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Jamie Kah steers Goldrush Guru to Victoria Derby win

3 minute read

A suspected broken nose couldn't stop Jamie Kah becoming the second female jockey to win the Victoria Derby, steering Goldrush Guru to an emphatic win.

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Traffic Warden. Picture: Colin Bull / Sportpix

Star jockey Jamie Kah has capped a roller-coaster day at Flemington with a gutsy win aboard Goldrush Guru in the $2 million Victoria Derby.

Kah won an earlier race, suffered a suspected broken nose in an incident with another of her mounts and was charged with careless riding before Saturday's 2500m feature.

But the 28-year-old was able to laugh off the drama, producing a brilliant ride in an emphatic win with the Andrew Gluyas-trained Goldrush Guru.

Goldrush Guru won by a length and a half from Scary, with China Sea third and Kingofwallstreet fourth.

"Harry (Perks) the owner said, 'You know what fixes broken noses? Champagne, and I'll have plenty waiting for you when you cross the line first'," Kah said.

"I'll hold him to that."

Kah is the second female jockey to win Australia's oldest classic, after 2008 winner and fellow South Australian Clare Lindop.

Trainer Gluyas - another South Australian - was concerned for Kah after Hurry Curry twice reared her head back entering the stalls before the Wakeful Stakes and knocked the jockey in the face.

Kah, who spent six months out of action last year recovering from a severe head injury after a horror race fall, passed a medical assessment before being cleared to continue riding.

"It was just really troubling her even in that ride," Gluyas said.

"It's probably broken, she said. There's a lot of courage there."

Earlier, Kah claimed an emotional win aboard Another Wil in The Damien Oliver.

Kah and trainer Ciaron Maher were both close to prominent owner Colin McKenna, who died last Sunday, and fought back tears after the race.

Also on Derby day, powerful pair James McDonald and Chris Waller combined to win both the $2 million Coolmore Stud Stakes and $1 million Empire Rose Stakes.

The wins took superstar jockey McDonald's tally of Group 1 victories to 102, after he reached the century a week earlier in a record-breaking Cox Plate triumph aboard Waller-trained Via Sistina.

Owned by the sponsors of the race, Switzerland assured his future as a stallion with what Waller branded an "arrogant" victory in the Coolmore.

The Mark Walker-trained Bellatrix star finished second, with race favourite Growing Empire third for Maher.

It was Waller's sixth win in the past 12 editions of the Coolmore, and McDonald's third in the past four.

"Colts winning today, it really is a big deal on the big stage," Waller said.

"It was just an awesome win, it was really good. It was dominant, it was arrogant.

"James rode him perfectly, as we know James does, and he's part of history."

It was the second Coolmore win in combination for Waller and McDonald, who previously won the race with Home Affairs in 2021.

McDonald rode Waller's Atishu to victory in the Empire Rose, beating Kah on Amelia's Jewel.

The Maher-trained Socks Nation was third.

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