Gerald Allen
Article by Alan Trout
National Hunt jockey Gerald Allen enjoyed some success on the Flat but mostly over jumps in a career that lasted for over 20 years.
He was apprenticed to Norman Scobie and had his first ride at Newbury on June 9, 1932 when Luxor finished unplaced in the Ogbourne Handicap, a race won by Michael Beary on Pacemaker.
It was not until the Apprentice Handicap Plate at Hamilton Park on August 26, 1933 that Gerald opened his account when the five-year-old Cartouche, trained by Scobie, scored by two lengths.
Another two years passed until there was a further success on the Flat but by then Gerald was making progress as a National Hunt jockey. He had the considerable patronage of trainer Alex Kilpatrick behind him, and in the last few weeks of the 1934/35 season the pair notched five wins with the considerable help of the four-year-old hurdler Ponessan, who added a sixth success when the new season started when trotting up at Southwell on September 2, winning the Lowdham Handicap Hurdle by 12 lengths
Just 16 days later, Gerald had his second – and last – winner on the Flat when Air Rocket, owned and trained by Kilpatrick, won the Clearwell Selling Plate at Chepstow by 10 lengths.
While there were no further wins on the Flat for him, Gerald had three more over jumps that season, two of them on the splendid Ponessan. The pair made an excellent start to the 1936/37 campaign, winning the Churchills Handicap Hurdle at Newton Abbot on the opening day of the new season. However, that proved to be Gerald’s only win, for although he still rode Ponessan in most races, they did not add to their score, and James Ward was on board when the horse won at Pershore in October. Ponessan ran 18 times altogether that season, won twice and was placed in a further twelve.
Gerald kept his licence for another year but then moved on – presumably he would have seen war service – and it was not until 1946 that he reappeared. He rode three more winners over jumps, his comeback success being gained at Newport on November 8, 1947 when guiding Flo, trained by Major Dixon, to a one-length victory in a three-year-old hurdle race.
He struck twice in the early part of the 1949/50 season, winning the Pendennis Handicap Chase at Buckfastleigh on August 6 aboard Springway, and then landing a match on the same horse in the Pondsgate Handicap Chase at Newton Abbot on September 10, being helped on the latter occasion by the fall of his sole opponent, Boy Scout.
Gerald had also renewed his Flat jockey’s licence after the war but was unable to add to his score. Sadly, his career came to an ignominious end when his licence was withdrawn during the 1951/52 season.
Gerald Allen’s winners were, in chronological order:
1. Cartouche, Hamilton Park, August 26, 1933
2. Ponessan, Southwell, April 20, 1935
3. Ponessan, Market Rasen, April 22, 1935
4. Ponessan, Woore, May 2, 1935
5. Ponessan, Southwell, May 16, 1935
6. Ponessan, Bridgnorth, May 18, 1935
7. Ponessan, Southwell, September 2, 1935
8. Air Rocket, Chepstow, September 18, 1935
9. Ponessan, Uttoxeter, March 2, 1936
10. Inanda, Southwell, March 21, 1936
11. Ponessan, Southwell, May 30, 1936
12. Ponessan, Newton Abbot, August 3, 1936
13. Flo, Newport, November 8, 1947
14. Springway, Buckfastleigh, August 6, 1949
15. Springway, Newton Abbot, September 10, 1949
