The tireless
26-year-old from Saint-Esprit, Quebec, the youngest trainer to hit 1,500 wins
in 2012, amassed career best numbers last year winning 453 races [second in
North America] and $3.8 million. He won the Rideau Carlton training title
and was Canada’s leading percentage stable with a .465 in the money figure.
In 2012, Farm
Allard staged their second annual day of racing and family fun at their Quebec
base with proceeds going to Centraid of Greater Montreal.
Since
venturing south of the border, Allard has become a force at the Meadowlands,
Yonkers, Pocono Downs, Harrah’s Philadelphia and Saratoga, often using his
older brother, Simon Allard in the sulky.
While
Allard’s power has come in sheer numbers, his uncanny ability to instantly
deliver a spot on synopsis of each individual helps him manage his massive operation
and produce positive results.
“I know every
horse in my barn, what they wear and what their problems are,” said
Allard “I love the racing part. I never miss a race, especially
with modern technology. Right now, I have about 90 horses and about 60
currently racing. I have 30 racing in the US, and I’m stabled on a farm
in Middletown, NY down here. I’ve still got 15 racing at Flamboro Downs,
and the rest are at our farm in Quebec. When other tracks open in March
like Harrah’s Philadelphia and Pocono Downs, I’m going to race less in Ontario
and planning on racing more on the south side of the border. I entered a
dozen in a sale in Ohio in February. I want to concentrate on racing
better horses, mainly at the Meadowlands, Yonkers and Pocono Downs.”
While chiefly
a trainer of raceway stock, Allard dreams of more lucrative paydays and
winner’s circle celebrations for classics like the Meadowlands Pace.
“My ultimate
goal is to race in those big money stakes,” noted Allard. “I’ve always
been a guy who just wants to win as many races as I could. I was the
leader in wins in Canada for three straight years before finishing second in
2012, and I was second in North America. But, again, now I want to have
more quality than quantity. When you have around 100 horses or more, you
tend to spread yourself too thin. I thought about getting some yearlings
this year, and I’m going to do that this Fall. With fewer cheaper horses,
I’ll have room to upgrade to some stakes colts. I have a couple right
now, but eventually I hope to get more between this year and the next.
When I do it, I want to do it right and to the best of my ability.”
Allard sends
out half a dozen pacers on Saturday’s program at the Meadowlands and offered
his assessment of each entrant:
“Simon said
Odin Blue Chip [post seven, race one] was very grabby behind the gate, so he
took him back and he thinks he may have choked him. We’re going to add
some ear plugs and make some other changes, so he should be alright this
week. They also went a cheap half (:56) and it was hard to catch
anybody. This is the first horse Wheelhouse Racing Stable claimed with
me.
“A J Corbelli
[post seven, race five] qualified good, and I thought he was in tough last
time, but he came up sick. We’ve given him some time and he seems
healthy. I don’t know if he’ll be in top, top shape, but he trained good.
“When we
bought Musselsfrmbrussels [post five, race six] we thought he’d be okay.
We raced him at Yonkers and he was a little steppy in the turns there. He
was obviously real good when he won here, but we were a little disappointed
last week. He’s a small horse and Simon thinks he likes to chase
horses. So, racing him on the front isn’t his thing. He’s in a
tough field.
“We thought
No BU [post two, race seven] might win after he came charging home from post
ten in his first start at the Meadowlands, but he seems to hang between the
quarter and three quarter pole. We might make a bridle change and close
him up, make him more aggressive, and if everything works
out he could probably handle that field.
“Yves
Sarrazin sent D GS Woodstock [post three, race nine] to me to try him
here. He trained and qualified good. That’s a race where horses are
shipping in from everywhere, so it’s a question mark.
“Da Vision Of
Art [post one, race 11] will be in the Survivor Series coming up. He
didn’t qualify the way I wanted him to. He was just okay and we’re hoping
he’ll get better.”
