- Jamie Kah has been charged by Racing Victoria stewards
- Jockey faces potential heavy suspension
- She must now prove her innocence at a court hearing
Australian champion jockey Jamie Kah has been charged with a serious offence by Racing Victoria stewards following a lengthy investigation into a race at Caulfield earlier this year.
The 28-year-old was accused of not wanting to get the best result during a race last month.
The rule states: ‘A rider must take all reasonable and legal measures during the race to ensure that his horse has every opportunity to win or to achieve the best possible position in the field.’
Stewards watched her ride aboard Let’sfacethemusic in the Group 3 McNeil Stakes at Caulfield on August 31 and noticed she failed to accelerate through a gap.
“Between approximately 175 yards and approximately 100 yards, Ms. Kah failed to ride her horse with sufficient force or purpose to improve her position between Band Of Brothers and Stay Focused, where there was ample room and it was reasonable and permissible to do so,” Monday’s complaint said.
‘And/or: During the last 75 metres, Mrs Kah failed to ride her horse with sufficient force, while this was reasonable and permitted.’
The ‘golden jockey’, who is now due to appear in Racing Victoria’s court, admitted she did not have a great race.
“I just didn’t feel like I was driving well,” Kah explained to the stewards.
Jamie Kah has been charged with a serious offence by Racing Victoria stewards
Kah was accused of not fighting for the best result last month
‘I saw (the gap) disappear in front of me and I don’t know, I didn’t feel comfortable running.
“I don’t do runs that aren’t there and at that point in the race I didn’t feel like there was a long enough run to do it.”
The charges follow a horror run for Kah, which began with a shocking fall at Flemington in March that left her with serious brain injuries.
When Kah woke up from a five-day induced coma, she didn’t know who she was and had to Google her name to find some information about herself.
The injury kept her out of racing for five months and she wasn’t able to get back in the saddle until August.
Kah also became embroiled in a “white powder” controversy after photos surfaced on social media in June showing her collecting a line of the mysterious substance.
The story broke just a day after she announced her return to racing.
The emergence of the controversial footage cast a shadow over Kah’s long-awaited return to horse racing.
Kah suffered a shocking fall at Flemington in March 2023, leaving her with a brain injury
Stewards initially charged her and another woman over the photos, alleging they had breached a rule that states that “a person shall not engage in conduct which is prejudicial to the image, interests, integrity or welfare of racing, whether that conduct occurs on a racecourse or elsewhere.”
“I am working hard to get back to doing what I love most, which is being a passionate and successful jockey,” Kah said afterwards.
“I continue to focus on my physical and mental health and on making a full recovery so I can get back to racing and be the best person I can be.”
Kah was later acquitted of all wrongdoing in the white powder scandal and vowed to focus on racing and being happy thereafter.
“It has been the most challenging and testing year ever, but I am so relieved to be able to put it behind me now and focus on racing and being happy,” Kah told RaceNet.