Lexus Melbourne Cup |
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| Group 1 Handicap, Flemington 04:00 (UK time) A$ 10,000,000 3yo plus, 2m  |
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1 Half Yours 8/1
2
Goodie Two Shoes 40/1
3
Middle Earth 25/1 2
4 River Of Stars 18/1
24 ran Distances: 2¾l, 1½l, 2½l
Time: 3m 22.46
HALF YOURS WINS THE MELBOURNE CUP! 🇦🇺🏆 pic.twitter.com/dZtNSO9Z4x
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) November 4, 2025
Jamie Melham has etched her name into the racing annals, becoming only the second female jockey to win the race — and she’s done it in style, steering Half Yours home at Flemington in front of a roaring crowd.
The Australian rider not only joins that exclusive club but also makes her own piece of history — the first woman ever to claim the Melbourne Cup–Caulfield Cup double, a feat that underscores her remarkable season in the saddle.
It comes a decade on from Michelle Payne’s fairy-tale triumph aboard Prince of Penzance, a victory that changed the face of the Cup forever.
After climbing down from the winner, emotion still fresh on her face, Melham spoke to Australia’s Nine Network:
“This is why we get up out of bed every morning at 4 am… it’s tough.
It’s not all glorious and perfect, as everyone can see sometimes.
I’ve had an amazing year. Got married, had some really great days on the track, but nothing ever, ever compares to this feeling right now I’m feeling.”
And there was reason enough for that elation. Half Yours — the lone Australian-bred in a 24-strong international field — had been well-fancied to thrive on the softened ground after passing showers.
Through the turn, the chestnut was shoulder-to-shoulder with the Irish challenger Goodie Two Shoes, the pair locked in a duel that had the grandstands rising. But as they straightened for home in the 3,200-metre test, Melham found that perfect gear change — a measured push, a moment’s rhythm — and suddenly Half Yours surged clear, stretching away to win by multiple lengths.
Behind her, Joseph O’Brien’s Goodie Two Shoes kept on bravely for second, Middle Earth filled third, and River of Stars ran gallantly into fourth.
Adding an extra thread to the tapestry, Melham’s husband, Ben Melham, was among those left in her wake aboard Smokin’ Romans. The pair shared a tender, smiling embrace amid the post-race bustle — a scene of shared pride more than rivalry.
In her interview, Jamie’s voice caught as she remembered her grandfather, who had passed away only a week earlier:
“I have to mention my grandpa,” Melham told Nine.
“He died 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 open then.”
There was also late drama among the Irish runners — Al Riffa, another of O’Brien’s, had been the subject of strong market confidence but never found clear air, finishing seventh.
For Joseph O’Brien, chasing what would have been a third Melbourne Cup crown, it was a day of gallant near-misses. For Jamie Melham, though, it was a day when dreams aligned — a dawn-to-dusk story, told through rhythm, courage, and one unerring kick at precisely the right time.
Lexus Melbourne Cup (Group 1 Handicap)
A$ 10,000,000
3yo plus, 2m (3200 Metres)
24 ran
Going: Good to Soft
POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (8) Half Yours 5 8-5 Tony McEvoy & Calvin McEvoy Jamie Melham 8/1
2 (20) 2¾ Goodie Two Shoes 6 8-2 Joseph O'Brien Wayne Lordan 40/1
3 (13) 1½ Middle Earth 5 8-8 Ciaron Maher Ehtan Brown 25/1
4 (14) 2½ River of Stars 6 8-2 Chris Waller Beau Mertens 18/1
5 (18) 1¼ Torranzino 6 8-0 Paul Preusker Celine Gaudray 30/1
6 (2) 1¼ Vauban 7 8-13 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Blake Shinn 20/1
7 (19) shd Al Riffa 5 9-4 Joseph O'Brien Mark Zahra 7/1
8 (4) hd Absurde 7 8-6 W P Mullins Kerrin McEvoy 18/1
9 (24) nk Changingoftheguard 6 8-5 Kris Lees Timothy Clark 60/1
10 (22) nk Meydaan 4 8-7 Simon & Ed Crisford James McDonald 25/1
11 (7) 1 Furthur 3 8-3 Andrew Balding Michael Dee 40/1
12 (15)
¾ Arapaho 8 8-13 Bjorn Baker Rachel King 30/1
13 (17) nse Flatten The Curve 6 8-6 Henk Grewe Thore Hammer Hansen 20/1
14 (11) ¾ Smokin’ Romans 9 8-7 Ciaron Maher Ben Malham 60/1
15 (21) nk Royal Supremacy 4 8-0 Ciaron Maher Robbie Dolan 30/1
16 (10) 1 Valiant King 5 8-0 Chris Waller Jye McNeil 8/1
16 (10) dht OneSmoothOperator 7 8-5 Brian Ellison Harry Coffey 40/1
18 (6) 2½ More Felons 6 8-5 Chris Waller Tommy Berry 40/1
19 (9) 1½ Presage Nocturne 4 8-3 Alessandro Botti Stephane Pasquier 9/2F
20 (3) 1¾ Parchment Party 4 8-3 William Mott John R Velazquez 60/1
21 (1) 1¼ Athabascan 6 8-2 John O'Shea & Tom Charlton Declan Bates 70/1
22 (16) 2¾ Land Legend 5 8-6 Chris Waller Joao Moreira 60/1
23 (5) 4¼ Chevalier Rose 7 8-10 Hisashi Shimizu Damian Lane 50/1
24 (12)
71 Buckaroo 6 9-0 Chris Waller Craig A Williams 13/1
Recent Melbourne Cup Winners
| Year | Winner | Second | Third | Time |
| 2024 | Knight's Choice | Warp Speed | Okita Soushi | 3:19.53 |
| 2023 | Without A Fight | Soulcombe | Sheraz | 3:18.37 |
| 2022 | Gold Trip | Emissary | High Emocean | 3:24.04 |
| 2021 | Verry Elleegant | Incentivise | Spanish Mission | 3:17.43 |
| 2020 | Twilight Payment | Tiger Moth | Prince Of Arran | 3:17.34 |
| 2019 | Vow And Declare | Prince Of Arran | Il Paradiso | 3:24.76 |
| 2018 | Cross Counter | Marmelo | Prince Of Arran | 3:21.17 |
| 2017 | Rekindling | Johannes Vermeer | Max Dynamite | 3:21.19 |
| 2016 | Almandin | Heartbreak City | Hartnell | 3:20.58 |
| 2015 | Prince Of Penzance | Max Dynamite | Criterion | 3:22.15 |
| 2014 | Protectionist | Red Cadeaux | Who Shot Thebarman | 3:17.71 |
| 2013 | Fiorente | Red Cadeaux | Mount Athos | 3:20.30 |
| 2012 | Green Moon | Fiorente | Jakkalberry | 3:20.45 |
| 2011 | Dunaden | Red Cadeaux | Lucas Cranach | 3:20.84 |
| 2010 | Americain | Maluckyday | So You Think | 3:26.87 |
| 2009 | Shocking | Crime Scene | Mourilyan | 3:23.87 |
| 2008 | Viewed | Bauer | C’est La Guerre | 3:20.40 |
| 2007 | Efficient | Purple Moon | Mahler | 3:23.34 |
| 2006 | Delta Blues | Pop Rock | Maybe Better | 3:21.50 |
| 2005 | Makybe Diva | On A Jeune | Xcellent | 3:19.17 |
| 2004 | Makybe Diva | Vinnie Roe | Zazzman | 3:28.55 |
| 2003 | Makybe Diva | She’s Archie | Jardine’s Lookout | 3:19.90 |
| 2002 | Media Puzzle | Mr Prudent | Beekeeper | 3:16.97 |
| 2001 | Ethereal | Give The Slip | Persian Punch | 3:21.08 |
| 2000 | Brew | Yippyio | Second Coming | 3:18.68 |
| 1999 | Rogan Josh | Central Park | Lahar | 3:19.64 |
| 1998 | Jezabeel | Champagne | Persian Punch | 3:18.59 |
| 1997 | Might And Power | Doriemus | Markham | 3:18.33 |
| 1996 | Saintly | Count Chivas | Skybeau | 3:18.80 |
| 1995 | Doriemus | Nothin’ Leica Dane | Vintage Crop | 3:27.60 |
| 1994 | Jeune | Paris Lane | Oompala | 3:19.80 |
| 1993 | Vintage Crop | Te Akau Nick | Mercator | 3:23.40 |
| 1992 | Subzero | Veandercross | Castletown | 3:24.70 |
| 1991 | Let’s Elope | Shiva’s Revenge | Magnolia Hall | 3:18.90 |
| 1990 | Kingston Rule | The Phantom | Mr Brooker | 3:16.30 |
| 1989 | Tawrrific | Super Impose | Kudz | 3:17.10 |
| 1988 | Empire Rose | Natksi | Na Botto | 3:18.90 |
| 1987 | Kensei | Empire Rose | Rosedale | 3:22.00 |
| 1986 | At Talaq | Rising Fear | Sea Legend | 3:21.70 |
| 1985 | What A Nuisance | Koiro Corrie May | Tripsacum | 3:23.00 |
| 1984 | Black Night | Chagemar | Mapperley Heights | 3:18.90 |
| 1983 | Kiwi | Noble Comment | Mr Jazz | 3:18.90 |
| 1982 | Gurner’s Lane | Kingston Town | Noble Comment | 3:21.20 |
| 1981 | Just A Dash | El Laurena | Flashing Light | 3:21.20 |
| 1980 | Beldale Ball | My Blue Denim | Lover Bandit | 3:19.80 |
| 1979 | Hyperno | Salamander | Red Nose | 3:21.80 |
| 1978 | Arwon | Dandaleith | Karu | 3:24.30 |
| 1977 | Gold And Black | Reckless | Hyperno | 3:18.40 |
| 1976 | Van Der Hum | Gold And Black | Kythera | 3:34.10 |
| 1975 | Think Big | Holiday Waggon | Medici | 3:29.60 |
| 1974 | Think Big | Leilani | Captain Peri | 3:23.10 |
| 1973 | Gala Supreme | Glengowan | Daneson | 3:19.50 |
| 1972 | Piping Lane | Magnifique | Gunsynd | 3:19.30 |
| 1971 | Silver Knight | Igloo | Tails | 3:19.50 |
| 1970 | Baghdad Note | Vansittart | Clear Prince | 3:19.70 |
