How exiled jockey Jamie Kah is spending Melbourne Cup Day

It’s the race that stops a nation but for after one of Australia’s best jockeys was banned, Jamie Kah has gone for a very different background.

Jockey Jamie Kah has shown it may be too painful to go to the track for this year’s Melbourne Cup given her five-month ban from racing.

Kah was handed a three-month ban for attending a gathering at a Mornington Airbnb in August, one of five jockeys to be suspended for the Covid-19 breach.

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The 25-year-old was then banned for an additional eight weeks after providing misleading evidence to Racing Victoria stewards during the investigation into the incident.

The three-month ban wiped Kah out of the Spring Carnival until at least November 26 but the additional eight weeks means she’s out until early 2022 — unless a Supreme Court appeal goes her way.

Instead of riding a winner at Flemington, Kah posted on Instagram that she was enjoying her Tuesday morning by the water.

Kah posted a picture of her and her dog at the beach, featuring the caption “Cup Day spent with my girl” and a video of the dog swimming among the seaweed.

Jamie Kah has shared how she's spending Cup Day. Photo: Instagram

Jamie Kah has been sidelined. Photo: Reg Ryan/Racing Photos via Getty Images

Kah is one of the most high-profile jockeys in Australia and recently won the Scobie Breasley Medal as Victoria’s best jockey. This year she achieved the historic feat of winning 100 races in a season in metropolitan Victoria — something no other jockey has ever managed.

She was in the form of her life a year ago and was rewarded with the ride on highly fancied Melbourne Cup contender Prince of Arran, where she eventually finished third in the race that stops the nation.

She’s banned from riding because of her Covid breach but Kah was spotted at Flemington on Saturday where she strapped a horse trained by her fiance Clayton Douglas before the last race of Derby Day.

Douglas had another of his horses, Mimosas, running in race six at Flemington today. Kah posted a clip of the runner strutting around the mounting yard earlier on Tuesday but unfortunately he finished last in The Schweppervescence Plate.

Kah strapping Bless Her on Derby Day. Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images

Kah’s omission from this year’s Melbourne Cup means Rachel King, who has the ride on Pondus for veteran owner Lloyd Williams, is the only female jockey in the field for this year’s Melbourne Cup.

“We have gone for Rachel King to ride him at 52.5kg. I’ve noticed (Godolphin trainer) James Cummings uses her a lot,” Williams said.

“Rachel is very well balanced, she looks good sitting on the horses. I’ve been around for 60 years with horses and a lot of the girls look better than the boys.”

Originally published as How exiled jockey Jamie Kah is spending Melbourne Cup Day