Jockey Jamie Melham became the second woman to win the Melbourne Cup after Half Yours saluted on a wet track under overcast skies at Flemington in front of about 80,000 spectators. The five-year-old gelding – the only Australian-bred horse in the race – finished two lengths ahead of Goodie Two Shoes, with Middle Earth third.
Melham, who made history as the first female jockey to complete the Caulfield-Melbourne Cups double, was interviewed at the track immediately afterwards and said: “What just happened? Oh my god”.
“This is what we do it for, this is why we get out of bed every morning at four o’clock and work hard for the last 15 years that I’ve been in this business,” she told Channel Nine. “It’s hard, it’s not all glorious and perfect as everyone can see sometimes.”
Melham’s victory comes ten years after Michelle Payne became the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup with Prince of Penzance. Payne interviewed her after the race and said: “Welcome to the club”.
Melham said she has had an “amazing” year, including a wedding and some successful days on the track, “but nothing will ever compare to this feeling right now”.
The 29-year-old became the first female jockey to win the Caulfield Cup last month and overcame the death of her grandfather last week.
“The last thing he looked at was the Caulfield Cup and he was a big supporter of me, so he’s up there closing those gaps for me because I needed a few gaps.”
The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained horse surged into the lead with 200 meters to go and won easily ahead of Goodie Two Shoes.
Payne said Melham has “revolutionized racing” and praised the bond she builds with the horses she rides, predicting more women would follow in their footsteps.
“She’s a true athlete and the fact that she just has connections with the horses, you can tell,” Payne said. “Honestly, it’s just a new world we’re living in and the young girls coming up, it’s exciting.”
Melham’s rise to the top of Australian racing has not been without setbacks. She had to be put into an induced coma in 2023 after a fall. Her mother, former Olympic skater Karen Gardiner-Kah, became emotional as she remembered that period. “It’s devastating for any parent to go through what we went through,” she said.
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Her father, John Kah, another Olympic skater, said the victory was a relief after the high expectations of recent months. “She was a favorite for the Caulfield Cup, that was a month where I was favorite, that’s a long time, and then [she was] She’s quite the favorite for this too,” he said. “Nice to get it done, I’d hate to see her end a career without winning the Melbourne Cup. That is the pinnacle.”
The Irish-trained Al Riffa had a top weight of 59 kg and was the favorite. By midday, however, late support had pushed Presage Nocturne into favoritism, ahead of Al Riffa, Valiant King and Half Yours.
Winning trainer Tony McEvoy said it was an incredible moment. “From the time we were growing up, the Melbourne Cup was everything,” he said.
His son and co-trainer Calvin described Half Yours as a “great” horse. “What a horse, he keeps raising the bar,” he said.
Of the winner’s prize money of $4.5 million, owners will receive about $3.8 million, trainers will receive $450,000 and the jockey will take home $225,000.
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