Put aside the multimillion dollar investment in the All-Star Mile to promote racing relevance, the sport’s biggest ticket right now is, and continues to be Jamie Kah.
Jockey, not “female jockey”, nothing to do with Michelle Payne, or any of those who worked hard to achieve before her, Kah is without question racing’s No. 1 star.
So she loses the ride on Nature Strip because of borders, despite chaperoning him to a Group 1 Lightning Stakes win. That was Group 1 No. 4, and achieved on a far from easy horse to manage.
Ash Barty in tennis, Sam Kerr in soccer, Elyse Perry in cricket, surfing, basketball, swimming stars, add whatever sport you like, all mentioned in similarly comparable terms to Kah, the relevance is irrelevant, the focus on the talent and achievement and marketability is what’s important.