Half Yours completes Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double – with JP McManus-owned Goodie Two Shoes in second
Jamie Melham became the first female rider to complete the Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double when landing the Flemington feature aboard leading fancy Half Yours.
The JP McManus-owned Goodie Two Shoes fared best of the British and Irish-trained runners in second.
Half Yours, trained by the father-and-son partnership of Tony and Calvin McEvoy, was prominent in the betting on the back of justifying favouritism at Caulfield last month and quickened up well inside the final furlong and a half to win in good style.
He was a first Melbourne Cup winner for Jamie Melham, who said: “This is what we do it for and why we get up out of bed and work so hard for. It’s a tough industry and not all glorious and perfect for a jockey as some might think.
“I’ve had an amazing year, having got married and had some brilliant days on the track, but nothing ever compares to this feeling right now.
“I wanted to ride him as quiet as I could but at the two-furlong pole I couldn’t go any quieter. I had to let him go. This horse was so fit and strong, he went through a tight gap and then an extremely tight gap but I had no say – he just took me through it.
“You grow up thinking you want to ride in the Melbourne Cup but you never actually think you might win it. You don’t think it will happen . . . but it’s just happened.
“Tony and Calvin have been incredible supporters of mine and have been there for me since I was a 15-year-old kid. They have done an amazing job and deserve this so much.”
Half Yours: runs out a convincing winner of the Melbourne CupCredit: Getty Images
The two-mile contest was run at a stop-start gallop, with Smokin’ Romans and Royal Supremacy setting slow fractions early on before the Joao Moreira-ridden Land Legend injected some much-needed pace into the race in the back straight.
Land Legend, one of five runners for Chris Waller, built up a near ten-length lead but was soon in trouble on the turn into the home straight, with the Wayne Lordan-ridden Goodie Two Shoes hitting the front inside the final two furlongs.
Jamie Melham looks to the stands on the way to Melbourne Cup victoryCredit: Getty Images
Half Of Yours soon loomed on the inside of Goodie Two Shoes and asserted his dominance in the final furlong to score by two and three-quarter lengths. Middle Earth was a further length and a half back in third and River Of Stars finished fourth.
Al Riffa, regarded as the best European hope, stayed on from an unpromising position in the rear to finish seventh and the Willie Mullins-trained Absurde finished eighth.
This race report is being updated and more news will follow shortly.
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