Melbourne Cup hero Michelle Payne backs Jamie Kah amid form slump in the saddle

Jamie Kah is out of form in the saddle — but Michelle Payne isn’t worried and says the champion hoop will return to her best.

Jamie Kah is in a form slump.

By Jackie Epstein (Herald Sun)

Melbourne Cup hero Michelle Payne has backed Jamie Kah to turn around her fortunes in the saddle, saying Flemington could be the catalyst for her return to the top.

Payne told Racenet that Kah was not panicking about her form slump, which has seen her struggling to recapture her best since her return from a serious brain injury.

In 126 rides since returning from injury in August, Kah has ridden 12 winners at a strike rate of 9.5 per cent.

The past 10 favourites she’s ridden have all been beaten and she has ridden three winners from her past 50 rides.

As a comparison, Kah’s winning strike rate in the past three racing seasons have been 19.8 per cent (2022/23), 19.1 per cent (2021/22) and 20.9 per cent (2020/21).

Jamie Kah at Moonee Valley last week.

Her return on investment for her rides this season is -55 per cent, showing the horses she is riding are performing well below market expectations.

“I think she’s just going through the motions of whatever she’s getting, the rides she’s getting (and) doing her best,’’ Payne said on Monday.

“Obviously it’s very hard coming back from an injury like that but I think that she’s not panicking and you can’t.

“She’s not getting the calibre of horses that she was, but I think she’s still riding as good as ever. If I had a horse good enough for her to ride I wouldn’t have any hesitations in putting her on.

“It’s a game where you need the luck to be going your way and I always say it’s like a big circle, it keeps coming back around.

“People that have ability are going great now and then it’ll come around and she’ll be flying again. She’s done a remarkable job to come back from her injury like she did and she’ll get back there.

Jamie Kah’s last winner was on Extreme Flight at Moe on October 20.

“She just needs that fortune to change. It might just be that turning point (at Flemington).”

Punters have been highly critical, particularly on social media, of Kah’s recent form in the saddle with many suggesting she needs a break.

Kah did not have a ride in either Group 1 race on Saturday — the Cox Plate and Manikato Stakes, nor did she have a ride in Friday night’s Moonee Valley Gold Cup.

She rode overseas raider Valiant King in the Caulfield Cup, which finished sixth.

Her form slump coincides with her facing a misconduct charge over her part in a white powder controversy, which will be heard over two days on November 13 and 14.

In August, her barrister Matthew Stirling told the Victorian Racing Tribunal that Kah intended to plead not guilty.

Michelle Payne at the Melbourne Cup Carnival launch on Monday.

Stewards have compiled a comprehensive 270-page brief on the matter.

Judge John Bowman ordered any further materials to be relied upon by either party must be filed and served by November 1.

It is alleged Kah was filmed by a friend, registered stablehand Ruby McIntyre, appearing to arrange a white substance into three lines with an identification card during a gathering at her home on June 17-18.

McIntyre shared a recording and images of Kah and her housemate Jacob Biddell, a greyhound trainer, with person(s) not in attendance.

The vision was leaked to the Herald Sun and its publication led to a stewards’ investigation.

Kah was seriously injured when she fell during a race at Flemington in March.

She had five months off to recover and returned to race riding in August.

Originally published as Melbourne Cup hero Michelle Payne backs Jamie Kah amid form slump in the saddle