NEW ORLEANS – After straining to get his business going on the Southern California circuit, jockey James Graham decided last week that enough was enough. “I love California,’’ Graham said by telephone from there Tuesday. “I guess I went out of fashion in California.’’ Last summer, Graham had moved his tack there from the Midwest in hopes of putting down roots for his family and staying year-round. But unfortunately for Graham, the mounts – and victories – became far too few. To reverse the trend, Graham looked to Fair Grounds, where he won the riding title last season and has ranked among the leading jockeys for more than a decade. Also, he and his wife, Lisa, own a house in New Orleans, and their three children were born here. “It’s familiar; it’s home,’’ said Graham, who is named on four horses Sunday, when he’ll be making his meet debut. “All I want to do is ride.’’ A 36-year-old native of Dublin, Ireland, Graham has won 2,061 races in a career that began in 2003. He has ranked in the top 50 jockeys nationally in purse earnings every year since 2007. Graham held his own when he first arrived in California. At the Del Mar summer meet, Graham won with 13 of 146 mounts and tied for 11th in the jockey standings. At the Santa Anita fall meet, he won with 7 of 61 mounts and finished 10th in the standings. But he won only two races from 66 mounts at the Del Mar fall meet and went 0 for 21 at the current Santa Anita meet. “The way things were going, it was too hard on me,’’ Graham said. “When I’m not riding and I’m not busy, I’m not happy. I get to thinking too much. When a jockey’s thinking too much, it’s not good. It progressively got slower and slower. With not a lot of big fields, it was hard to ride enough horses.’’ To secure mounts at this Fair Grounds meet, Graham has turned to agent Mark Guidry, a Louisiana native who retired from riding at the conclusion of the 2013-14 Fair Grounds meet with 5,222 career victories. Guidry had been successful booking mounts for Eddie Martin Jr. and Kirk LeBlanc at the current Delta Downs meet. Guidry said that Graham called him on New Year’s Day. “I thought it was just to say ‘Happy New Year,’ Guidry said. “It turned out to be a good job opportunity. I never thought I’d leave Louisiana, because of my grandbabies. He’s a Grade 1 rider – I’m talking Breeders’ Cup, Derby. He’s not the kind of rider where you’ll hesitate to walk into anybody’s barn.’’ A rough plan, Guidry said, is for he and Graham to head to Keeneland after this meet. “Mark is in the learning process right now,’’ Graham said. “He’s been an agent for a little while. He knows his job. He’s done okay with who he’s had. There’s 2 1/2 months left at Fair Grounds. By the end of the meet, me and him should know what we need and what we want.’’ Also, Graham said, he was looking for an agent who would be working solely for him. Graham said he had received calls from agents who wanted to work for him while retaining another jockey’s book. Guidry has been busy walking the Fair Grounds’ barn area to drum up business. “Some people are real receptive right now,’’ Guidry said. “It’s all moving in the right direction.’’ Meanwhile, Graham said, he has called trainers for whom he rode in the last few years. “Hopefully, me and Mark make a good match and it works out,’’ he said. Graham’s California ride is over, and he’s ready to start another Louisiana ride. “You roll with the punches, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go at it again,’’ Graham said. “Nothing I’ve done has come easy.’’