At her second ride at Caulfield, Jamie Kah finally got the winner she needed to score her 100th Melbourne winner for the season.
Jamie Kah has scaled the heights in Melbourne that no jockey has previously been able to do, breaking through the 100-win mark in the metropolitan area.
The win on Deep Speed in the Neds Fliter Form Handicap (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday gave Kah the milestone victory that had been building over recent months.
Michelle Payne’s win in the Melbourne Cup was an important victory for female jockeys, but Kah reaching the “ton” is an important milestone for all jockeys.
Brett Prebble came closest in the 1999-2000 season when left stranded on 99-½ wins for the season and at the start of the 2011-12 season Racing Victoria moved to count dead-heat victories as a ‘whole win’.
Kah has had a tremendous season and on top of becoming the first jockey to reach the 100-win mark, she will become the first female to win the Melbourne Jockeys’ Premiership, joining big names Damien Oliver, Craig Williams, Roy Higgins and Bill Williamson to be crowned Melbourne’s leading rider.
To make the victory more memorable, Kah achieved her milestone win for the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable, a team she had so much success for in Adelaide before making the move to Melbourne.
Taking Deep Speed, the $2.90 favourite, to the lead and kicking clear on straightening, the pair held off the fast finishing All Of Brighton ($4.40) by a long-head with Sacred Palace ($10) a half-neck away third.
Kah said it was a big relief to have finally achieved the milestone.
“It’s been a very, very long week,” Kah said.
“I’ve had some really good people around me getting me through it. It’s a big relief today and to do it for Tony and Calvin.
“They’ve been such big supporters of my career. We’ve had lots of arguments and disagreements on the way through, but they’ve supported me from day one and to get it on their horse is very special.
“I’m not the one for crowds and people cheering my name, it’s very foreign to me still, but Wednesday was unbelievable to see that many people at Sandown.
“Today, everyone and all the kids with signs, it’s very special.”
Kah said the final 50m of Saturday’s race felt extra-long as she could hear the crowd willing her home.
“I was hearing the crowd and getting goosebumps over the line,” she said.
“It was pretty special so thank you to everyone for coming.”
To try and remove any outside pressure, Kah did not want her family or fiancee Clayton Douglas on course at Caulfield on Saturday.
And she did not want to see the front page of Melbourne’s Herald-Sun which featured her and Ash Barty who is attempting an historic win later on Saturday night at Wimbledon.
Kah did not want to label one winning ride as more special than any other during the season, but said riding Nature Strip to win the Group 1 Lightning Stakes at Flemington was one of the biggest.
“But just then, that win was very special,” she said.
