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The barrister acting for star jockey Jamie Kah has accused Racing Victoria of presenting a sexist case against the 27-year-old.
On Monday, the second day of the tribunal hearing to decide whether Kah and stablehand Ruby McIntyre had committed conduct prejudicial to racing, counsel representing the racing authority argued that Kah had behaved recklessly and brought the sport into disrepute by inviting McIntyre into her home.
Star Melbourne jockey Jamie Kah is defending charges of conduct prejudicial to the image of racing.Credit: Twitter
Stewards charged both Kah and McIntyre with conduct prejudicial to racing after the stablehand recorded and circulated a six-second video, which showed Kah separating lines of white powder on a kitchen plate with an ID card. Still shots of the video were published in the media six days later.
Kah had only met McIntyre six hours earlier, and conceded on the first day of the hearing she was “absolutely” ambitious trusting McIntyre. She said she was more affected by alcohol than she would usually be when she, McIntyre and friend Jacob Biddell were in each other’s company at Kah’s home on June 17.
Representing Racing Victoria, barrister Damian Hannan said it was reckless for Kah to invite someone into her home whom she had just met, was intoxicated and had a mobile phone with a camera. He added that Kah should have been more aware of the potential risk because McIntyre had requested a selfie with the racing star earlier in the evening.
He said that even though Kah was not responsible for the footage or its publication, she was to blame because she “ought to have known” she was being filmed.
“Kah’s reputation is inherently connected to the image of racing, and consequently more impactful on people’s perceptions of the industry,” he added.
This was despite evidence from McIntyre admitting she had secretly recorded Kah by holding her mobile phone close to her body.
“If McIntyre was filming … Kah drinking wine or playing with lego, of course, that wouldn’t be misconduct,” he said.
Kah’s barrister, Matthew Stirling, slammed the argument put forward by Hannan.
“This is nonsense. It’s the 21st century. Australians are not unknown to have a drink. This has gone simply too far, this notion that because Ruby McIntyre took a selfie at Jamie’s home … that’s suspicious behaviour. That’s just life now.”
Stirling noted that all previous misconduct cases heard by racing tribunals had either occurred in a racing premise, a public place, or the person facing the charge was responsible for that conduct becoming public knowledge.
“There’s a bit of a sexist undertone under all this, isn’t there? ‘What are you doing letting that silly young woman you never even knew come into your home with a mobile phone’ as if that’s some sort of criminal device,” he said.
“If this had occurred on racing premises or in a hotel, Kah is probably fair game, but that’s not what’s happened here, that’s why the case goes too far.”
Hannan said it would be a different scenario altogether if “someone was surreptitiously filming through a kitchen window”.
“Whether or not that conduct of Ms Kah was in a private home is irrelevant … because the question is whether or not the conduct has … prejudiced the sport of racing.
“The look is horrible either way, whether it occurs on the kitchen at home or at the racetrack at Caulfield,” he said.
Following the conclusion of the hearing on Monday, the three-person tribunal said it would return with a decision as soon as possible.
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