Jamie Kah has delivered one of the most clinical rides of her career as Zaaki claimed the $5 million All-Star Mile at Flemington.
Kah rode a tactically brilliant race from a wide draw and Zaaki responded in kind for a decisive win in the richest race of the Victorian autumn carnival on Saturday.
She sent Zaaki forward in the early stages, allowing the import to control his own destiny before establishing a winning lead in the straight.
It was all one-way traffic from that point with Zaaki, the $2.40 favourite, holding his advantage for a 1-1/2 length win.
I'm Thunderstruck ($8.50) emerged from the pack to finish second with the $201 outsider Streets Of Avalon another three-quarters of a length away third.
In a season interrupted because of a suspension that forced her to sit out the Victorian spring carnival, Kah has quickly re-established herself as one of Australia's premier jockeys.
And her ban for a breach of Racing Victoria COVID-19 protocols gave her cause for a moment of reflection as she shared the win with Zaaki's trainer Annabel Neasham.
Most of Kah's biggest wins have been celebrated behind closed doors as her rise to the top of the Australian jockeys' ranks coincided with spectator-free race days because of the pandemic.
But Kah's family was at Flemington on Saturday to celebrate with her as she brought Zaaki back to scale.
"Just to come back after sort of the last six months we've had ... and I tried to pass Mum then (coming back) and I was doing pretty well and then the tears came," she said.
"It's really special to get back to the big level. I know it's not a Group One.
"I've been runner-up in the Group Ones of late but it's just nice to get a big race out of the way.
"It gave me goosebumps trotting back in ... it's been pretty overwhelming."
Zaaki's win also confirmed UK-born Neasham's arrival as a trainer to be reckoned with after she came Australia in 2016 on a working holiday.
And in less than two years since opening her own stable in Sydney, Neasham has trained five Group One winners.
With three of those elite-level wins belonging to Zaaki, the former UK horse is Neasham's headline act and Kah said her mount was trained to the minute for his All-Star tilt.
Zaaki was beaten on his return to racing but Neasham gave Kah every reason to believe she would be riding a better horse in the All-Star.
"Annabel said that first-up run was perfect and she wasn't worried about him at all," Kah said.
"I trusted her ... and he felt like a different horse today."
