last year’s Group 2 McEwen Stakes and last month’s Listed Carlyon Stakes, both at The Valley.
“He’s one I really am looking forward to,” he said. “Troy, Will and Leon (Corstens) have done a massive job with the horse to nurse him back from all the issues that he’s had. It goes to show you that patience is key with some horses and other trainers might have put the cue in the rack after his second or third tendon (injury).
”He’s quite an exciting horse and he showed it the other weekend, being able to be ridden a bit differently and also his first time at 1000m which was a bit of an unknown. It (Moir) looks the perfect stepping stone, he loves The Valley and he’s shown that he can quicken well around a bend.”
