ANNIE’S ROSE TAKES A BIT OF LOOKING AFTER BUT IS WORTH THE TROUBLE
Annie's Rose had the audacity to prick her ears on the line in winning the last race at Rosehill on Saturday - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Kristen Buchanan was apprehensive as she walked Annie’s Rose out of the box at Wyong on Sunday morning. The big mare had won impressively at Rosehill just over twenty four hours earlier, but on the firmest track she’d encountered in quite some time. It’s a matter of record that Annie’s Rose pays the penalty for her sheer bodyweight and is a high maintenance racehorse. “She tips the scales at 560 kgs and hits the ground harder than most horses,” said Kristen. “I breathed a sigh of relief when there was no sign of heat in either foreleg. She walked out perfectly and best of all hadn’t left a skerrick of feed, a sure sign nothing was troubling her. We’d iced her legs before leaving Rosehill on Saturday and repeated the procedure when we arrived back at Wyong. We live to fight another day.”
The chestnut mare has won four from eleven since joining the Buchanan stable early in 2025, one at Muswellbrook and the others at Rosehill Gardens. She’d been greatly aided by soft tracks in three of those wins. “I was very concerned when Rosehill came up with a Good 4 on Saturday,” said Kristen. “Concerned enough to consider scratching her from a very suitable race. I kept thinking about her previous run at Randwick when she was beaten only 1.49 lengths after being badly held up. She’s so much in the zone at the moment I decided to take the punt and hope for the best. Perhaps Rosehill was a little forgiving after all because she couldn’t have been more impressive.”
Kristen doubled as strapper when Annie's Rose won her first race for the stable - the Wayne Harris at Muswellbrook 28/03/2025. She looked every bit a 560kg mare - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Never brilliant out of the gates, Annie’s Rose again began only fairly and settled down midfield on the fence. At the 600m favourite Mercy Me led from Who But Roo with Kimberley Secrets box seating on the inside of Lull. Royal Commodore was trapped three wide, and Annie’s Rose was getting a cosy run on the inside of Farnicle. For a few strides coming to the 200m the mare was caught behind Kimberley Secrets with no clear run forthcoming. Suddenly Kimberley Secrets pushed out of a pocket leaving a gaping rails opening for Annie’s Rose. A relieved Reece Jones drove the Wyong mare through the gap to grab the lead close to home. She safely held the fast finishing Lulumon with Mercy Me battling on for third. It was win number three at Rosehill for Annie’s Rose whose win tally now stands at six from just eighteen starts for over $348,000.
Reece Jones capitalised on a late rails run to win Saturday's TAB Handicap on Annie's Rose - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The Sepoy mare’s aversion to hard ground was the very reason she found her way to Kristen Buchanan’s stable in the first place. Annie’s Rose was originally trained at Strathalbyn in South Australia by Alexander Justice for whom she’d won a Bendigo maiden and a restricted race at Morphettville on a Soft 5 track. By this time Justice had concluded that she was best suited by yielding ground. Following two disappointing runs on firm tracks and with little rain predicted in Adelaide, the decision was made by owners to try the mare in Sydney where the tracks were more forgiving at the time.
Owners Bungan Street Thoroughbreds Pty Ltd and SCG Racing had previously shared in the ownership of Broadway Bouncer who’d won four races and posted six placings under Kristen’s care. Cognisant of the way the trainer does things, the family ownership group had no hesitation in transferring the mare to her Wyong base. “One look at this mare’s size tells you she has to be carefully handled,” says the trainer. “She spends a lot of time in the pool and rarely goes better than pacework between races. Trials are so frequent up here we can always give her an easy pipe opener between runs. I love to see a bit of rain before her races, but we have no control over that.”
Broadway Bouncer (Anna Roper) scored a comfortable win at Hawkesbury 28/03/2024 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The six year old’s liking for rain affected ground is primarily attributable to her bulk, but perhaps pedigree plays a part. Her sire Sepoy won four high quality Gr 1’s, three of them on soft tracks. Her dam, the Rubiton mare Rue Maple was unsuccessful at black type level but did win five races including two at Moonee Valley and one at Caulfield. Interesting to note all three city wins were recorded on soft ground.
A sensational winning trot in Midway races a few seasons ago saw an influx of horses come into the Buchanan stable. Against her better judgement Kristen successfully applied for the use of an additional on-course barn, and before long she had 45 horses in her care. For a trainer who likes to be across the characteristics of every horse in the stable, she quickly realised this was not for her. Today she’s back to one barn and 25 horses and doesn’t anticipate any change going forward. “I’m a lot happier and so is every member of my team,” says the horse loving mother of teenage daughter Mackenzie.
One of Kristen's many Midway wins. Oakfield Waratah (Reece Jones) coasted home at Rosehill 17/06/2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Kristen is constantly thinking outside the square. If she happens to have a horse in the stable unsuited by a spate of wet or dry tracks, or a horse in need of a downgrade she’s not averse to studying interstate programmes. She recently sent Hellova Nature north for a non city winner race at Doomben and watched him win on TV at the Randwick meeting. She sent Delexio to Eagle Farm on another occasion and achieved the same result. Around the same time, she despatched Kooled to Benalla in Victoria in search of a firm track. She arranged for Ben Brisbourne to deputise and watched the grey stroll home in an 1100m Cl 2. She knew he wouldn’t have been winning on the heavy tracks in or near Sydney at the time. You can bet your life she’s already contemplating a Brisbane mission for Annie’s Rose down the track.
Casino Mondial (Jean Van Overmeire) wins the first of two Midways for the Buchanan stable 04/09/2021 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
In the immediate future the race Kristen has in mind for the talented giant is the Gr Nivison (1200m) for Mares 4-YO and upwards at Rosehill Gardens on October 10th. “I realise it’s an ambitious project but racing against her own sex is a big plus,” she said. “If Annie’s Rose is one hundred percent in the days leading up to the race, we’ll probably take a throw at the stumps. She would sit back off a hot speed which she absolutely loves, and you know she’ll be finding the line. If that plan doesn’t come off we’ll find a nice race over the carnival and produce her nice and fresh. Wherever she finishes up I’ll be praying for a drop of rain in the days leading up to the event.”
Dont know why Kristen looked so serious at Rosehill on March 28 - She'd just won a Midway with Annie's Rose - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
