Ben Allen ready to compete without a claim

Apprentice Ben Allen has outridden his claim and will compete on terms with senior jockeys.

Leading Victorian apprentice Ben Allen will enter the next phase of his career this week after outriding his claim.

Allen’s win on the Archie Alexander-trained So Far Sokool at Moonee Valley on Friday night was the apprentice’s 80th city victory.

“It was very exciting,” Allen said.

“I outrode my claim a lot quicker than I thought I would have but it’s good to get it out of the way and get it done.”

The 18-year-old rode his first city winner at Sandown in April last year aboard Lyuba for trainer Darren Weir who has supported him for the past couple of years.

“He is probably my best supporter in town and he’s really helped me kick along in town,” Allen said.

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“If it wasn’t for him I’d probably still have a claim. It’s good getting good support from a trainer like him.”

Despite outriding his claim on Friday night, Allen was still able to use his 1.5kg metropolitan allowance for the final time at Pakenham on Saturday and added another win to his tally on Tried And Tired for trainer Jarrod McLean who is also Weir’s Warrnambool foreman.

Allen says he is just going to have to keep working hard to get opportunities.

“Now I don’t have that kilo and a half claim, I’ve just got to try to ride them a bit better,” he said.

Allen rode 49 city winners in Melbourne last season to finish second on the apprentices’ standings to Beau Mertens (73) and fourth overall.

He has notched 13 metropolitan wins in Victoria so far this season including his biggest career victory in the Group Two Herbert Power Stakes at Caulfield during the spring on Lord Fandango.