A buoyant Port Macquarie crowd swelled by holidaymakers was treated to a masterclass by talented young jockey Anna Roper on Sunday. Aided by her 2kg provincial claim, Anna won on all four of her rides for the day - Turf Fever and Sneaky Sofia for her boss Damien Lane, Broadway Bouncer for Kristen Buchanan and River Pat for Kim Waugh. The grin on her face as she came back on the final winner was no wider than the one she wore after scoring on Audette at Royal Randwick on Boxing Day.
The fact that it was just her second win on the iconic Randwick course proper generated some of her elation, but it went much deeper than that. Most importantly the win announced a return to the winner’s circle after a nightmare run of injury which had wiped out five months of 2024 for the gun young rider. Anna had Audette away smartly in the Darley Hcp before handing up to Extravagent Lad and Frilled soon after the start. She adroitly eased into a trailing position and followed Frilled around the turn and over the rise. The young jockey looked poised and confident on Audette as she held off late finishing Chief Conductor to win the BM78 by a narrow margin. “It was exactly what I needed at this time in my career,” said Anna. “It was doubly pleasing to win the race for Kylie Gavenlock who’s given me great support since I started riding.”
Anna gave Audette a perfect run to win the Darley Hcp on Boxing Day. Runner up was Chief Conductor - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The young jockey’s copybook ride was a reminder of her spectacular entry into the NSW riding ranks in April of 2022. She won on Alpha Go at Gundagai at her very first race ride with poise and composure beyond her years. By the end of the 2021/2022 season she’d ridden 15 winners. She was off the mark quickly in the new season and reeled off another 41 winners before fate dealt her a cruel blow on November 25th, 2022. She was returning to scale on the unplaced Stable Talk after race two on the card at Muswellbrook, when the gelding began to buck uncontrollably. Anna was thrown heavily, bearing the brunt of the impact on her right knee - the same knee she’d seriously injured during a school soccer match four years earlier.
After a fairy tale beginning to her new career, the talented jockey was brought back to earth with a resounding thud. Specialists diagnosed tearing to the posterior cruciate ligament and to the medial collateral ligament, but decided against surgery. “They thought the injuries would repair with the use of a knee brace and intensive physiotherapy,” Anna recalled. “I was devastated when there was little improvement after three months, and finally they decided on MCL surgery. By the time I resumed at Kempsey in July 2023 seven months had passed since the Muswellbrook accident. I won on Penfold Park that day for Kristen Buchanan and it was as though I’d never been away.”
An emotional comeback win on Penfold Park at Kempsey July 2023 - courtesy Trackside Photography.
With her indentures transferred from Tracey Bartley to Damien Lane Anna was quickly back into her winning ways for a wide range of stables. The winners flowed freely on provincial and country tracks and she began to dream about future metropolitan rides. Her appetite was whetted by a Saturday win at Randwick on Much Much Better for Sara Ryan, and a Kensington success on Desiah for Ciaron Maher. However, that touchy knee still wasn’t ready to go away, and reappeared under bizarre circumstances at the Newcastle trials on April 12th of this year. Anna had run second on her old mate Much Much Better in an early trial before going to the barriers on a lively two year old filly called Tickle Me Pink for the Mark Minervini stable. “I don’t know what spooked the filly, but she whipped around suddenly and I felt some sort of a sensation above my right knee,” recalled Anna.
“There was instant pain and I feared the worst again. It felt OK when I jumped off and walked around, and everybody was telling me I’d only given it a tweak. I jumped back on board and actually won the trial on Tickle Me Pink but decided not to ride again that morning. I had scans just a few hours later and my heart sank. There was tearing of the quadricep above my problem knee, and I was advised to rest it for six to eight weeks in conjunction with physiotherapy. I returned to trackwork in a month and hoped the improvement would continue. I was OK standing in the irons and walking around on the ground. I felt most discomfort when in a sitting position especially in the starting gates. I battled on and somehow learned to live with it.”
Anna was thrust into the spotlight when she won on Alpha Go at her very first race ride - Gundagai April 2022 - courtesy Trackpix Racing Photography.
It was June 19th when the 22 year old returned to the races. Damien Lane decided to take two to Dubbo and Anna picked up a third ride from Mack Griffith. Imagine her delight when she won at her first ride back on two year old filly Singing Star who did plenty wrong but still won, while Damien’s other runner Really Motivated ran a close second. It was enough to put her on a high for the long trip home, and for a short time the frustration of previous weeks diminished.
Anna continued to ride, but for the first time in her short career wasn’t enjoying going to the races. The pain persisted, especially when in the starting gates forcing her to arrange a surgical investigation. It was a bitter sweet experience for the frustrated young jockey when she won on Yendy for Ciaron Maher at Hawkesbury on July 21st. The apprentice was close to tears as she trotted back to scale in intense pain. For the first time, she welcomed the upcoming surgery.
“The surgeon put me in the wrong frame of mind even before I went into the theatre when he admitted he didn’t really know what had to be done,” Anna recalled. He said he’d have to make a decision after inspecting the damage, which didn’t help my confidence. He told me later he’d never seen an injury quite like it. The section of quad in question had split laterally, and had to be stitched back into place. That’s literally what he did, just pull it together again. I knew another long absence awaited. A lovely week in Bali put my mind back in order and then I focused on the quickest possible rehabilitation. When I finally got back to trackwork, I approached the comeback with great caution. I rode the right kind of horses and increased the workload gradually.”
The trademark Roper smile wasn't as prevalent during her struggles with serious knee issues - courtesy Trackpix Racing Photography.
By the end of October, three months after the surgery Anna had progressed to the official trials. She had one quiet ride for her boss Damian Lane at Newcastle on October 22nd and looked forward to increasing the number at the Scone trials eight days later. When word was out that she was available for mounts, trainers came from everywhere. Probably against her better judgement she finished up with a whopping twelve rides, netting one winner and a handful of placings for a wide range of stables. Driving home from Scone she was thrilled to have “pulled up” perfectly - no pain, no stiffness and with plenty of energy to spare. She still intended to delay her return to the races for a little longer, but all of that changed when her car phone rang.
“It was my manager Drew Smith who said he’d been contacted by trainer Mark Minervini with the offer of two rides at the Newcastle Saturday meeting a few days later,” said Anna. “Both races were over 900m and both horses were nice rides. It was the perfect way to begin my comeback. Rubi’s Serve ran a cracking third to a good one in Private Harry, while Smiling Prophet finished a close fourth in a BM 64. I was tickled pink, and ready to get back to work in earnest but lady luck wasn’t finished with me yet. After just fifteen rides back I got a nasty kick to the ankle by a horse cantering next to me in trackwork at Wyong. We were slowing down after a track gallop when the other horse put in a very high cow-kick and got my ankle. I feared the worst but thank goodness I was cleared of any damage. I had a couple of weeks off during which time I was able to focus on bridesmaid duties at the wedding of my sister Jordi.”
When Anna returned to the riding ranks, she’d hoped for an early winner but didn’t expect too much. She was well aware that owners and trainers traditionally like to observe the progress of jockeys returning from injury. Her first thirty rides yielded eleven placings but no winners. As she drove to Tuncurry-Forster on December 9th she hoped one of her two rides might get the monkey off her back. The first of them was Frenchburg who finished out of a place at long odds, and the young jockey wondered if it would ever happen. Thirty five minutes later Roper produced a copybook ride to win a BM 58 over 2100m on Le Souci for long time supporter Matthew Smith. The young jockey had the Husson mare travelling sweetly in third place on the fence throughout and was delighted to see a rails opening appear at the top of the straight. As Le Souci went past the post a clear cut winner, Anna was aware this had been one of the most important wins of her short career.
Le Souci was Anna's all important first win this time around - Tuncurry 09/12/2024 - courtesy Trackside Photography.
The satisfaction of one country win sustained her for the next seventeen days leading up to the crucially important Boxing Day win on Audette. The young lady from Mangrove Mountain is one of the most naturally gifted apprentices currently riding in Australia, but understands she happens to be around in an era of riding excellence and burgeoning numbers of female jockeys.
Her ability to ride comfortably at 52 kgs is a massive plus going forward. She still has the luxury of a 2kg claim on provincial tracks and a tantalising 3kgs in town. Hard work has never fazed the Wyong based Roper. She travels to Randwick most Friday mornings to have a presence at the crucially important jump-outs, and only last week made a midweek appearance at Warwick Farm trackwork, a practice she intends to continue. Two or three more city winners and Drew Smith will be a very busy manager taking calls from astute trainers seeking the services of one Anna Roper.
This win on Much Much Better gave Anna a special thrill - her first win at historic Randwick 21/10/2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - To win a race at Royal Randwick on the comeback trail was a career highlight for Anna Roper - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)