By Peter Ryan and Andrew Wu
Jamie Kah rode the emotions as well as the horses on an unforgettable day at Flemington on Saturday, which culminated in her winning her first Victoria Derby on South Australian horse Goldrush Guru.
She was suspended for her ride on Kuroyanagi in race two before riding Another Wil, owned by the late Colin McKenna, to victory in stirring fashion in race four.
Race five was a wipeout as her mount Hurry Curry gave Kah a blood nose when the horse threw her head back as they made their way to the barriers. With Kah ruled unfit to ride in the race, the Oaks chance was scratched at the barrier.
Suddenly, her chances of riding Traffic Warden in the Coolmore Stakes and Goldrush Guru in the Victoria Derby had, pardon the pun, nosedived. Such was the doubt, Goldrush Guru’s trainer Andrew Gluyas started to examine contingencies.
“I sat down with Connor, my son, and said ‘OK, let’s assume she is not going to ride’. We went through that and prepared. I was happy to see her walk back in,” Gluyas said. “She’s shown a lot of courage to continue on.”
It was not going to be a day for Kah to pack it in early unless there was no other option.
Her parents John and Karen, former speed skaters, were at the track. McKenna was looking down on her from above. She was riding a Derby horse with connections to Rebel Raider, who won the 2008 race, ridden by another female jockey from South Australia, Clare Lindop. Even if the day panning out better suited a rodeo rider nothing was stopping Kah.
Kah could not get Traffic Warden over the line in the Coolmore Stakes, but she kept going hopping aboard the rough Derby hope Goldrush Guru in the next.
Although Kah’s eyes were no longer red from the tears she and Another Wil’s trainer Ciaron Maher had shed openly after the Damien Oliver win, her swollen nose was nearly as large as Goldrush Guru’s as they headed to the barrier in front of the members stand.
By the time they returned to scale with the win in the bag, Kah’s huge grin overshadowed the nose.
“It was hurting before the race, and now I can’t feel it,” Kah said.
Jamie Kah is hugged by trainer Ciaron Maher.Credit: Getty Images
She was as tough as ever – her comeback from the scariest of race falls in March last year as far behind her as the horses Goldrush Guru left in his wake.
“My plan was to get back on him. [I] couldn’t hold him early – I was going to be wide and somehow found a little gap to slot into. Once I found the gap, he just fell asleep and gave me a beautiful run throughout,” Kah said.
“He won it a long way out, and I could have stopped him for another lap, but he wanted to keep going.”
The horse’s trainer Gluyas, who is the son-in-law of Rebel Raider’s trainer Leon McDonald, was rapt with Kah’s ride, particularly as he guessed her nose was broken.
“It’s fortunate it’s come together. It was meant to be for today,” Gluyas said.
That the day was one of destiny for Kah was not lost on anyone, especially after her tribute to McKenna who was both a mate and mentor.
A prominent racehorse owner who made his wealth with his meat processing business in Warrnambool, McKenna died last Sunday after a short battle with brain cancer. His wife Janice watched the race from their property in Woolsthorpe, near Warrnambool.
Maher said McKenna and his wife were both great supporters of Kah, who has endured a tumultuous run on and off the track in recent years.
“Both Col and Janice, they spoke to Jamie every day on a number of occasions for different reasons when she was needing a shoulder to lean on,” Maher said.
“You just would not know how many people Col touched – Jamie’s a great example. He’s sadly missed. I’m sure next Friday there’ll be a lot of people celebrating his life.”
Jamie Kah’s moment of drama at Flemington.Credit: The Age
Kah was hugged by Maher in a win that showed as much will as skill.
“He was the best person, ask anyone in the industry,” Kah said. “[It] just means the world. It doesn’t feel real that he’s not here.”
Kah said there was intervention from above after some nervous moments in the straight when she sweated on a rails run.
“I trust this horse, he’s done it before, he’s pushed his way through gaps,” Kah said. “I wasn’t worried because I knew the horse I had underneath me.
“He can’t be leading in these class of races and winning any more. He’s got to get cover – after that it was up to him and Col opened up some gaps for us.
“The gaps weren’t there, then they were there.”
As the emotions died down, attention turned to Cup day, where Kah will ride Okita Soushi in the big race for Maher before starting a 10-meeting suspension for the interference she caused to I Am Velvet when riding Kuroyanagi in race two.
It was Kah’s day – one that will never be forgotten.
“I think she will have a champagne,” Gluyas said.
With Danny Russell
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