Birchley backing spurs on Laura Anderson

By Jordan Gerrans

Rookie trainer Laura Anderson says the backing of leading Caloundra mentor Liam Birchley has given her a much-needed confidence booster as she aims to establish her own stable in the Sunshine State.

The 33-year-old is in the infancy of building her own racing team in Queensland and earlier this month prepared her first winner as a trainer.

Now based at Mount Beppo after growing up around the gallopers in Victoria, Anderson has travelled around the globe riding trackwork and working for other stables as she developed her own knowledge and experience before launching her own barn.

Frodash will go down in the record books as Anderson’s maiden winner, with the gelding scoring in the Maiden Plate over 1030 metres at Eidsvold with hoop Adam Sewell doing the steering.

The 60-year-old Birchley was a multiple runner-up in the Brisbane metropolitan premiership earlier in his career.

Now based at Corbould Park, Birchley and Anderson will often cross paths and the rookie conditioner says their relationship has been invaluable.

Anderson trains her team at her property at Mount Beppo but will head into Caloundra once or twice a week for their fast work.

“It was one of the major things that got me going in the early days,” Anderson said of Birchley.

“He has been a massive support and big help for me – and still is.

"Obviously someone like him, he has been in the game for a very long time and is knowledgeable.

“I definitely would have struggled a lot more without his help. He has been my biggest supporter as a fellow trainer.”

Anderson had her first runner in a race under her own training banner last season and broke through for her maiden victory on the non-TAB program at Eidsvold earlier this month.

Frodash was an online purchase for the stable and scored by almost two lengths at his ninth start for Anderson. 

It will always be remembered as a special occasion in the trainer’s career.

“It was a thrill and a big relief that it showed there was proof in the pudding and I actually can do this,” Anderson said with a laugh.

“He has been a really challenging horse, he is a quirky animal.

“We have made some mistakes with him but it has been months of getting the horse right and learning as we can about him.

“Adam rides all my horses and we have worked the horse out, he has been improving in his last three or four runs.

“We knew he was getting close to a win and it was good to get some results when you work so hard and work as many hours as trainers do.

“It was a reward for effort.

“The horse has definitely became a stable favourite, he is a likeable horse, and he is only improving so I think there is a few more wins in him.”

Anderson has a handful of gallopers in work.

She got her start in the industry as an apprentice rider in country Victoria as a teenager.

“I still enjoy riding all my own trackwork but people always told me that training might be my go as I have travelled all over the world working with racehorses,” Anderson said.

“It is a lifetime of knowledge as I have grown up with them and I have travelled everywhere with them.

“I thought it would be crazy if I didn’t have a go at training.

“Everywhere I have worked, I have aimed to take on the knowledge and think back to things with my training.

“All the little things you learn along the way, it can all add up to being a big thing if you can add them all together.”

While she did not progress to riding in races as an apprentice jockey, the hands-on conditioner continued in the industry and worked for trainers such as Ron Quinton, Gai Waterhouse and the Snowden clan, among others.

She also worked internationally with horses in the United States as well as in Europe.

“I have been lucky to be given a few horses to get me going and going to the races, I am very grateful for that,” the horsewoman said.

“I have leased a couple of horses as well as taking on a few tried horses who were not going to be metro-class horses, they are doing ok for me at country races.

“It is always a struggle to get more owners at the start like I am but that is ok.

"The better my horses do on the track – there will be more owners eventually. I like to be hands on with all my horses.”