GRAFTON apprentice jockey Carla Dougherty has only officially been in the business for three weeks, but she is already making strides.

Being the daughter of Melaine Meers, who was one of Australia's first female jockeys, there was no doubt equines would feature heavily in her life.

"I went to pony club when I was young and my mum was always on horses; she used to be a jockey as well when she was younger," she said.

Now juggling her time between trackwork and bar work at the Village Green Hotel, Dougherty hopes to make a career out of riding horses herself, in a very different playing field to the one her mum rode on.

Recalling her first official ride at the Lismore Racecourse earlier this month, the 32-year-old, who jokingly refers to herself as "a mature-age apprentice", said you couldn't wipe the smile off her face, until she came last.

"I was very excited, and just so happy because been a long road to get here," she said.

"I figured it could only get better from there. It's all still pretty new." .

In her six starts since, Dougherty has come away with a couple of mid-field finishes and three fourths, including on Redwolf in yesterday's Farmer Lou's Benchmark 60 Handicap at Grafton.

The chestnut gelding was the 2015 NRRA Country Championships winner at Grafton and has shown plenty of promise since heading to Randwick for the final.

"I just rode him yesterday to get a feel for him and he was a lovely horse to ride," she said prior to the race.

"I'm very happy (Redwolf trainer Alan Ryan) has given me a chance on him."

Dougherty is apprenticed to trainer David Campbell, who said she had started her four-year journey well.

"She's a really good worker, she tries very hard and listens to what she's told," he said.

"I couldn't be happier with the way she's going."