Life is moving at a fast pace for Brittany Graham.
On and off the track.
The 20-year-old proud Queenslander encountered a milestone moment at Albion Park on Saturday night courtesy of her driving double behind Mafuta Vautin in the $20,000 Rising Stars Championship Final and Montana Falcon in the Atlas Copco Construction Tools Pace.
The winning double propelled Graham into triple figures, a century of winners in two short but completely jam packed seasons of race driving.
It was also her first metro driving double – both winners prepared by her father and biggest supporter, Darrel.
“That was my clearly my biggest thrill in harness racing; reaching the milestone of 100 winners plus landing my first metro double, both of which are trained by dad and the Rising Stars Championship Final was extra special because he’s a family horse. In fact, both horses are raced by huge supporters of mine with mum (Linda) racing Mafuta while Dean (Shannon) racing Montana Falcon, the best people I know.” Graham said.
The winning victory behind Mafuta Vautin also registered another first for both trainer and driver; it was the fastest winner they’ve combined for after he scorched the 1000m oval in 1:52.2
And Graham also shared in another piece of history with the fastest ever first quarter clocking at Queensland’s premier track after Montana Falcon and Lifesofine blasted through the split in a time of 25.3 seconds.
The quickest ever first quarter clocking in Australia belongs to Bettor Bet Black at 25.1 seconds in which he recorded at the 1400m Menangle circuit on April 15 earlier this year.
Bettor Bet Black ultimately finished at the rear in that race while Montana Falcon fought tenaciously to secure victory under the urgings of Graham.
Since being granted her driving licence in November 2013, Graham has been a constant at all racetracks while studying at Griffith University for a bachelor of business while majoring in marketing.
The likable and talented horseperson landed her first winner at Redcliffe behind Palazzo Las Vegas on December 5, 2013 but continued to register winners at most tracks in south-east Queensland.
While Graham has been a regular at the TAB tracks, she has also been a constant competitor at the recently re-introduced grass track circuit where she has competed at tracks like Deagon, Kilcoy, Toowoomba, Warwick and Beaudesert.
Another highlight for Graham has been competing at several interstate and international tracks like Menangle and Melton within Australia while spreading her wings further at Alexandra Park, Ashburton and Harrah’s Chester in Pennsylvania.
After winning the inaugural Racing Queensland Centenary Classic Mercedes Benz Young Achievers Scholarship to North America earlier this year, Graham and fellow horseman Trent Moffat represented Queensland in the month long experience.
Visiting and working in some of leading stable in North America, Graham had a race drive at Harrah’s Chester while also competing in morning qualifiers at the famed Meadowlands.
“Winning the scholarship was such a huge honour and the experience was just unbelievable; meeting and working with some of the biggest names in the business was surreal, something I will never forget.
“During my time abroad, I had the experience of a lifetime because I had the pleasure of jogging the world’s highest earning pacer of all time in Foiled Again (over $7 million) for the legendary Ron Burke.
“It was a great learning curve and has certainly helped me since being back home, the thrill of driving a good horse is something very unique and very addictive. I wouldn’t have reached the 100 winners without dad; in fact, I believe the majority of my winners have come from dads stable.”
Graham is already looking to the future in search of her next century of winners and will look to build on her own stable.
After recently purchasing her first piece of real estate, Graham will now hopefully double her numbers in her own stable.
Graham is on the lookout for a stablemate for her pride and joy in The Falcon Ute, a cheap purchase that has continued to provide so much excitement both on and off the track.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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