Graham remains positive despite losing Grafterburner’s ride in $3 Magic Millions Sunlight | Just horse racing

It could be a big day out for Cejay Graham on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

The popular rider, currently ranked fourth in the highly competitive Brisbane Jockey’s Premiership, continues to demonstrate all the grit, determination and willingness to learn, improve and progress that has brought her to her current formidable position in the riding ranks… the same qualities that have served her so well as a core factor in overcoming serious injury setbacks when others might have called it a day.

Setbacks come in different forms… some physically painful, like the compression fractures Graham suffered early in her career to her C3, C4 and C5 vertebrae, while others are more mentally challenging, like losing the favorite’s ride in a $3 million race… but the true pros just shake off that disappointment and get on with it.

That’s what Graham will be doing at The Gold Coast, focusing on the things she can do something about, rather than letting the loss of the ride on Grafterburners, the reigning favorite for the $3 Sunlight, cloud her thinking.

Graham, who has partnered Grafterburners in four of his five career wins, has been replaced by James McDonald.

But Graham’s chance at victory in the $3 million race is not lost.

She has a ride in the race for Brisbane’s most dominant stable, Tony Gollan’s, in the form of the chestnut filly Foreign Press, who Graham has ridden in all but one of the daughter of Invader’s eight starts and won four times, including in the Listed Mode Plate on her last start, so she is certainly not out.

Foreign Press currently has odds of $23… a price that is exaggerated due to the dominance that Grafterburners ($2.35) has in the betting market.

And Graham’s range of capabilities doesn’t end there.

Such is the demand for her services that, despite a significant number of top visiting jockeys plying their trade on the Gold Coast on Saturday, Graham has secured seven rides on the ten-race card, including the ride on top contender Miss Joelene in the $500,000 Magic Millions The Wave.

Miss Joelene, who, like Grafterburners, is trained by Kelly Schweida, won The Wave last year under the saddle of Damian Lane.

Since then she has won three times, twice with Graham in the saddle, including victory on her penultimate start in the Listed Tails Stakes.

Miss Jolene and Graham narrowly missed last time out, rattling wide from a seemingly hopeless position and barely managing to get Amor Victorious on the line. She as the winner one step past the post.

Miss Joelene is a clear $2.80 favorite for The Wave.

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