When the connections of Steparty needed to find a replacement rider for Dean Yendall, it was an easy decision to head in the direction of John Allen.
Yendall suffered a fracture to a collarbone when dislodged behind the barriers at the Colac jump-outs last week and has been forced to forego the ride on Steparty in the Listed McKenzie Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Steparty is undefeated in three starts, commencing his career under Allen with an 1100m maiden win at Ballarat in May before Yendall took over for wins at Flemington over 1200m and 1400m at his two subsequent starts.
Yendall was glued to the saddle of Steparty until his untimely incident last week and had ridden the colt when third in a 1000m trial at Stawell on August 23.
But with Yendall sidelined, Allen received the call-up, only briefly, to partner Steparty on Saturday.
Allen remembers the debut performance and had ridden Steparty in his trials prior to his win.
“He looks a nice horse, so it’s good to get back on him,” Allen said.
“He was a little green, but I had trialled him a few times as well.
“He’s a nice big horse with plenty of scope so I would imagine he could improve a bit.
“I suppose it was handy (having ridden him before) when they were looking for a jockey for him, but he’s a pretty straight forward horse, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Steparty will race for the first time on a tighter track at Moonee Valley, but Allen does not see that posing a problem.
And with the scratching of Godolphin galloper Heuristic, Steparty will be up against just five opponents on Saturday.
“He’s a big horse, but it’s not an overly big field, and he’s generally pretty sharp out of the gates, so I don’t think the track should be too much of an issue.”
Allen said he was likely to have a chat to Yendall at some stage about the colt as he has not been aboard Steparty since his debut run.
“It’s unlucky for him (that Yendall is injured), but I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” Allen said.