Jockey Ben Allen will ride in the Caulfield Cup for the first time in eight years when he partners the international raider Absurde.
Allen was given the call up to partner the stayer in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on Saturday before Kerrin McEvoy takes over for the Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 4.
A previous ride aboard the Willie Mullins-trained Thomas Hobson secured Allen the mount.
As an apprentice, Allen rode Thomas Hobson in the 2017 Melbourne Cup, finishing sixth, after Joao Moreira had a fall earlier in the day and was ruled out.
Allen said he was looking forward to riding again in the Caulfield Cup having not ridden in the since partnering Night’s Watch behind Best Solution in 2018.
“I asked my manager to give them a call and see if the ride was available, but we only had an old number for them, and it was disconnected,” Allen said.
“By chance, Paul Bloodworth gave her a call after he had put together a list of riders for them.
“I did ride Thomas Hobson in the Melbourne Cup, so maybe that helped.”
Allen said Absurde looked a good ride in the Caulfield Cup and that he would thoroughly go through the Irish raiders replays before Saturday’s race.
“I’ve watched a couple of his Cup runs and I’ll go and have a look at the rest of races,” Allen said.
“He looks the ideal ride for this type of staying race, and he will need a genuine tempo and nine times out of 10 they are run at a pretty good gallop.
“It’s been a while since I’ve ridden in the Caulfield Cup, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
