Jamie Kah makes history with 100th metropolitan winner
Rider saluted aboard Deep Speed to become the first jockey to notch a century of Melbourne winners in a season
Jamie Kah etched her name into the history books yesterday when becoming the first jockey – male or female – to ride 100 metropolitan winners in Victoria.
After missing out on the feat at Sandown on Wednesday when she was a $1.10 chance to ride a winner, Kah made no mistake yesterday, guiding the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Deep Speed (Deep Field) to victory on her second ride of the day in the Neds Filter Form Handicap (1100m).
Kah, who later brought up her 101st winner aboard the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Red Santa (Redwood), surpassed the record of 99.5 wins set by Brett Prebble in the 1999-2000 season, when dead-heat winners did not count as a full win.
The 25-year-old expressed her relief at reaching the milestone after a nervous wait following Sandown’s midweek meeting.
“Big relief. It’s been a very, very long week. I’ve had some really good people around me getting me through and it’s a big relief today,” Kah said after being applauded back in by an adoring crowd.
“To do it for Tony and Calvin, they’ve been such a big supporter of my career. We’ve had lots of arguments and disagreements on the way through, but they’ve supported me from day one and to get it on their horse is very special.”
Kah admitted the pressure had started to build following Wednesday’s eight-race card.
“I’d gone to the races with a better book of rides and not got a winner, but the pressure afterwards was ridiculous in my mind, I couldn’t really believe it,” she said.
“The next few days were tough, but I thought I had a good book of rides today and it was going to be a pretty bad day if I didn’t get it.”
Kah paid special tribute to the 5000-strong Caulfield crowd who celebrated her century of metro winners.
“I was hearing the crowd cheering and I actually got goosebumps over the line, it was pretty special. Thank you everyone for coming.
“I’m not one for crowds and people cheering my name, it’s still very foreign to me, and Wednesday was unbelievable to see that many people at Sandown. Today, everyone and all the kids with signs, it’s very special,” she said.
Kah, a six-time Group 1-winning jockey, began her career in South Australia, where she won her first Adelaide Jockeys’ Premiership in the 2012-13 season, her first full season of riding.
She won two more titles in Adelaide before moving to Melbourne in January 2019.
Kah began her association with the McEvoy stable when riding in South Australia, where she recorded 65 winners from 222 rides in 15 months before heading to Victoria.
Tony McEvoy was particularly proud of Kah’s achievement and paid tribute to her yesterday.
“I think she is one of the great women athletes in Australia’s history, doing what she’s done. It’s a sport where the women compete equally with the males and she gets no advantage and she is doing what she is doing. I think that says it all,” he said.
“She was riding very successfully when I got her. And I chased her because I could see the talent … not only I, everyone was talking about how good she was. I had the opportunity to grab her and I did.”
Michelle Payne is another jockey to do remarkable things in the saddle, namely becoming the first female to win the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) when partnering Prince Of Penzance (Pentire) to victory in 2015, and she believes Kah’s achievement can inspire the next generation of youngsters to get involved with the sport.
“It’s a huge achievement for anyone, especially a female jockey,” Payne told Racing.com.
“It gives riders coming through a bit of a boost to watch her ride. She doesn’t have to try and prove she’s stronger than the boys. She’s a great horseman and gets the best out of the horses by being that.
“There’s so much more to her riding. It’s about getting the horse to breathe and get into a rhythm.
“For her to be doing what she is doing and for other female riders to see that and aspiring younger girls that watch the sport, I think it’s amazing to see and so great for the sport.”
Red Can Man bounces back to land Sir John Monash Stakes
It was not all smiles for Kah yesterday, however, as the Ben Melham-ridden Red Can Man (4 g Gingerbread Man – Brocky’s Ace by Surtee) narrowly defeated her mount of Malkovich (Choisir) to land the feature Sir John Monash Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m).
The David Brideoake-trained four-year-old showed some promising form in Western Australia in the spring when under the care of Steve Wolfe, finishing runner-up in the Lee Steere Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) and fourth in the Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), before ending his preparation with a sixth in the Winterbottom Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
The gelding returned to action on Soft 7 ground at Flemington after seven months off the track and finished a disappointing seventh as favourite in a handicap over 1100 metres, prompting him to be sent off as a $9 chance yesterday.
Making his second start for Brideoake, the son of Gingerbread Man (Shamardal) showed plenty of grit in bouncing back to form, running down $2.50 favourite Malkovich in the closing stages to score by a neck, with Villami (Foxwedge) a length and a quarter further back in third.
“We didn’t really know what to take out of his first-up run, he’d obviously had a long time between runs and it was a soft-ish track,” said Matt Jenkins, assistant trainer to Brideoake.
“All his form over in Perth he hadn’t really been exposed (to soft ground), and if he had he hadn’t done any good. So it was pleasing to see a Good 4 track today.
“The boys from Perth, Wolfe and the team, sent him over because they believe he’s up to that level and he’s probably shown today that he is. He probably wants to get out to a mile and we’ll pick off races as we go along.
“We’re in a really good purple patch at the moment. I’m sure it’ll end eventually but we’ll enjoy it while it’s here.”
One of five winners out of Listed-placed mare Brocky’s Ace (Surtee), Red Can Man is a half-brother to 2018 Sapphire Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Quilista (Scandal Keeper), who was bought by Bruce Perry Bloodstock for $1 million at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale.
Purchased for $50,000 as a yearling, Red Can Man’s eight career wins have all come over 1400 metres or less, and Melham is not so convinced that he is crying out for a mile.
“It was a good speed but it suits my bloke, he’s a big, bold, on-pace sort of horse. He covers a lot of ground in his stride and we were going along at a nice tempo. He really knuckled down well late to win,” said the winning jockey.
“Just riding him, I rode him in trackwork before today, he really doesn’t strike me as that kind of horse (a miler). 1200 and 1400 are okay, but a mile probably not. I think he’s in for a really good preparation.”
Melham took some satisfaction in defeating Kah’s mount of Malkovich aboard Red Can Man, who Kah rode at Flemington last-start.
“That was one of her cast offs, so even her cast offs are fast,” he laughed. “She’s bloody hard to get past and it’s good to get one up on her.”