‘He’s just Dad to me but to other jockeys he’s a God!’: Graham Lee won the Grand National on Amberleigh House 20 years ago. Now paralysed from the neck down after a horror fall, his family and racing greats have raised £200,000 for his care

Amy Lee is in her element. April 3 marks 20 years since her father, Graham, rode the winner of the Grand National and she listens to all kinds of stories about Amberleigh House, successful bets and memories that will last a lifetime. Her smile is infectious.

“I like meeting people who know Dad,” says Amy, who is 19 and studying musical theater. ‘Everyone has their own really cool stories and everyone was so keen to help. Dad is just dad to me. I never really clicked on how great he was as a jockey.”

He really was. Lee holds a place in racing that will forever be his, the only man to team up with the winner of the world’s greatest race and then switch the codes of National Hunt racing to become a flat jockey who wins the Gold Cup has won, the biggest of Royal Ascot. race.

But on November 11 last year, Lee fell in Newcastle, leaving him with life-changing injuries and paralyzed from the neck down. The impact on Amy, her brother Robbie and his wife Becky is unimaginable, but on this particular morning, in a stable outside York, she is happily distracted.

There are a lot of familiar faces here, including current champion jump jockey Brian Hughes, all seeing the Graham Lee Racing Club, launched by The Good Racing Co, and the young filly named We’ve Got This, who has been appointed to run for him by his old friend and colleague Paul Hanagan.

Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of Lee’s Grand National victory aboard Amberleigh House

In 2015, Lee became the first Grand National winning jockey to switch codes and win the Ascot Gold Cup

We’ve Got This is expected to make its debut sometime in late May. She will be trained by Craig Lidster, who does not charge a cent for his services. All veterinary and food costs are also covered, meaning all money We’ve Got This makes goes straight to Lee.

You can be involved too. Annual membership of the Graham Lee Racing Club costs £17 and watching We’ve Got This breeze elegantly around Lidster’s all-weather gallop, she certainly has the space and potential to provide some fun.

“It’s so nice that something so positive comes out of something so terrible,” says Amy. ‘When we set up a Just Giving page for Dad the target was £100 – last week it was £200,000 which is just crazy! I never expected that.

‘I always told Dad, every time he has a negative thought, that there is a donation to show him that he has to keep going, there are so many people behind him. Whenever he’s had a bad day, we’ve sat there and read all the sweet messages and it always puts a smile on our faces.”

This is the first time Amy has spoken publicly about the episode, but she carries it impeccably, with grace and warmth.

“So many people have come up to him or contacted him with a message. It was so much fun and it really kept Dad going,” she continues. ‘The world moves on, but for the four of us we are still on November 11th. Since then, time has stood still. Everyone carried on – as they should.

Lee’s family have raised more than £200,000 for his care after setting up a Just Giving page following his tragic accident

“But it’s nice that people still care about it now, five months later. They still show up, call and message.”

There’s a reason for that. Lee held a unique position in the weighing room. He was a guiding light for his peers, an inspiration who set standards that those around him demanded they follow. His discipline was that of a monk, his fitness and determination to live well were of the Olympic standard.

That is why support has come from all corners. Sir Anthony McCoy visits at least twice a week. Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick has offered support to the family; Francis Jeffers, the former Everton, Arsenal and England striker, was also in attendance.

“When he was a jockey he was always looking for the next thing,” Amy says. ‘When he won the National all he thought was, “I’ve got to go to Hexham now” – he never actually got to celebrate, but since his accident he’s really reflected and we’ve taken out the old photos and old videos.

‘When his friends and fellow jockeys come to visit him, they think back to races from years ago and his memory is incredibly sharp. I think it’s starting to look like, “you know what, actually I think I was doing okay. I don’t think I did that bad.”

“I always thought about him a lot, but another jockey said to me, ‘He’s like God… he’s who everyone wants to be.’ It’s so nice to hear something like that. I wish I could be half the person.”

Lee held a unique position in the weigh room and his strong character is reflected in the continued support of the racing community

She’s doing incredibly well – the whole family is – and one thing they won’t miss is support. Hanagan, in particular, is determined that We’ve Got This will provide some levity all summer long, but most of all, he wants to help.

His ambition is to replicate the success that The Good Racing Co has had in raising money through The Rob Burrow Racing Club, which has donated more than £185,000 to MND Causes. Hanagan, who retired from York last August, views Lee’s fate through a different prism.

“It’s such a great quote what Amy says about Graham being seen as God,” Hanagan says. ‘Everyone thought so highly of him, but I’m not sure he ever realized it. We were about the same age and we got along so well.

‘It all affects me because I broke my back in a fall in Newcastle a few years ago and I know how lucky I was to get out unscathed. Every time I see him now I tell him, “Yes, you are a legend.” I hope he knows there are people who want to give their support.’

For more information visit www.thegoodracing.co/graham-lee-racing-club