VIDEO SHOWS: VARIOUS OF MELBOURNE CUP FOOTAGE AND HORSE RACING / SOUNDBITE FROM MELBOURNE CUP WINNER JAMIE MELHAM EDITOR'S NOTE: PROFANITY WARNING IN SHOT 13 SHOWS: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (NOVEMBER 4, 2025) (HBA MEDIA – For editorial use only. No use after December 31, 2025. No monetisation.) 1. AERIAL VIEW OF FLEMINGTON RACECOURSE IN MELBOURNE 2. PEOPLE WALKING IN AND AROUND THE FLEMINGTON RACECOURSE 3. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CARRYING MELBOURNE CUP TROPHY 4. HORSES ENTERING THE RACECOURSE 6. VARIOUS OF JOCKEY AND THEIR HORSES PREPARING BEFORE THE RACE 7. RACE STARTING 8. VARIOUS OF HORSERACING 9. VARIOUS OF JAMIE MELHAM LEADING AND WINNING THE RACE 10. VARIOUS OF MELHAM'S TEAM HUGGING AND CELEBRATING 11. MELHAM ON HER HORSE AFTER THE WIN 12. SLOW-MOTION REPLAY OF MELHAM WINNING THE RACE 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MELBOURNE CUP WINNER JAMIE MELHAM SAYING: (SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER SHOT OF TEAM CELEBRATING AND MELHAM SPEAKING) "What just happened? Oh my God. This is what we do it for. This is why we get up out of bed every morning, 4 AM, work our asses off. For the last 15 years I've been in this industry. It's tough. It's not all glorious and perfect, as everyone can see sometimes. I've had an amazing year, an amazing year. I got married, had some really great days on the track, but nothing ever, ever compares to this feeling right now that I'm feeling. Look how we've got Cole up there, who him and Jimmy's bred this horse, done an incredible job with him, obviously. I have to mention my grandpa, he died last week. The last thing he watched was the Pulse Hill Cup. He was such a big supporter of mine. So he's up there opening those gaps for me because I need a few gaps open then. And my mum and dad are here. They've put up with all my shit for the last 15 years. My beautiful husband." 14. VARIOUS OF MELHAM COMING OUT OF THE RACECOURSE 15. MELHAM CELEBRATING WITH HALF YOURS TRAINER CALVIN MCEVOY 16. WIDE OF TROPHY PRESENTATION CEREMONY STORY: Jamie Melham become the first female jockey to claim a coveted double in Australian horse racing when she rode Caulfield Cup winner Half Yours to victory in the A$9 million ($5.85 million) Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday (November 4). Last month, Melham had become the first woman to win the Caulfield Cup in its 149-year history, guiding the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Half Yours to an emphatic victory in the A$5 million handicap over 2,400m. Under grey skies at Flemington, Melham brought her charge home three lengths ahead of runner-up Goodie Two Shoes with Middle Earth crossing third. Presage Nocturne, the 5/1 favourite, finished 19th of the 24 runners. "Oh my god. This is what we do it for," said the 29-year-old South Australian, who raced as Jamie Kah until marrying fellow jockey Ben Melham this year. "This is why we get up out of bed every morning, at 4 a.m. and work our asses off. "The last 15 years I've been in this industry, it's tough. It's not all glorious and perfect, as everyone can see." Ten years after Michelle Payne's breakthrough on Prince of Penzance, Melham became just the second woman to win the Melbourne Cup in the two-mile handicap's 165th running. "I've had an amazing year, amazing year, got married, had some really great days on the track but nothing ever, ever compares to this feeling right now," she said. "I've just won the Melbourne Cup." With rain drenching the track shortly before the race, five-year-old gelding Half Yours jumped from barrier eight at 8/1 odds and held back until the final turn. Land Legend, ridden by Brazilian "Magic Man" Joao Moreira, was first to make a decisive break, storming eight lengths clear with 800m to the post before fading badly and finishing 22nd. Half Yours hugged the rail entering the final straight and muscled through the gaps before burning away to a dominant win. It finished with blood around the mouth but was cleared by stewards who said it had sustained a minor laceration inside its left cheek. Melham, who raced against husband Ben on Smokin' Romans, the 14th-placed finisher, dedicated her triumph to her grandfather who she said had died last week. "The last race he watched me in was the Caulfield Cup, and he was such a big supporter of mine," she said. "So he's up there opening those gaps for me, because I needed a few gaps." Payne, working as a broadcaster at Flemington, said Melham had made another breakthrough for women in a male-dominated sport. "The fight that we've obviously had as female riders, to now have Jamie, who has revolutionised racing," said Payne, who famously rode 100/1 chance Prince of Penzance to victory in 2015. "She's so beautiful to watch in the saddle, riding the horses, working with the horses." Irish trainer Joseph O'Brien narrowly missed out on a third Melbourne Cup win with Goodie Two Shoes, having claimed "the race that stops the nation" in 2020 with Twilight Payment and 2017 with Rekindling. His other entrant Al Riffa finished seventh. (Production: Suramya Kaushik)
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