Jockey Jamie Kah has responded after a pair of images featuring the superstar and a plate with an unknown white powder circulated on social media.
Kah has been sidelined since a horror fall at Flemington in March, which left her suffering bleeding to the brain and memory loss.
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But the day after the jockey announced her comeback to the sport, she has been dragged into a social media scandal, the Herald Sun’s Page 13 reported.
The images show one image of Kah smiling for the camera with her white painted nails clearly in view and a second one with a hand featuring white nails appearing to divide lines of the white powder up on a plate.
It is unclear when the image was taken, what the powder is or whether the substance was consumed.
After the story broke, Kah responded on social media.
“I am determined to focus on my health and recovery following my race fall in March which left me with a serious brain injury and being in hospital for 3 weeks,” Kah said.
“I am working hard to get back to doing what I love, and that is being a passionate and successful jockey.
“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.
“I won’t be making any further comment.”
In a statement Racing Victoria said: “The Stewards will be making enquiries of Jamie Kah to avail themselves of all the facts before considering whether any Rules of Racing have been breached.”
Racing Victoria chief steward Robert Cram said via The Age: “We are aware of the photos and we are investigating.”
Kah had been hospitalised after her fall in March, spending three weeks in hospital.
The star jockey was “speared” into the turf after her horse Flyball clipped the heels of the eventual winner Veight in the Group 2 Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m).
In the same incident, Craig Williams suffered a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken finger and a concussion of his own after his horse Dubenenko tripped over Kah’s fallen horse.
The 27-year-old returned to the track on a “restricted trackwork license” this week and must complete a “balance” neurological test next month to be eligible to ride in races.
“I feel 100 per cent, I feel like I’m back to myself and I feel like I’ve got a purpose again,” Kah said.
“Confidence is back to normal, I haven’t felt like I’ve missed a day.
“It’s good to be back, it’s been a very hard few months and I’ve been looking forward to this for ages.
“The last few weeks have been really difficult because I know in myself I feel normal, I feel back to myself and just not going to work and not riding horses, that’s been the hardest part.”
Incredibly, Kah, who had 59 Group 1 winners before her injury, is still leading the Melbourne Jockeys Premiership table in Victoria.
Kah made history in 2020-21 as the first female jockey to win the Melbourne premiership. She also became the first jockey in 20 years to ride more than 100 winners (105) in a single season.
But she was also banned from riding for attending a gathering at a Morning Airbnb after Melbourne’s curfew during the Covid-19 pandemic.
