Jamie Kah's stunning return to form as big call from Michelle Payne vindicated

The female jockey had struggled since returning from a nasty fall earlier this year.

Michelle Payne and Jamie Kah.
Michelle Payne predicted that Jamie Kah would be back in form soon enough. Image: Getty

Jamie Kah returned to form in a big way on Saturday, riding three winners on Champions Day at Flemington on the final day of the Melbourne Cup carnival. The female jockey had struggled for form over the last few months in a difficult return to the sport following a horror fall earlier this year.

Some had questioned her credentials and suggested she wasn't up to the task, but Kah turned a corner on Melbourne Cup day when she won the Macca’s Run aboard The Map. Then on Saturday she proved it was no fluke, riding three different winners on a sensational day at Flemington.

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The 27-year-old won the first two races of the day on Watadeel and General Beau, before riding Deny Knowledge to victory in the Matriarch Stakes. Speaking after the race, trainer Mick Kent was full of praise for Kah.

“She's as good a jockey as I've ever seen,” Kent said. “Was great to have Jamie on as she rode her last week and was full of confidence this week as she wanted to ride her again. She’s a beautiful horsewoman and is very relaxed, it’s the first winner she’s ridden for me so I’m really pleased that I’ve finally got one with her.”

Speaking at the start of the Melbourne Cup carnival, Michelle Payne said she believed it was only a matter of time before Kah's form returned. “I think she’s just going through the motions of whatever she’s getting, the rides she’s getting (and) doing her best," said the 2015 Melbourne Cup winner. “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 on Deny Knowledge after the TAB Matriarch Stakes.
Jamie Kah rode Deny Knowledge to victory in the TAB Matriarch Stakes. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images)

Jamie Kah's brilliant comeback after horror race fall

Kah and Craig Williams - two of Australia's leading jockeys - were both thrown from their mounts during the Group 2 Sires’ Produce Stakes at Flemington in April. Kah and Williams were both hospitalised after Kah's horse Flyball clipped the heels of eventual winner Veight, sending her spearing into the turf.

Williams suffered a broken clavicle, two fractured ribs and a damaged finger, while Kah had to be heavily sedated after she was knocked unconscious. Thankfully she didn't suffer any significant brain injuries or skull fractures.

However she didn't return to racing until five months later and scored a brilliant double-victory last Saturday at the Victoria Derby. She was chosen to ride More Felons in the Melbourne Cup and managed to finish 12th. She ended up with six victories during the Melbourne Cup carnival - more than double any other jockey.

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