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Racehorse trainer Harriet Graham battles on after cracking pelvis when RUN OVER by own horsebox in ‘scary’ ordeal

, Racehorse trainer Harriet Graham battles on after cracking pelvis when RUN OVER by own horsebox in ‘scary’ ordeal

WHY did the racehorse trainer cross the road?

It’s not the start to a bad joke but the question Harriet Graham has been asking herself for the past two weeks!

Harriet Graham’s stable star Aye Right is a leading contender in the Ladbrokes Trophy

Scottish-based Graham will make the 700-mile round-trip to Newbury today on painkillers and crutches having been caught up in a terrifying ordeal earlier this month.

In trying to do a good deed she ended up suffering nasty injuries having been run over – by her own three-and-a-half ton horsebox.

She is hoping fortune favours the brave once again as stable star Aye Right chases a fairytale win in the Ladbrokes Trophy, but she admits she is lucky to still be here at all.

She explained: “We drove past a Land Rover near our yard which was upside down in a hedge and I thought I saw the guy having a heart attack.

“I jumped out of the lorry and ran back down the road to help him. But he wasn’t having a heart attack, he was actually searching for his mobile phone in the well of his car.

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“When he jumped out of the car I stopped. Meanwhile, the horsebox had started to reverse back down the road and I was right in their blind spot and it rolled over me.

“Luckily, I got flicked between the wheels, but I cracked my pelvis. It’s scary thinking about what could have happened but I’m much better than I was.

“The bruising has thankfully gone down – I looked like I’d been involved in a serious punch-up!  

“I’m more mobile now so I’ll definitely be at Newbury, just on crutches.”

When you train the second favourite for one of the biggest races of the year, you’re not going to let a small thing like broken bones get in your way.

“I won’t be much use while I’m at the course, but it’s a huge day and I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

Aye Right has won seven of his 19 career starts

It’s hardly surprising, as racing has been in her blood from a young age.

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She combines training with a full-time job as clerk of the course at Musselburgh and Hamilton having also directed live racing on TV for over 20 years.

Graham said: “My mum rode in point-to-points and trained point-to-pointers, my brother rode in point-to-points in the West Country and I rode – extremely badly – in point-to-points.

“Horses and ponies always took precedence over school work when I was growing up. I had a great childhood on Dartmoor, we were probably pretty feral as children but we had plenty of fun!

“I also spent 22 years bossing people around as a director for Racetech, so for Racing UK and Channel 4 Racing as it was then. 

“I’m still clerk of the course at Musselburgh and Hamilton and I’ve also clerked at the other three Scottish tracks.

“I love doing both roles, I like to be busy. My staff at the yard are great and they give me the freedom to go and clerk as well as train.”

And she’s not doing badly at the latter, with Aye Right among the leading contender’s for today’s big race, formerly the Hennessy Gold Cup.

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The seven-year-old has already taken Graham, who trains just eight horses, to the Cheltenham Festival, finishing fifth to Champ in the RSA Chase in March.

He heads to Newbury with a career-best under his belt, having run third behind Paul Nicholls’ superstar chaser Cyrname in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby four weeks ago. 

He was no match for the impressive winner but wasn’t beaten far by the runner-up Vinndication – who is towards the head of the weights in the Ladbrokes Trophy.

Aye Right, or ‘Jock’ as he’s known in the yard, meets his old rival off 5lbs better terms and Graham reckons her horse can close the gap.

“He’s not the biggest horse but was always very athletic,” Graham said.

“We bought him as a three-year-old and the whole time we’ve had him he’s been the easiest horse to train. He’s done nothing but improve the last couple of years.

“It was a great performance in the Charlie Hall, we would probably have been quite content going to Newbury if we’d finished fifth or sixth.

“Cyrname, if we are honest, probably could have beaten us by 20 or 30 lengths. There was lots of hype beforehand about him going left-handed and going over three miles, but he is an incredibly classy horse.

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“But we were only four or five lengths behind Vinndication, and you’d think we have a good chance to get even closer at the weights.

“I’ve great respect for his trainer Kim Bailey. But I watched him school around Newbury the other day and let’s just say his jumping was a bit sketchy in places!

“You could make an argument for most of the horses in there and we are very aware of how competitive it is.

“But this is what makes these big handicap chases so exciting, they’re wide open. Everyone has turned up and you’ve got to stay and jump all those fences. 

“And one thing we know about Aye Right is that he gallops and jumps. He will probably stay further in time.”

In a month of close shaves for team Aye Right, his jockey Callum Bewley came perilously close to missing out on one of the biggest rides of his career. 

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He picked up a seven-day suspension for overuse of the whip at Kelso on November 7 and feared it would rule him out – but to the relief of Bewley and Graham his ban came to an end yesterday.

She said: “As soon as we heard Callum had picked up a ban at Kelso we were worried he’d miss the ride, but luckily his suspension only ran until Friday.

“He has ridden the horse in all bar one of his starts and knows him so well, so it’s important they stick together and it’s also a great opportunity for him.

“I was able to go and watch Aye Right’s final piece of work on Tuesday. I think Rob, my husband, and Marjorie Renwick, who works for us, preferred it when I kept out of the way! I’ve been more of a nuisance than anything.

“The horse goes there in great form. Here’s hoping our luck hasn’t run out.”


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