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Jockey Jamie Kah called out over blunder in Melbourne Cup

Jamie Kah, pictured here riding Prince of Arran in the Melbourne Cup.
Jamie Kah was caught in traffic and had to settle for third in the Melbourne Cup. Image: Getty

Jamie Kah has been called out by a number of racing commentators over her ride in the Melbourne Cup.

Looking to become just the second female jockey after Michelle Payne to win the Melbourne Cup, Kah stormed home to guide Prince of Arran to a third-place finish.

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It was a remarkable ride for Kah, who came out of nowhere down the straight to give Prince of Arran his third top-three finish in the Cup.

However many felt Kah missed a golden opportunity to win the race that stops the nation, especially given her favourable barrier draw.

Kah started from barrier one on Tuesday, the same barrier that Payne won from on Prince of Penzance in 2015.

However she fell agonisingly short of emulating her friend.

Australian jockey Dwayne Dunn, a 15-time Group One winner, was critical of Kah’s ride while co-hosting the race broadcast in America.

“If Jamie Kah had her time over again she would have been more inclined to use that barrier and put him closer in the run,” Dunn said.

“He got in that midfield position, a little bit of ruckus, shuffled back, she was able to extricate out of that and get to the clear opening but in hindsight she would have liked to have ridden him with more urgency early and put him closer to the lead.”

Nick Hluchaniuk of punters.com said Kah erred when she moved off the rail with 600m left in the race, which put Prince of Arran in heavy traffic.

“After being held-up on the turn, he flew home for third with the fastest 400m-200m sectional and 200m to finish,” Hluchaniuk wrote.

“It’s always easy in hindsight, but had Kah remained on the fence a run would’ve appeared as Finche began to tire in the straight.

“It was the run Glen Boss ended up taking on Sir Dragonet.”

Kah’s mother Karen could be heard saying “she should’ve come out earlier” in a video of her family watching the race at home.

Brad Davidson of Sky Racing said Kah left her run “a touch late”, but Kah thought she simply got unlucky.

“He was super unlucky,” Kah said of Prince of Arran. “He really deserves it. He just had no luck on the turn.”

Prince of Arran’s trainer Charlie Fellowes thanked Kah for her “lovely ride”.

“He was behind a wall of horses at the wrong time and got out a bit too late,” Fellowes said.

“He flew. He’s run a massive race again. He is an incredible horse.

“You can’t be gutted running third in the Melbourne Cup. I’m not gutted at all. I’m incredibly proud of him.

“I felt we got our run stopped at a really bad point in the race and the way he was running home at the end, it wouldn’t have had to be too much further and we would have given Twilight Payment something to think about.”

Jamie Kah, pictured here riding Prince Of Arran to third place in the Melbourne Cup.
Jamie Kah rode Prince Of Arran to third place in the Melbourne Cup. (Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images for the VRC)

Anthony Van Dyck death mars Melbourne Cup

The cause of Anthony Van Dyck's fatal Melbourne Cup injury isn't expected to be known for weeks, the sport’s governing body Racing Victoria said on Tuesday.

Anthony Van Dyck became the latest international star to go amiss in the Melbourne Cup when the Aidan O'Brien-trained stayer faltered late in the race.

As Twilight Payment swept to an all-the-way victory for O'Brien's son Joseph, Anthony Van Dyck was retired from the race with a fractured fetlock.

Anthony Van Dyck’s injury was so severe that veterinarians were unable to save last year's English Derby winner.

Racing Victoria's Jamie Steir said a fatality report that included the results of an autopsy would be prepared as per the regulatory body's welfare protocols.

“The report will include the findings of a post-mortem which will now be conducted by the University of Melbourne Veterinary Clinic and we expect it will be several weeks before we have a completed report for consideration,” Steir said.

with AAP

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