History was made at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday as Half Yours stormed to victory in the 2025 Melbourne Cup, with jockey Jamie Melham becoming only the second woman ever to win Australia’s most famous race.
The win completes a remarkable double for Melham, who last month rode the same horse to victory in the Caulfield Cup — making her the first female jockey to achieve the Caulfield–Melbourne Cup double.
The father-and-son training duo Tony and Calvin McEvoy celebrated their first triumph in the race that stops a nation, as Half Yours surged past Goodie Two Shoes in the final furlong to win by two and three-quarter lengths. Middle Earth finished third, while Ireland’s River of Stars came home fourth.
“This is what we do it for,” Melham told the Nine Network moments after her win. “It’s a tough industry and not always glamorous, but this feeling — nothing compares. You grow up dreaming of the Melbourne Cup, but you never really think it’ll happen.”
The race unfolded with early leaders Smokin’ Romans and Royal Supremacy setting a slow pace before Land Legend opened a big lead down the back straight. That break didn’t last long. As the field turned for home, Goodie Two Shoes briefly hit the front under jockey Wayne Lordan, but Melham’s perfectly timed ride saw Half Yours squeeze through tight gaps and power clear late.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Tony McEvoy. “This race has meant everything to our family for generations. To finally win it, and to do it with Jamie, who’s been part of our team since she was a teenager, is incredibly special.”
The win came ten years after Michelle Payne’s historic 2015 Melbourne Cup victory on Prince of Penzance, and it cements Melham’s place among Australia’s elite jockeys.
Of the international runners, Ireland’s Goodie Two Shoes, owned by JP McManus and trained by Joseph O’Brien, was the best finisher in second. Stablemate Al Riffa, considered the top European hope, stayed on well for seventh, while Willie Mullins-trained Absurde was eighth.
The two-mile classic once again lived up to its billing, blending drama, endurance, and history — and this time, it was a woman in the winner’s circle rewriting the record books.
“What just happened? Oh my god,” Melham said, shaking her head with disbelief. “This is why we get up at 4 a.m. every day.”
