"IT WAS BLOODY BRILLIANT" - PETER GRAHAM TALKS ABOUT CEJAY GRAHAM'S FIRST GROUP RACE VICTORY

By Graham Potter | Monday, May 6, 2024

“It was bloody brilliant. Yeah, my oath I was going off watching it. Anyone who knew her would have been mate, because we all know how hard she has worked to get to where she is. It was absolutely brilliant.”

Those were the words of Peter Graham, describing the moments when he watched his daughter Cejay claimed her first Group race success when punching her mount Kintyre out to the line to score a close, hard-fought victory in Saturday’s Group 2 Queensland Guineas.

Graham watched the race live on his phone.

“I was riding the horse out myself over the last 100m, for sure.” said Graham. “It didn’t need me jumping all over it as well, but obviously it goes pretty good.

There could not have been a more popular victory.

“What you see is what you get with Cejay," continued Graham. "She is genuinely a good person. Anyone who has had anything to do with her seems to love Cejay.

“All of the family are proud as for her and so happy to see her succeed.

“The only thing is we miss seeing her. She used to live around the corner from us and we used to see her every day. Now we see her on TV.

"I train and ride, so we struggle to get away. I last saw Cejay just after Christmas.

“It’s just bloody hard to get away, but if she gets a ride in a Group 1 over the carnival, I’ll have to make a plan and get up there. It would be terrific to see her get one of them.”
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Peter Graham. a master jockey himself, knows and understands, better than most, the steep road that Cejay has had to climb ... and remember, she is still an apprentice.

“I’ve been a jockey all of my life and I know how tough it can be,” said Graham.

“A lot of people don’t last long in the game ... they have injuries and weight problems. It is a pretty hard lifestyle all around, so ... even though it can be very rewarding financially ... some maybe just don’t think it is worth it with all that is involved and don’t come back.

“Then, if you are off for a long time ... people forget about you, and you have to start again. You have to get your fitness back, you have to get opportunities ... there is plenty to it ... and, of course, the danger aspect of it is pretty daunting.

“Once Cejay decided to do it though, the family have helped her ... been behind her ... all the way. Her mother is a big supporter of her. They talk every day on the phone and she helps Cejay through everything.

“When Cejay came back from her last injury and started riding here in Port Macquarie, I said to her then, ‘you ought to try and get going in Brisbane. You’ll get a better go there ... and Sydney is just such a hard school’ ... and she said she would be happy just to punch them around here for a while and see what happens.

“Once she got going again and stared riding winners, she did start wandering up that way (to Brisbane).

“At first, she was driving up to Brisbane. Her mother went with her a few times, but she was going up at least twice a week, doing work in the morning and sometimes coming back the same night. I said to her you can’t keep doing this.

“Ultimately it was a good decision to move up there and have a crack and it has paid off hugely for her.
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“Obviously she is a talented rider, but what has got her to where she is pure hard work and determination.

“She really works at it. She is very critical of what she has done and how she has done it. She is harder on herself than anyone, but that just shows how much she wants to improve.

“Her list of injuries is substantial. She broke her wrist. She was off for a long time. She comes back, a horse bucks and she breaks her back. She is off for a long time ... and she has had other injuries as well.

“It’s not just the physical injury setbacks you have to recover from, you know. These things can play on your mind but, at no time was Cejay ever going to give the game away.

“She is always going to keep fighting ... right until the end. That’s her style ... she doesn’t give up ... and it is so good that she is getting her reward for that.

"The family is very proud of her.”
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