Leigh-Anne Goodwin paves the way for female riders

By Jordan Gerrans

When Toowoomba trainer Mark Goodwin watches the races these days, he cannot help but wonder how prolific his late daughter would be in today’s environment.

He would only need to look at Eagle Farm’s program from Saturday where in the first race alone Georgina Cartwright, Angela Jones, Courtney Bellamy, Tahlia Fenlon, Melea Castle and Emily Lang all had bookings.

Or, he could look at last Saturday’s non-TAB program from Gayndah where the ladies rode the card.

It has become so commonplace that female riders – usually apprentices, as well – will ride the entire program in the Sunshine State that it barely cracks a mention any more.

In Goodwin’s daughter Leigh-Anne’s heyday in the saddle during the 1990s, female riders were nowhere near as prominent in the racing game.

Leigh-Anne was a trailblazer on a couple of fronts.

She was a proud Indigenous woman and became the first-ever First Nations female jockey to win a city race in Australia.

And, she helped pave the way for the acceptance and celebration that female hoops experience today.

While Mark may be a little biased, he believes his late daughter would be at the top of her game if she was still riding.

“She would shine – she would be a Jamie Kah amongst these girls today,” Mark said.

“They are not in her class and many of the top trainers from the old days would say the same, they used to swear by her as a rider.”

Whenever Mark takes a galloper to the races – like he did on Friday of last week – he wishes that he was booking his late daughter and ‘best mate’ for the assignment.

Just months after arguably Leigh-Anne’s greatest achievement in the saddle – winning a city race for the first time – she was cut down in her prime as she passed away following a race fall at Roma.

She had recorded 127 race winners before that fatal day at Bassett Park in Roma in late 1998.

Tragically, Leigh-Anne suffered that fall on her father’s 51^st birthday.

Reflecting on her life sitting at his Toowoomba kitchen table, Mark says he does not visit Leigh-Anne’s gravesite at the cemetery as it is too painful.

“She was virtually my best mate, we got on really well together,” Mark said.

“She was as good a rider as anyone that has ridden a horse for me in those old days.

“She was a trailblazer for the ladies and she was very strong.

“I was tough on her during her apprenticeship because I wanted her to be able to ride as strong as the men and she proved that.

“A lot of old trainers from those days will tell you how good a rider she was, she was a top rider.

“In today’s standards, she would be as good as any rider around.”

For Leigh-Anne to only have one city winner on her resume and be compared to Jamie Kah by her father may seem a little curious.

But, according to Mark, she often opted to not take only one or two rides in town on a Saturday so she could get a full book in the bush or at the secondary provincial meeting.

Mark says it was all about earning for her family and a full book of engagements in the bush, even at a non-TAB meeting, was the financial security she craved.

At those country meetings is where Leigh-Anne left arguably her greatest legacy.

She mentored young hoops such as Bonnie Thomson, Cecily Eaton and Rebecca Kerwin, among others.

Leigh-Anne was renowned for gifting her riding gear to other aspiring female jockeys as well as offering them financial support to get their careers up and going.

The late jockey was also a close friend of fellow female trailblazing hoop Bernadette Cooper.

Thomson – who has only recently retired from the saddle to focus on training – says Leigh-Anne urged her to pursue a career as a jockey when she was young.

“She was an idol of mine,” Thomson said.

“She pushed me to start my apprenticeship as I was just riding work at the time. Me and a lot of other female riders looked up to her and she helped us with everything.

“She was such a beautiful soul and she is why I am where I am today.

“She gave me courage and willpower to succeed.”

Thomson retired with more than 400 winners to her name.

Leigh-Anne came from great stock in the racing game with her uncle being Norm Rose who made a name for himself in the saddle around the Newcastle area in NSW for a long period of time.

The late great Darby McCarthy was also a long-time family friend. 

It was aboard Getelion that Leigh-Anne created history as the first Indigenous female rider to win a city race at Eagle Farm in the middle of September in 1998.

From an outside gate, Getelion scored by more than a length as an outsider in the market.

The rider and horse combination also won races at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club and Ipswich Turf Club in earlier years on the provincial circuit.

The gelding won a dozen races with Leigh-Anne in the saddle for the majority of those.

The breakthrough metropolitan victory will always stand out in Mark’s mind.

“It was a wonderful day because we owned the old horse,” the veteran trainer said.

“I bought him as a yearling and it was always her dream to win a race on that very horse, especially in Brisbane.

“She rode a fair few winners on him but she wanted to do it in Brisbane. That was her pride and joy to be able to do that.

“We were all proud to see her do it, especially her mum.”

Leigh-Anne was Indigenous through her mother Barbara’s side of the family, with her maiden name Rose.

At one point when Mark was hurt following a fall riding track work, Barbara took over the licence for training the family's gallopers.

“She was very much with her culture,” Mark said of his daughter.

“She was very proud of what she was and her background.”