Jamie Kah and Ben Melham make red carpet debut a year on from scandalous party
Star jockey Jamie Kah and Ben Melham are moving on from last year’s wild Airbnb scandal, proudly stepping out as a couple on racing’s night of nights.
Fiona Byrne
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A year on from being busted at a Covid rule-breaking jockey’s party at a Mornington Airbnb, racing’s most talked about couple Jamie Kah and Ben Melham made their red carpet debut at the 2022 Racing Awards on Saturday night.
The close bond between the pair, who are both successful jockeys, came to light on August 25 last year when police were called to Mornington rental property due to a noise complaint and discovered six people inside, all outside their 5km radius and in breach of the then Melbourne Covid curfew.
The party goers, including Kah and Melham, were fined $5452 each for breaching the directions of the chief health officer.
A lot has happened since then. In the subsequent months Kah broke off her engagement to trainer Clayton Douglas and Melham’s marriage also ended.
The pair went ‘Insta-official’ with their relationship during a trip to Europe in July and took to the red carpet at the Victorian racing industry’s gala awards night which was held at Q Events by Metropolis.
The pair made a striking and sporting couple.
The Racing Awards, which saw the awarding of the Australian Racehorse of the Year title and the announcement of the Scobie Breasley Medal winner, saw the racing industry swap puffer jackets, jodhpurs and silks for black-tie wear.
Looking dapper in a bespoke tailored suit was powerhouse Ciaron Maher who was accompanied by his partner Alice Berry, elegant in a Toni Maticevski black floor length evening gown.
Top trainer Annabel Neasham arrived with Rob Archibald, the racing manager at her training enterprise.
Archibald is a born and bred horseman. A polo player, he was named by Vanity Fair magazine as one of ‘Polo’s 10 Hottest Horsemen’ in 2009 and wed international racing identity Francesca Cumani in 2014. The pair split in 2018.
Other guests included Chris Waller and his wife Stephanie, Jye McNeil and his wife Jessica, Craig Williams and his wife Larysa, Brae Sokolski, Daniel and Lauren Moor, and Debbie Kepitis.
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