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Jockey Jamie Melham became the second woman to win the Melbourne Cup after Half Yours saluted on a wet track under cloudy skies at Flemington, in front of a crowd of around 80,000 spectators.
Half Yours finished two lengths ahead of Goodie Two Shoes, with Middle Earth third.
Interviewed on the track immediately afterwards, Melham said: “what just happened? Oh my god”.
“This is what we do it for, this is why we get up out of bed every morning at 4am, work our asses off for the last 15 years I’ve been in this industry,” she told Channel Nine. “It’s tough, it’s not all glorious and perfect as everyone can see sometimes.”
Melham’s victory comes 10 years after Michelle Payne become the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup on Prince of Penzance. Payne interviewed her after the race, saying: “Welcome to the club”.
Melham said she has had an “amazing” year, including a wedding and some successful days on the track, “but nothing ever ever compares to this feeling right now”.
The 29-year-old also 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 watched was the Caulfield Cup and he was such a big supporter of mine, so he’s up there opening those gaps for me because I needed a few gaps opened.”
The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained horse surged to the lead with 200m to go and won easily ahead of Goodie Two Shoes.
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Payne said Melham has “revolutionised racing” and praised the bond she makes with the horses she rides, predicting more women would follow in their footsteps.
“She’s an out-and-out athlete and the fact that she just has these connections with the horses, you can see that,” Payne said. “Honestly, it’s just a new world we’re living in and the young girls coming through, it’s exciting.”
Of the $4.5m winner’s prize money, the owners receive around $3.8m, the trainer gets $450,000 and the jockey takes home $225,000.
