Latest news with #TheInflictor
News.com.au
13-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
From fish and chip shop to 2025 Stradbroke Handicap for jockey Cejay Graham
It's not quite out of the frying pan into the fire. It's out of the fish and chip shop into the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap. Young gun jockey Cejay Graham is buttering up for her first Stradbroke ride, but it was only a decade ago she was frying fish and crumbing calamari at a Port Macquarie fish and chip shop. It was just as well she hated the gig. It didn't last long and it helped to convince her there was a much better career path – that of a jockey. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The daughter of Peter Graham, a former jockey-turned-trainer, was soon set on a path that has had more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie novel. There have been setbacks and major injuries but the determined young jockey had been a giant-killer in the Brisbane riding ranks and can now help write a Stradbroke fairytale when she rides home-bred hero The Inflictor. 'I was a teenager and working in the fish and chip shop because, like any young kid, I just wanted some of my own money,' Graham recalled. 'I thought horses were amazing and I thought my Dad's job was amazing. 'But for some reason I thought 'I am a girl and I can't do that' and I knew my Dad didn't really want me to become a jockey, because it's a dangerous sport. 'My friend at the time was working in a fish and chip shop, so I thought, 'well, I can't be a jockey, I'll give it a go'. 'I was making calamari and cooking fish and chips and serving people. 'I only got about a week into the job and I absolutely hated it. 'I don't think I stuffed anything up, but the boss was a little bit stunned when I said 'see you later' after I hadn't been there for long. The Inflictor dominates Race 2 at Doomben! ðŸ'° @nashhot — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) May 24, 2025 • 'As soon as I got a new job of an afternoon at stables with (trainer) John Sprague, I thought 'surely I don't get paid for this'. 'I was initially just doing ground work, putting horses out in the yards, giving them a pick of grass, doing their stable boxes and looking after them. 'I then wanted to give riding trackwork a go. 'I knew Dad didn't want me to do it. 'I remember vividly asking him to teach me how to ride trackwork, but I couldn't get the words out and I just cried because I knew he really didn't want his little girl to do it. 'All he said was that if I was going to do it, I had to do it his way, otherwise I wasn't doing it.' Graham's Stradbroke ride is just her fourth in a Group 1 but the 26-year-old has been a star in the Brisbane riding ranks with a series of stakes wins this year and last year. Nothing has come easy, however. Several years ago there were major injury setbacks when Graham endured a broken back and two broken wrists. She would drive six hours from Port Macquarie to Brisbane for a handful of rides before making the trek back to race in country NSW the next day. The worm started to turn when multiple Group 1 winning Brisbane trainer Kelly Schweida took Graham on as an apprentice jockey and she has never looked back. • 'I won't be backing him': Owner questions Stradbroke favourite's odds The girl who was raised a stone's throw from Port Macquarie Racecourse is now taking the senior riding ranks by storm. She is one of a growing army of female jockeys who are dominating. Emily Lang and Angela Jones are the top two in the Brisbane jockey premiership race this season. If The Inflictor can score the Stradbroke, it will be another feather in the cap of the females who are competing on an even footing with the males and beating them more often than not. 'These days, most owners are really excited to have a female jockey on which is absolutely fantastic,' Graham said. Trainer @BBakerRacing gave @bendorries76 the lowdown on Robusto's Stradbroke chances at the Straddie calcutta in Brisbane today ... and he also gave a big tip for one of his runners at Rosehill Gardens. — Racenet (@RacenetTweets) June 13, 2025 'You hardly hear any of the old stigma when some people used to say 'oh, I'm not putting her on, she's not strong enough'. 'Maybe there is still a tiny bit of it around with some of the old school trainers, but I think female riders have become a lot more accepted now. 'In our (female) jockeys' room in Brisbane we have some experienced riders and that is great because the younger girls like me can really look up to them.' The Stradbroke Handicap has had its share of extraordinary tales over the years, but the Inflictor can write a colourful new chapter. They might one day write a book about it if and the former fish and chip shop worker jockey Cejay Graham surge to an incredible Stradbroke triumph. Bookmakers are giving The Inflictor a solid chance, rating him a $15 prospect.
News.com.au
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Hobby trainer Craig Cousins in pursuit of Stradbroke glory with The Inflictor
Craig Cousins has got the speech ready, he's got the new suit and he's got the horse. Now all the larrikin truck driver and hobby trainer has to do is win the thing. We are talking about the $3m Stradbroke Handicap. The Stradbroke, first run in 1890, has had its share of colourful and quirky stories but never before has it seen anything quite like Cousins. The 60-year-old only has three horses in work but one of them, home bred hero The Inflictor, has qualified for The Star Stradbroke. It has meant that Cousins has taken the week off his full-time job as a truck driver to enjoy everything the grandest week in Queensland racing has to offer. 'I have gone and bought a suit, I've bought some ties and I am thinking about the Stradbroke all the time,' Cousins said. 'I do little things in my mind, even when I'm driving the truck, and I've rehearsed what my victory speech is going to be if we win.' Cousins was born in Tasmania to a racing family and his much-loved Dad Des, who passed away on Caulfield Cup day nine years ago, was also a small-time trainer. Mum Carmel, now 90, hasn't been enjoying the best of health but she loves her racing and is determined to get to Eagle Farm if she can on Saturday to witness her boy's big Stradbroke moment. The Inflictor, to be ridden by young gun female jockey Cejay Graham, won a golden ticket into the Stradbroke when winning The Gateway last December. Ever since, Cousins has been plotting a path to Stradbroke glory. But they are busy days as he not only has to worry about The Inflictor and his other horses, but also keep focused on his day job of driving a truck. 'I work for a company called DMK Forest Products and I deliver particle board, plywood and other things to carpenters and shop fitters and joiners,' Cousins said. 'Every day I get up at about 3.15am and I do all the stuff that needs to be done at the stables before I take the horses to the track to do their work. 'My work rider jumps on my horses about 4.45am, then I leave for home about 5.30am. 'I get home by 6am and then I might have a shower and a shave and a coffee and then I head to work and do an eight-hour day. 'I can drive the truck anywhere from up to Gympie, to down to the Gold Coast, to out west to Toowoomba. 'Depending on what my workload is, I'm pretty bloody tired by the end of the week. 'I often find myself thinking about my horses when I'm driving the truck.' One of Cousins' earliest Stradbroke memories was when the great Daybreak Lover won the prestigious race in 1986. Now The Inflictor, a four-year-old gelding which is the son of 2016 Stradbroke winner Under The Louvre, gets an extraordinary chance to join some greats of the turf on the Stradbroke honour roll. The Inflictor is owned by a syndicate managed by Kurt Turner, the eldest son of the late trainer and breeder Ken 'Tubby' Turner. For two decades, Cousins managed a bowls club in Brisbane and he says that even if he won Queensland racing's greatest prize it wouldn't change his life. He would still return to work driving trucks next week and has no plans to expand his small team of horses. 'Dad passed away on Caulfield Cup day nine years ago, but he would be over the moon with me having a Stradbroke horse,' Cousins said. 'The two things that Dad taught me with horses are that if you can't feed them the best feed, don't have them. 'And he also said to make sure I looked after their feet and their teeth. 'This horse was wandering around cattle yards for a while as a young horse, but even then he was a good horse to handle. 'It will be a great thrill if he wins the Stradbroke, but it won't change things too much for me. 'I'm too old to suddenly start training more horses and if you do that, you have to start employing people and there's a lot of obligations. 'At the moment, I'm a one-man band with my training operation and that's the way it will stay. 'If I want to go to the footy or something, I might get a friend to give my horses some water and feed and clean up their poo, but basically I do 99 per cent of everything myself.'
News.com.au
10-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Bond 007 mates will be shaken and stirred if The Inflictor wins Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap on Saturday
The members of syndicate Bond 007 will be both shaken and stirred if The Inflictor can complete a fairytale story and win Saturday's $3m Stradbroke Handicap. The seven mates are living the dream, with the four-year-old gelding making the Stradbroke field after last December winning the $300,000 The Gateway, which offers a golden ticket into Queensland's premier race. Some members of Bond 007 had placed bets on The Inflictor at $201 for the Stradbroke after his The Gateway victory and will collect a small fortune if jockey Cejay Graham can win her first Group 1 on Saturday at Eagle Farm. And that's not even mentioning the $1.8m cheque which will be shared among connections of the winning horse. 'We're just pinching ourselves that we're even here really,' syndicate member Jim Matthews said at the Breakfast at the Stars at Eagle Farm on a chilly Brisbane morning on Tuesday. 'It's a dream just to have a runner in a Group 1. Whatever he does on the weekend is a bonus but we think he'll run well. 'It's the biggest race in Queensland. It's crazy to even think about it.' The Bond 007 members are good mates from way back, having played and coached together for the Moreton Bay AFL club (formerly Caboolture Lions) some 20 years ago. Just like The Inflictor's trainer Craig Cousins, they're Aussie battlers riding a wave of emotion built on a passion for horse racing and a love of the punt. 'We all played footy together 15 or 20 years ago and everyone was into a punt on a Saturday,' Matthews said. 'Over time we said 'why don't we chip in and get into horse racing?' 'We started with seven in the syndicate which is why we called it Bond 007.' Asked about the wild celebrations if The Inflictor can win the biggest race of his career, syndicate leader Shane Pleming joked that it could be a heart-stopping affair. 'I don't know what will happen. One of us already has a heart problem but the rest of us, we might all drop dead in the stands,' Pleming said with a laugh. 'But look, he's a stunning horse and he keeps getting better. It's easy to train a good horse and Craig has done a great job because he looks magnificent. 'We're right in it because they're all talking about the favourite (War Machine) but we ran just as good a time carrying 61.5kg and he carried only 56.5kg on the same day at Doomben (on May 24).' Hobby trainer and truck driver Cousins, who only has three horses in work, would deliver one of the great Stradbroke stories if he can win on Saturday. 'He's just a decent bloke,' syndicate member John Jeffrey said. 'He's a battler and happy to admit it but he does a good job because the horse always looks well and he races well. 'It'd be a fairytale, there's no doubt about it. Two years ago we were out at the Sunny Coast, up in Toowoomba, out at Gatton, all the provincial tracks and now we're in a Group 1.'
Courier-Mail
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Courier-Mail
2025 Stradbroke Handicap: Cejay Graham to ride The Inflictor
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Pressure is your friend. Young jockey Cejay Graham has those words ringing in her ears as she prepares for the 'pinch myself moment' of riding in her first Stradbroke Handicap. The words were delivered by Graham's mentor, trainer Kelly Schweida, after the young jockey came from Port Macquarie on the New South Wales mid-coast to be Schweida's apprentice in the big smoke in Brisbane a couple of years ago. And never have they been more fitting as Graham, 26, prepares to ride Queensland fairytale horse The Inflictor in Saturday's $3m Stradbroke at Eagle Farm. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 'The best bit of advice Kelly has given me was that pressure is your friend,' Graham said. 'You've got to absorb the pressure and embrace it. 'That's one thing he said to me that really stuck, because coming from a few knock-backs early in my riding career I wasn't initially too confident with some things and he just said 'don't let the pressure get to you'. 'If you don't have pressure, you probably aren't going really good, are you? 'So when you put it like that, you want the pressure, don't you? 'It is a pretty cool saying that is stuck in my head.' The Inflictor winning The Gateway at Eagle Farm to collect a golden ticket into the Stradbroke Handicap. Picture: Trackside Photography • J-Mac confirmed for Rothfire's incredible Stradbroke bid Graham might hail from New South Wales, but she now considers herself as Queensland as the Great Barrier Reef. And that's just as well because a lot of Queensland will be supporting her – and the remarkable story of The Inflictor and his 60-year-old truck driving hobby trainer Craig Cousins – in the Stradbroke. • Pride taking on Stradbroke history with Private Eye The Inflictor is the home-bred hero who qualified for the Stradbroke by winning the ballot exempt race of The Gateway at Eagle Farm last December. Graham rode the four-year-old gelding to win that day and a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. She is pinching herself that she has a chance to ride him to glory in the Stradbroke, in a race which will be her fourth career Group 1 ride. • Stradbroke Handicap field: Gollan's gun only second emergency 'Craig was pretty adamant he wanted to stick with me straight after The Gateway, so it's great that he has done that and its fantastic to be given the opportunity,' Graham said. 'It's real pinch myself kind of stuff. 'I think there will be a lot of Queenslanders cheering for us on the day. 'I've done a lot of work with him behind the scenes, I definitely know the horse inside and out. 'He is tough when he leads, but he doesn't have to lead. 'I think he's got a great chance. • Comeback star can give Cummings a Golden send-off in Stradbroke 'And I've really got to thank Kelly (Schweida) for his support as I wouldn't have got the gig riding up in Brisbane without him. 'And if it wasn't for his continued support coming out of my apprenticeship, I might have struggled a bit. 'He has backed me 100 per cent and I owe him everything.' Originally published as 'Pressure is your friend': Jockey Cejay Graham's tip to conjure 2025 Stradbroke Handicap fairytale with The Inflictor
Daily Telegraph
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
2025 Stradbroke Handicap: Cejay Graham to ride The Inflictor
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Pressure is your friend. Young jockey Cejay Graham has those words ringing in her ears as she prepares for the 'pinch myself moment' of riding in her first Stradbroke Handicap. The words were delivered by Graham's mentor, trainer Kelly Schweida, after the young jockey came from Port Macquarie on the New South Wales mid-coast to be Schweida's apprentice in the big smoke in Brisbane a couple of years ago. And never have they been more fitting as Graham, 26, prepares to ride Queensland fairytale horse The Inflictor in Saturday's $3m Stradbroke at Eagle Farm. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 'The best bit of advice Kelly has given me was that pressure is your friend,' Graham said. 'You've got to absorb the pressure and embrace it. 'That's one thing he said to me that really stuck, because coming from a few knock-backs early in my riding career I wasn't initially too confident with some things and he just said 'don't let the pressure get to you'. 'If you don't have pressure, you probably aren't going really good, are you? 'So when you put it like that, you want the pressure, don't you? 'It is a pretty cool saying that is stuck in my head.' The Inflictor winning The Gateway at Eagle Farm to collect a golden ticket into the Stradbroke Handicap. Picture: Trackside Photography • J-Mac confirmed for Rothfire's incredible Stradbroke bid Graham might hail from New South Wales, but she now considers herself as Queensland as the Great Barrier Reef. And that's just as well because a lot of Queensland will be supporting her – and the remarkable story of The Inflictor and his 60-year-old truck driving hobby trainer Craig Cousins – in the Stradbroke. • Pride taking on Stradbroke history with Private Eye The Inflictor is the home-bred hero who qualified for the Stradbroke by winning the ballot exempt race of The Gateway at Eagle Farm last December. Graham rode the four-year-old gelding to win that day and a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. She is pinching herself that she has a chance to ride him to glory in the Stradbroke, in a race which will be her fourth career Group 1 ride. • Stradbroke Handicap field: Gollan's gun only second emergency 'Craig was pretty adamant he wanted to stick with me straight after The Gateway, so it's great that he has done that and its fantastic to be given the opportunity,' Graham said. 'It's real pinch myself kind of stuff. 'I think there will be a lot of Queenslanders cheering for us on the day. 'I've done a lot of work with him behind the scenes, I definitely know the horse inside and out. 'He is tough when he leads, but he doesn't have to lead. 'I think he's got a great chance. • Comeback star can give Cummings a Golden send-off in Stradbroke 'And I've really got to thank Kelly (Schweida) for his support as I wouldn't have got the gig riding up in Brisbane without him. 'And if it wasn't for his continued support coming out of my apprenticeship, I might have struggled a bit. 'He has backed me 100 per cent and I owe him everything.' Originally published as 'Pressure is your friend': Jockey Cejay Graham's tip to conjure 2025 Stradbroke Handicap fairytale with The Inflictor
