‘I can walk in with my head held high’: Cejay Graham’s proud return to Sydney after going through hell and back

Cejay Graham returns to Sydney on Saturday after overcoming a number of hurdles in her short career as she looks to land the biggest race yet on a horse close to home.

The last time Cejay Graham rode in Sydney she was a raw apprentice looking to make her way in racing, on Saturday she will stride into Randwick the proudest jockey in the room after overcoming a raft of setbacks and a successful move to Queensland.

Graham will ride Kelly Schweida’s El Morzillo in the Group 2 Tea Rose (1400m) in what is an indication of how far she has come since making the move to Brisbane where she landed the coveted metropolitan apprentice jockeys title last season.

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The jockey cut her teeth under Peter and Paul Snowden early in her career and enjoyed a number of metropolitan winners in Sydney before suffering a broken back and a number of other injuries in what delayed her apprenticeship before moving north.

Graham is proud of what she has been able to achieve in Queensland, which is headlined by her Group 2 Queensland Guineas win aboard Kintyre in the winter and says she is ready to take on her biggest task yet on Saturday.

Cejay Graham returns to Sydney where she began her apprenticeship. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

“I can walk in there on Saturday with my with my head held high with what I have been able to accomplish coming up this way,” Graham said.

“It is exciting, it is obviously been a while since I’ve ridden down there on the track, but I do know it and I know the horse as well, I have had success on her.

“It is incredible that Kelly and the owners are trusting me with the ride in such an important race for them.

“I will get down there nice and early and walk the track with some of the girls.”

El Morzillo has had a history of hard luck and is often seen doing her best work late in a race, which Graham is looking to negate from a wide barrier.

Cejay Graham winning aboard El Morzillo. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

The Queenslander has come against the likes of Broadsiding before, so the challenge of the unbeaten Autumn Glow is nothing new for her.

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“Obviously she’s had quite a few hard luck stories, but that is due to her racing pattern and she needs everything to go her way,” Graham said.

“I think the smaller field on Saturday should help, just as long as they go along at a genuine enough tempo.

“She does have a tendency to step away a bit slower when she goes down there, whether it’s the occasion has just got to her a few times, I’m not sure.

“She should be getting better and better with the travelling now, so hopefully we can step away cleanly and get her some clear running to allow her to do her best work.”

Originally published as ‘I can walk in with my head held high’: Cejay Graham’s proud return to Sydney after going through hell and back