IRISH jockey Graham Lee admitted he was “angry at my body” after suffering life-changing injuries from a horrific fall.
The Galway rider, 49, suffered severe spinal injuries when he was unseated in the stalls in a Flat race at Newcastle in November 2023.
The 2004 Aintree winner and legendary figure in the weighing room was left paralysed from the neck down and has required 24-hour care ever since.
His daughter Amy started a JustGiving fundraising page for the Injured Jockeys Fund which has raced beyond £200,000.
In an interview with The Racing Post, Lee expressed appreciation for the support afforded to him.
And while he admitted to being angry at his body in the aftermath of the injury, he is holding out a ‘glimmer of hope’ that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
He said: “I had lots of broken bones and plenty of head injuries along the way but my body always overcame the obstacles.
“It always healed. This ain’t healing.
“That makes me angry at my body, which is probably very unfair because my body is okay, it’s just the spinal cord that is broken.
“I’m angry because in the past my body collapsed but then came back. At the minute, there is no coming back.
“When you’re a jockey, you always dream of getting on that one horse who will take you to the next level.
“My situation is the same. I’m hoping and I’m dreaming. That’s what keeps us going.
“I’m just hoping that somewhere, some day, there will be that glimmer of light.”
Lee reserved particular appreciation for his wife who has stuck by him throughout his recovery.
He added: “I am the luckiest man in the world to have the most amazing wife.
“Excuse my language but she is my f***ing rock.
“In Amy and Robbie, I’ve got two amazing children who are happy, healthy and make me feel incredibly proud and fortunate.
“Yes, I have to get Becks to scratch my nose or itch my ear, and I probably do her head in, but I’m so lucky to have her.
“I was lucky to have a very good career but, at the end of the day, it means nothing.
“People say to me, ‘Wow, you won the Grand National, you won the Gold Cup.’ So what? It means nothing.
“I would give up every winner I ever rode to walk out of this room.
“If the TV was switched on and I saw Amberleigh House winning the Grand National or Trip To Paris winning the Gold Cup, it would be like watching a totally different person, even though I know it was me.
“I’ll be forever thankful for what racing has given us as a family, but at the minute I can’t forgive racing for what it has taken away from me.
“Maybe that’s because it’s still raw.”
