Star South Australian jockey Jamie Kah is on the verge of changing the face of racing forever.
That’s the opinion of legendary commentator Bruce McAvaney, who like many is loving watching Kah’s past 12 months of dominance in Victoria, where she currently leads the Victorian metropolitan jockeys premiership by 23.
“She’s transcending her sport and giving racing a good name,” McAvaney said.
“She’s going to create a fair bit of history that we’re going to look back on say this was a turning point.
“We’ve had lot of little markers. The Pam O’Neils, the Beverly Buckinghams. We then had Clare Lindop and then the big one Michelle (Payne). We’ve had lots of good female riders, but right now Jamie is going to set a marker that is going to be a game changer and from this point on there will be no turning back.”
Racing, like no other, is a sport where females have competed against their male counterparts on a level playing field and McAvaney said Kah’s stunning rise to the top could change people’s perceptions – for the better.
“We’re at a point, practically, if Jamie wins this premiership, that we’re going to stop talking about the female versus the male,” he said.
“We’re all guilty of that and it’s thrilling to be on the ride with her.”
Like many South Australians who witnessed Kah’s rapid rise in Adelaide in her early career, McAvaney said seeing her gaining the opportunities in the sport’s mecca was a fitting reward after she chose to make the move back to Melbourne in January 2019.
“We knew she was an outstanding horse woman/jockey… but everything has to come together,” McAvaney said.
“You can have bad luck, a fall, or suspensions – which she had early on in Melbourne – but she is now at a point that everyone wants her to ride their horse.
“We all thought ‘She’s a terrific rider, let’s hope she can prove that to the Victorians and the rest of Australia’, but I don’t think anyone could have foreseen what’s happened.
“What she’s doing is remarkable. She’s going to win the premiership, she only has to get to 80 and can probably put the cue in the rack, but she’s probably going get to 100.”
McAvaney said what made Kah’s ability so unique was where she wins her races.
“For me, she wins races in the first 100m, not the last 100m – that’s my opinion – and she’s very good in tight finish,” McAvaney said.
“I haven’t seen a jockey in a long time that can position a horse like Jamie in the first part of the race. When you think about it, once a field settles in the first after 200m-300m there isn’t a lot jockeys can do unless they make a big move.
“She gets horses in the right spot in the first furlong of a race. She’s very good in the barrier and how she positions her horse. She’s tactically sound and is prepared to make a move, and her balance stands up for her in tight finishes.
“But what I am loving most about her is the consistency – no other jockey has that.”
IMAGE: Jamie Kah after one of her three winners at the Adelaide Cup meeting earlier this week.