Allan showed HK in best light overseas

For all his battles with authorities at various times - in many of which he was fully vindicated - Ivan Allan has left a gaping hole in Hong Kong training ranks with his retirement.

Allan's many winners and major achievements will outlive those battles, like the public slanging match which occurred during the 'Shampoogate' inquiry last year.

Allan would argue that only his extravagant response to that matter brought out a truth which not only rescued his case and that of Alex Wong Siu-tan, who had already been fined, but prevented the Isosorbide positives which most likely would have followed.

Allan's ability to discover and then improve quality tried horses has been the key to a long list of achievements in both Singapore and Hong Kong. Training moments like bringing Oriental Express back in three weeks after winning the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 2,000m to beat the best sprinters in Hong Kong in the Chairman's Sprint Prize.

Perhaps one of Allan's finest achievements in recent times was getting Olympic Express first past the post in the Hong Kong Mile with a preparation which consisted of a single 1,000m race in which he finished virtually tailed off.

The comments from a stunned visiting press - summarised briefly by the quote 'how on earth did he do that?' - were enough to underline the enormity of the performance. More than any domestic brilliance, Hong Kong racing will miss Allan's willingness for and skill at international competition which was fundamental in opening the world's eyes to Hong Kong-based horses.