Wyong apprentice Anna Roper’s crack at metropolitan racing on a regular basis has been delayed.
The 21-year-old Rising Star Series winner underwent surgery on Tuesday on a troublesome knee injury, and may be sidelined for six to eight weeks, meaning she will be a late starter in her quest to win the 2024-25 Sydney apprentices’ title.
Roper injured her knee in an after-race incident at Muswellbrook in November 2022, and had surgery then to repair the medial cruciate ligament.
“Anna has been saying the knee just hasn’t been feeling right,” her master, Wyong trainer Damien Lane, said on Wednesday morning.
“She could have kept riding but saw her surgeon last Friday, and he was able to book her in to operate on Tuesday, so there was no point holding off.
“She has let us know that the surgery went well, but at this stage we’re not sure how long it will be until she can return; perhaps six to eight weeks.
“Anna has a great work ethic and is very determined, and no doubt will be riding again as soon as she possibly can.”
It has been a terrific season for the hard-working young jockey, who rode 74 winners, taking her career tally to 131, and sat third in the NSW apprentices’ premiership behind Zac Lloyd (108.5) and Braith Nock (89).
“Anna did a fantastic job considering she wasn’t able to ride for the entire season,” Lane said.
“We were getting ready for Anna to have a real crack at metropolitan racing with her 3kg city claim,” Lane said.
“She was to have ridden our last start Hawkesbury winner Pluckten in the Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday, and Kerrin McEvoy now takes the mount.
“I was going to run him in the Grafton Guineas (1600m) last Wednesday, but felt the back-up would have been too quick as the Hawkesbury race was only the previous Thursday.”
Roper rode 2023-24 Rising Star Series heat winners at Taree (Emphatic Bel), Queanbeyan (Magic Stella), and Desiah on the Kensington track and, with 35 points, finished nine ahead of Kembla Grange apprentice Olivia Chambers.
Before undergoing surgery, she went to Hawkesbury last Sunday for one ride – and won the Benchmark 64 Handicap (1100m) on Yendy for Desiah’s trainer Ciaron Maher.
Lane returned home on Tuesday evening after a fruitless trip to Warren with two runners, All Too Zatso and She’s A Bad Girl.
All Too Zatso ($4.40) unfortunately broke down and failed to finish in the Maiden Plate (1400m) and won’t race again, and She’s A Bad Girl ($3.30 favorite) ran sixth in the Class 1 Handicap (1000m).
. Meanwhile, Roper, with nine winners, has dead-heated with Hawkesbury’s Zac Wadick in the Newcastle apprentices’ premiership.
Newcastle Jockey Club has announced the winners of the various 2023-24 premierships, along with the Max Lees and Bill Wade Medal winners.
Jean Van Overmeire (23 wins) won the jockeys’ premiership, and Royal Randwick’s Michael Freedman was the leading trainer with 17 wins.
Freedman also won the Max Lees Medal, awarded to the trainer with the best strike rate (2.65) during the season.
Aaron Bullock, who finished only two behind Jean Van Overmeire in the jockeys’ premiership, took the Bill Wade Medal with 21 winners at a strike rate of 4.19.
To be eligible to win either medal, a trainer and jockey must have a minimum 40 starters/rides.
Story John Curtis, July 24, 2024 - Pics Bradley Photos
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