Jamie Kah
| Jamie Kah | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Jockey |
| Born | 7 December 1995 Australia |
| Major racing wins | |
| Doncaster Handicap Hong Kong Classic Mile | |
Jamie Lee Kah (born 7 December 1995)[1] is an Australian jockey. Since October 2020 she has been the world's top-ranked female jockey. In 2020/21 she became the first jockey to ride 100 winners in a Melbourne Metropolitan racing season.
Life and career
Jamie Kah's parents John and Karen are former speed skaters who represented Australia at the Winter Olympics.[2] She grew up in Mount Pleasant in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, where she began working at a friend's stables when she was 13.[2][3] Her grandparents are Dutch.[4]
She left school aged 15,[4] and began her riding apprenticeship in 2011, rode her first race in March 2012 at Streaky Bay, and rode her first winner 14 days later at the Easter Saturday meeting at Clare.[5][6]
In her first full season, 2012/13, Kah won the Adelaide Jockeys' Premiership.[5] She won the Premiership for a third time in 2017/18, then moved to Melbourne in January 2019, and won her first Group One race on Harlem in the Australian Cup at Flemington in March.[5]
In October 2020 Kah was ranked the leading female jockey in the world, and 77th jockey overall.[7] In February 2021 she was the world's 41st jockey overall, and the only female jockey in the top 100.[8] She rode her 1000th winner at the Pakenham racecourse on Wednesday, 12 May 2021. She was the third woman, after Clare Lindop in 2008 and Linda Meech in 2013, to ride 1000 winners in Australia.[9][10] By mid-March 2023 she had ridden 1,191 winners, including nine Group One winners.[11]
On 10 July 2021, Kah became the first jockey to ride 100 winners in a Melbourne Metropolitan racing season.[12] She finished the Metropolitan season with 105 winners.[13]
In September 2021 she was suspended for five months by the Victorian Racing Tribunal for breaching COVID-19 regulations and for providing false or misleading evidence to the breach investigation.[14] She appealed against the severity of the penalty to the Victorian Supreme Court, which upheld her appeal on 17 November, freeing her to resume riding.[15]
For some years Kah and Clayton Douglas,[16] a fellow jockey and trainer, had a property on the Mornington Peninsula.[2][6] As of March 2023 she and fellow jockey Ben Melham are partners.[17]
Kah was seriously injured in a fall during a race at Flemington on 11 March 2023, and spent several days in an induced coma at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.[17] She suffered brain injuries and several broken bones.[18] After months of rehabilitation and weeks of trackwork, she returned to racing with four rides at Randwick on 19 August.[19]
Major wins
- Australian Cup - (1) - Harlem (2019)
- Black Caviar Lightning - (2) - Nature Strip (2021), Coolangatta (2023)
- Doncaster Handicap - (1) - Cascadian (2021)
- Kingsford-Smith Cup - (1) - Vega One (2021)
- Makybe Diva Stakes - (1) - Gatting (2019)
- Moir Stakes - (1) - Coolangatta (2022)
- Toorak Handicap - (1) - Mr Quickie (2020)
- VRC Champions Stakes - (1) - Zaaki (2022)
- Hong Kong Classic Mile - (1) - Voyage Bubble (2023)
References
- ^ Dorries, Ben (8 December 2017). "How Jamie Kah rediscovered her racing passion". Racenet. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ a b c Schlink, Leo. "From pony club to a Cup dream: Kah's meteoric rise". Racenet. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ Sexton, Mike (27 March 2014). "Winning ways: Young jockey Jamie Kah". ABC. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ a b Harvey, Matt (9 October 2019). "Introducing Australia's next racing champion". RACV.
- ^ a b c "Jamie Kah". Racing and Sports. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ a b Sporle, Ben. "Kah named Lady of Racing". Racing.com. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Smith, Chris (22 October 2020). "It's the Hollie, Jamie and Emma-Jayne show". Thoroughbred Racing Commentary. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ "TRC rankings star: Jamie Kah". Horse Racing Planet. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Gardiner, Gilbert (12 May 2021). "Jamie Kah records 1000th career win". Punters. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ "Jamie Kah lands 1000 milestone win". Just Horse Racing. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Jamie Kah". Racing.com. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ Reynolds, Ryan. "Kah etches name into history". Racing.com. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ Eddy, Andrew. "Kah ends season with Valley double". Racing.com. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ Eddy, Andrew (17 September 2021). "Kah banned for five months". Racing.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ Yeatman, Tim (17 November 2021). "Kah: I can't wait to get back". Racing.com. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Clayton Douglas". Racing and Sports. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ a b Eddy, Andrew (13 March 2023). "Melham updates Kah condition". Racing.com. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ Yeatman, Tim (6 May 2023). "Kah details recovery". Racing.com. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ Cosgriff, Darcy (20 August 2023). "Kah to make Victorian return". Racing.com. Retrieved 26 August 2023.