History, heartbreak and pure elation came together at Flemington as Jamie Melham produced a fairytale ride to win the 2025 Melbourne Cup aboard Half Yours, just days after farewelling her beloved grandfather.
In front of a roaring crowd and millions watching around the nation, Melham became the first jockey to complete the coveted Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double, steering the only Australian-bred horse in the field to victory in the $10 million race.
“What just happened? Oh my god,” an emotional Melham gasped moments after crossing the line. “This is why we get out of bed every morning at 4am. This is what we work our arses off for.”
Her win was all the more poignant given her grandfather had passed away the week before. “The last thing he watched was the Caulfield Cup,” she said through tears. “He was up there opening those gaps for me, because I needed a few gaps opened then.”
Melham’s family – including her husband and fellow jockey Ben Melham – were trackside to celebrate the incredible moment. The couple even shared a light-hearted on-track rivalry, as Jamie’s Half Yours surged past Ben’s mount Smokin’ Romans in the home straight.
“I just said, ‘Move over Ben, I’m coming through,’” she laughed. “Then my horse did the rest. He’s the fittest he’s ever been.”
For trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy, it was a dream result; a perfectly timed burst from Half Yours sealing a famous win ahead of Joseph O’Brien’s Goodie Two Shoes and Ciaron Maher’s Middle Earth.
Adding a touch of symmetry to the moment, 2015 Cup heroine Michelle Payne – the first female jockey ever to win the great race – was on hand for the pre-race ceremony, and could barely contain her emotions.
“I’ve got tears in my eyes,” Payne said. “For Jamie, who absolutely deserves it, it just couldn’t be better.”
As the confetti rained down at Flemington, Jamie Melham stood atop the racing world, a champion in the saddle, a granddaughter riding for love and a new chapter in Cup history written in joy and tears alike.
Image: X (Formerly Twitter)
