By Craig Kerry
While some jockeys are taking a break over Christmas, Central Coast apprentice Anna Roper is keen to work even harder.
She’s had enough time off.
Anna Roper winning on Much Much Better at Randwick last year.Credit: Getty Images
The 22-year-old will have her first Saturday city rides in 13 months at Randwick after a frustrating run with injuries.
The three-kilogram claimer has five rides, including Bjorn Baker’s Infatuation (race four, $4.40), the Paul Perry-trained Bakerloo (race seven, $21) and Sara Ryan-prepared Much Much Better (race nine, $23).
“Bjorn’s is a very good chance and Bakerloo goes OK,” Roper said. “And I think Much Much Better will go better than what they are expecting. It’s about $25, but I don’t think he should be. I rode my first Saturday winner on him.”
That success in October last year remains Roper’s only Saturday city win. She also highlighted her potential with a midweek metropolitan treble at Gosford in April this year, but she was struck down soon after with a quadriceps tear. Surgery was needed after a failed comeback, sidelining her for another three months.
Less than two weeks into a return last month, she was kicked in the ankle by a horse at trackwork, putting her out for a fortnight.
“Every time I’ve started going well, I get injured – it’s ridiculous,” she said. “But every time I’ve come back from injury, it’s been a lot easier than this time. It’s been a bit of a tough run.”
The luckless streak marred plans for a shot at the city apprentice title this season, but she was not waiting around for the next one.
“I wanted to hold back for so long, just to get rid of my provincial claim,” she said. “I was supposed to start at the start of this season in town, but then the injuries have slowed that down. But I’m just excited to get back.
“We were considering holding back again for next year, but at this rate, if I do that, something else will happen, so I may as well enjoy it and just have a good crack.
“With a few people away on holidays, it really does open the door. Everyone keeps asking me if I’m having time off, but I’ve had enough time off.”
Roper was also out for nine months early in her career with a knee injury.
Tommy Berry, meanwhile, plans to ride through the pain of a knee injury at Randwick before taking a two-week break. Berry’s knee was twisted in a barrier mishap at trials on Thursday.
“I got a bit of work done on it, and it’s feeling a little bit better,” Berry said. “It’s not 100 per cent, but I’ll take some painkillers and get through it.”
He rides Michael Freedman’s Pallaton in the two-year-olds race to open the card.
“He’s pretty exciting, like most of the Wootton Bassett’s I sit on recently,” he said. “But everyone I talk to says there’s a horse in that race they like, so I think it’s one of the better two-year-old races we’ve seen so far.”
