What a fantastic start jockey James Graham has enjoyed during the opening days
of the 2013-2014 season at Fair Grounds! Without
question it’s the boldfaced buzz of the young season for the loyal guests of the
Crescent City oval as well as its simulcast fans around the country.
Here’s the record: Back-to-back wins on opening day for trainers Frank Leggio and Mike Stidham. Four wins Saturday afternoon including both
halves of the daily double for conditioners Andy McKeever and Wes
Hawley, together with a victory in the first stakes race of the season
aboard String King for owner-trainer-breeder Charlie Smith and concluding with
his fourth winner astride a pick-up mount for owner-trainer Louie Roussel III,
followed by another win for Stidham on the first Sunday of the session and
a Thanksgiving Day riding double — both horses for Hawley.
However, perhaps Graham’s most impressive win was the one on Thanksgiving Day
astride Darlene Peterson’s Sweettalkin Hottie who was passed by another
mare inside the sixteenth-pole but came on again for her nose tally in the last
strides.
“I had to work pretty hard for that one,” admitted Graham on the morning after
that Turkey Day program, “but she’s a tough old bird. She always tries her
best and it’s all about the horse.”
Thursday didn’t start off that well for Graham. In his first mount of the
day he was aboard a horse that made the early pace but was trying to head for
the outside fence. The credit should go to the Irish-born reins master for
keeping her on a relatively straight course.
“Yeah, that horse was trying to get out really bad all the way,” Graham said.
“Keeping that one going was a feat in itself. It wasn’t the way I wanted
to start off the day.”
Well, at least the day ended well for Graham, always the devoted family man to
wife Lisa and children Hannah, soon to have her sixth birthday in December,
son Christopher, 4, and 10-month-old baby girl Ella.
“We all went to (trainer) Bobby Springer’s for dinner after the races,” Graham
said. “We’ve been doing that for the last 10 years or so. That’s
what it’s all about — getting together with friends and family and really
enjoying yourself.”
Graham has been runner-up in the Fair Grounds standings almost every season
during the decade since he began riding locally. He boasts a riding title during
the summer of 2011 at Arlington Park and was the leading money-winning rider at
that Chicago oval last summer. He also narrowly missed having the most
winners there, but as a proven quality rider, Graham was fortunate enough to be
asked to frequently ship out of town.
Last fall at Keeneland, he had eight wins during that brief Lexington, Kentucky,
session including a rail-skimming victory for trainer Danny Peitz aboard
Shadwell Stable’s Najjaar in the Sycamore Stakes.
As for his fast Fair Grounds start, Graham was asked to summarize his feelings.
“It’s been great,” the 31-year-old native of Finglas, Dublin, said. “I’ve
been lucky opening week and hopefully we can let it continue to roll. But
every day is a new day in this game.”
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