Why golden girl jockey Jamie Kah said ‘I feel like I just won the Melbourne Cup’ despite not winning the race that stops the nation

•  Kah scores win on Melbourne Cup day
•  Won the Macca’s Run on board The Map
•  Jockey has had a difficult year in all regards

Renowned jockey Jamie Kah has taken out the 2800m Macca’s Run aboard The Map after an eventful year that saw her survive a life-threatening fall and a a white powder controversy.

The Victorian superstar won by lengths from Mr Waterville, with Garachico third and Long Arm fourth.

The win was all the sweeter for Kah, however, because of her long association and friendship with co-trainers Oopy MacGillivray and Dan Clarken.

‘It is (a proud moment). Riding a winner on Melbourne Cup Day is awesome but for them it felt like winning the Melbourne Cup,’ Kah told Racing.com.

‘They were like my second parents when I was growing up, they looked after me so much.

Kah took out the 2800m Macca’s Run aboard The Map after an eventful year

Kah hugged trainer Oopy MacGillivray after riding The Map to win on Tuesday

‘Bought me lots of bottles of wine, because they have a beautiful winery, so that’s why I love them even more. But no that was just fantastic.

‘I was always excited to ride this horse but that surprised me how well she ran.’

Kah, who missed out on becoming the second female jockey to win The Melbourne Cup on More Felons in the $8 million dollar main race, has had a troubled 12 months.

The nine-time Group 1 winner had a horror fall at Flemington in March that left her with a serious brain injury.

When she came out of an induced five-day coma, Kah 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 only returned to the saddle in August.

Kah also copped a misconduct charge for a ‘white powder’ controversy after photos that appeared to show her rack up a line of a mysterious substance surfaced on social media in June.

The story broke just a day after she announced her return to racing.

The superstar Victorian jockey said she felt like she’d won the Melbourne Cup afterwards

Kah survived a horror race fall earlier in the year and a white powder scandal

The emergence of the controversial images cast a shadow over Kah’s highly anticipated return to horse racing.

Stewards charged her and another woman over the photos, alleging they broke the rule that states ‘a person must not engage in conduct prejudicial to the image, interests, integrity, or welfare of racing, whether or not that conduct takes place within a racecourse or elsewhere’.

‘I am working hard to get back to doing what I love, and that is being a passionate and successful jockey,’ said Kah afterwards.

‘I will continue to focus on my physical and mental health and making a full recovery so I can return to racing and be the best person that I can possibly be.’

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