Champion international trainer Ivan Allan has died in Singapore.  Aged 68, he passed away on Wednesday after a long battle with illness.

Allan was one of the most successful trainers in the history of racing in Singapore and Hong Kong.  He won the Singapore premiership seven times and, after moving to Hong Kong in 1992, claimed another three titles.

He retired in 2004 after 12 years in Hong Kong.  In that period he trained 544 winners and among them were his Horse of the Year award winners Oriental Express, Indigenous and Fairy King Prawn.

Allan was also a successful owner in Europe.  He enjoyed a string of victories in Britain with horses such as Commanche Run, Classic Cliche, Citidancer, Capricorn Belle and Chateau Istana.  He also raced horses in partnership with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Commanche Run was trained by Luca Cumani to win the 1984 English St Leger and the following year he added the Benson & Hedges Gold Cup and Irish Champion Stakes.

“He was one of the cleverest trainers I’ve ever worked with,” jockey Douglas Whyte recalled.  “He always knew where he was going with his horses, especially when it came to the big ones.  If he set a horse for a race and it had a bit of luck on the day, he was very good at getting it right.”

Allan is survived by his long-time companion Jenny and daughter Kim, who were at his bedside in Singapore’s Gleneagles Hospital when he died on Wednesday evening.