{"id":295535,"date":"2023-11-18T00:24:33","date_gmt":"2023-11-18T00:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=295535"},"modified":"2023-11-18T00:24:33","modified_gmt":"2023-11-18T00:24:33","slug":"dominic-king-graham-lee-incident-has-brought-racing-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/horse-racing\/dominic-king-graham-lee-incident-has-brought-racing-together\/","title":{"rendered":"DOMINIC KING: Graham Lee incident has brought racing together"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>DOMINIC KING: Horse racing is cut-throat but tragic Graham Lee incident has brought us all together<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Jockey Graham Lee suffered a serious neck injury after an accident at Newcastle<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Grand National winner Lee is in intensive care after being unseated by his horse<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Racing world pays tribute to rider who excelled in both flat and jump racing<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To be able to fully understand the enormity of Graham Lee\u2019s tragic situation, the starting point must be the place he holds in the sporting pantheon.<\/p>\n<p>In April 2004, Lee won the Grand National on Amberleigh House. His winning ride was a masterclass; he was patient and sympathetic to his horse, as they navigated the course, but he was also strong and timed his challenge immaculately. Only a truly outstanding jockey could have delivered it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The best day you could ever dream about,\u2019 Lee once described it with a smile of utter contentment. Victory in the world\u2019s greatest race secures a place in history for riders and there was extra sparkle attached to the day for Lee as Amberleigh House was trained by Ginger McCain, the man who guided Red Rum\u2019s career.<\/p>\n<p>But Lee stands alone in racing. In June 2015, he won the Ascot Gold Cup on Trip To Paris. Once again, his winning ride was a masterclass; he thought quickly and acted decisively. He is the only man to do this extraordinary double.<\/p>\n<p>The best way to explain the size of that achievement is this,\u2019 says Paul Mulrennan, Lee\u2019s long-time friend and weighing room colleague. \u2018It\u2019s like he scored the winning try in the Rugby World Cup final then switched to become a boxer \u2014 and became a world champion in that sphere, too.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/17\/20\/77681947-12763377-Graham_Lee_is_in_intensive_care_with_a_neck_injury_after_being_u-a-1_1700251713742.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Graham Lee is in intensive care with a neck injury after being unseated at Newcastle on Friday<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/17\/23\/77943783-12763377-Lee_won_the_Grand_National_in_2004_on_Amberleigh_House_in_a_mast-m-51_1700264549370.jpg\" height=\"525\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Lee won the Grand National in 2004 on Amberleigh House in a masterclass of a performance<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/17\/21\/77947891-12763377-image-a-16_1700258015448.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He is the only man to complete the double of winning the Grand National and Ascot Gold Cup<\/p>\n<p>You might think Flat racing and jump racing are the same sport,\u2019 PJ McDonald, another of Lee\u2019s close allies, adds. \u2018But they really aren\u2019t. It\u2019s so different. For him to be able to win at the top level of both codes \u2014 never mind compete \u2014 shows his talent.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Mulrennan and McDonald are usually lively souls but they both look haunted as they talk about Lee. No wonder. Lee is in Newcastle\u2019s Royal Victoria Infirmary following a fall at the city\u2019s racecourse last Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Lee was unseated from the sprinter Ben Macdui when the stalls opened for what was a run-of-the-mill handicap. Ben Macdui, trained by his most-regular supplier of rides, Paul Midgeley, seemed to lurch and duck as the gates sprang open and his rider was thrown over the horse\u2019s withers into the Tapeta surface \u2014 a mix of silica sand, wax and fibre.<\/p>\n<p>Jockeys wear helmets and body protectors under their silks but when a half-tonne animal does something unexpectedly, it is the equivalent of being flung from a car wearing a pair of pyjamas. The damage Lee sustained required him to undergo spinal surgery for life-altering injuries on Tuesday. The extent of his long-term recovery is uncertain.<\/p>\n<p>This incident has had a profound effect on the racing community. Lee is the kind of man who could walk down the high street and not be recognised but the esteem in which the 47-year-old is held within the industry to which he has devoted his life could not be higher.<\/p>\n<p>A measure of that can be gauged by the response to a JustGiving page his 18-year-old daughter Amy set up last weekend, with the hope of raising \u00a3100. As it stands, \u00a3120,000 had been donated by more than 3,000 contributors, with Amy intent on reading every message of goodwill to her devoted Dad.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s a very cut-throat business, racing, but when something like this happens it\u2019s amazing how everyone comes together,\u2019 Mulrennan says.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He is the most dedicated sportsman I have ever met. His discipline and tunnel vision was just off the radar. He was always constantly on it. You could ask Graham about any horse and he\u2019d say, \u201cHang on a minute\u201d, get this book out and he\u2019d have everything there.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018His attention to detail was staggering. He is the most dedicated lad out of any of us. It was almost as if he was inside a horse\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He could tell you exactly how a horse would behave, how good it was and how he expected it to run. He raised the bar. When he came across, I remember thinking: \u201cI\u2019ve got to get on top of my weight more. I\u2019ve got to get fitter\u201d. Everyone had to pull their socks up.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/17\/20\/77943885-12763377-image-a-5_1700252053759.jpg\" height=\"396\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>A JustGiving page set up by Lee&#8217;s daughter, Amy, has already raised \u00a3120,000 along with messages of goodwill<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/17\/20\/77943893-12763377-image-a-6_1700252057394.jpg\" height=\"495\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Lee enjoyed a successful jump racing career, entering more than 1,000 races before taking up flat racing<\/p>\n<p>Born in Galway, Lee\u2019s first career over jumps saw him enter more than 1,000 races. He was leading rider at the Cheltenham Festival in 2005, finished second to Sir Anthony McCoy in the jockeys\u2019 championship in 2008 and landed many big prizes, such as the Scottish Grand National.<\/p>\n<p>But he switched to Flat racing in 2012, having become worn down by the amount of tumbles he was suffering \u2014 a dislocated hip at Southwell was the final straw. The ratio is around one fall every 14 rides for a jump jockey. To do that, he dropped from 9st 11lbs to 8st 8lbs.<\/p>\n<p>To maintain that weight, he would have a hot meal just three times a week and his diet consisted of cereal, fruit and yogurt. He became a yoga devotee, doing sessions every day, and an advocate of ice baths, citing Wim Hof, the guru of cold water therapy, as an influence.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018His fitness was staggering,\u2019 Mulrennan says. \u2018He could push a horse for a mile and there wouldn\u2019t be a blow in him. He is just ultra-professional, always immaculate at the races. If you were writing a book on how to conduct yourself as a human being, never mind a jockey, you would frame it around Graham.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>We speak outside the weighing room at Newcastle, and the bleakness of the afternoon reflects the situation. No more than 25 paying customers have come through the gates, the crowd enhanced by around 120 owners and a handful of officials.<\/p>\n<p>This is what Flat racing can look like away from the glitz of the big festivals and you wonder why the men and women who subject themselves to monk-like existences, and spend monotonous hours on motorways, when the fee they receive is \u00a3157.90 per ride and they are constantly pursued by an ambulance.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I can only speak for our sport,\u2019 says McDonald, who first crossed paths with Lee at the late Ferdy Murphy\u2019s stables in 2005. \u2018I\u2019ll just say this: I\u2019ve only got admiration for anyone who steps into that weighing room. It\u2019s not easy, it really isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018You see (bad) things happen but then you have to get going for the next race 30 minutes later. You kick on as if nothing has happened, for those three or four minutes while on that horse.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/17\/20\/77681825-12763377-This_season_the_flat_jockey_who_previously_enjoyed_a_successful_-a-2_1700251719053.jpg\" height=\"441\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Lee swtiched to flat racing in 2012 having become worn down by the tumbles he was suffering<\/p>\n<p>Then you get behind closed doors and you go into your own little bubble. You have to keep picking yourself up. That\u2019s what sets Graham apart. You\u2019d question yourself because of him: even to this day, I could never be as dedicated as him. I worked hard but he literally gave his life to racing.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>It is too early to say how life will look from here for Lee, his wife, Becky, Amy and son, Robbie, 15, at their home in Bedale, North Yorkshire, but they will lack for nothing in terms of support from the Injured Jockeys Fund and the profession as a whole. None of that, however, alters the situation.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018You know,\u2019 McDonald says, his voice tailing off. \u2018Look\u2026 It\u2019s been a **** few days for everyone. Really ****. The weighing room is devastated.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>How could it not be? When one suffers, they all suffer. But, crucially, they will never leave him. Whatever the future holds for Graham Lee, the racing community is firmly by his side.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/racing\/article-12763377\/DOMINIC-KING-Horse-racing-cut-throat-tragic-Graham-Lee-incident-brought-together.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>DOMINIC KING: Horse racing is cut-throat but tragic Graham Lee incident has brought us all together Jockey Graham Lee suffered a serious neck injury after <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/horse-racing\/dominic-king-graham-lee-incident-has-brought-racing-together\/\" title=\"DOMINIC KING: Graham Lee incident has brought racing together\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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