The Valley - Saturday 31st July 2021

more energy, and in return they can sustain a longer, more powerful sprint in the finish. Horses that are usually aggressive on the bridle race more kindly when she is aboard them, and horses that usually settle back in the field seem to be able to take up a more prominent position. To put it simply, as 38-time Group 1 winning trainer Mick Price says, “horses love her,” and she loves them. Much like Roger Federer in tennis, Floyd Mayweather in boxing or Scott Pendlebury in the AFL, Kah can execute her skills under such immense pressure, yet still appear as if she is doing it so effortlessly. To quote her mother Karen, “you see nothing, and yet she’s doing so much.” The continual rise of Jamie Kah has taken Australia by storm these past few seasons. After all, what’s not to love about seeing a female athlete competing against men on a level playing field on the biggest stage and doing so well to the point of domination? It is just another element exclusive to racing that makes it so great. But it wasn’t always that way. The evolution of female jockeys has spiraled in recent memory, but it wasn’t long ago that women weren’t accepted in racing circles at all. It was only 43 years ago that Pam O’Neill and Linda Jones became the first two female licensed riders in Australia, only 15 years since Clare Lindop became the first Australian female jockey to win a Group 1, and only 6 years ago that Michelle Payne became the first female rider to win the Melbourne Cup. Amazingly enough, an 18-year-old Jamie Kah won the Adelaide Jockeys’ Premiership in her first full season of riding in 2012/13, yet when she arrived in Victoria, she still struggled to get rides. Riding under Mick Price in 2014, he found it hard to convince owners why a female apprentice should ride their horse. As we now know, these struggles are a thing of the past. Kah has ridden a Group 1 winner this season for Chris Waller, Australia’s premier trainer, Godolphin, the largest racing stable in the world, and Tony Gollan, Queensland’s leading trainer. The significance of Jamie Kah’s success, however, is that it stems much further than her feature race wins. In season 2020/21, not only will she become the first female rider ever to win the Victorian Metropolitan Premiership, but she has also made history by becoming the first ever jockey to ride 100 Victorian Metro winners in a season. The odds of any jockey achieving such a feat at the start of the year, let alone a female rider, would have been astronomical. She has overtaken Michelle Payne on the record number of Group 1 wins by a female rider with six to her name, produced highlights such as riding an incredible four winners on Ladbrokes Cox Plate Day, and has done it all going at an astonishing win strike rate of 20%, riding a winner at every fifth start. To predict such monumental achievements at the start of the season would have been absurd, yet here we are, on the brink of history. And although categorizing jockeys into female or male will soon cease to exist, it is worth first celebrating the pioneers of our sport who will force that to happen. Whether she enjoys the spotlight that comes with it or not, Jamie Kah is the leading figure in that movement, and on July 31 when the 2020/21 racing season ends, she will officially be crowned with the Victorian Metropolitan Jockey’s Premiership. From everyone at the Monee Valley Racing Club, congratulations Jamie, and thank you for inspiring the next generation.