WHAT A MAGNIFICENT DAY FOR AUSTRALIAN RACING

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, November 4, 2025

What a magnificent day for Australian racing.

The country’s greatest race was won by Half Yours, the only Australian-bred horse in the race … trained by Tony and Calvin McEvoy, an Australian father and son training partnership … and ridden by Jamie Melham, Australian born and bred and one of Australia’s leading jockeys.

It was the perfect trifecta, with all three of these winning components parts playing important roles in this famous victory, which they delivered with a stunning display of precision and power.

Half Yours’ unrelenting charge to the line spoke volumes to the expertise of the McEvoy camp and their ability to have Half Yours primed to perform at maximum output. Melham could not have plotted a better or, at particular moments, a more spectacular path to victory and Half Yours himself … well, he was an absolute equine hero, without whose commitment, none of this would have been possible.

“What a joy, what a joy. This is our great race. It’s so special to win it,” enthused co-trainer Tony McEvoy post-race. “It’s an incredible moment. From the days we grew up, the Melbourne Cup was everything.”

And co-trainer Calvin McEvoy was equally as thrilled.

“Unbelievable! Wow, what a horse. He’s continued to raise the bar. I’ve got no words. It’s been amazing.”

And ‘no words’ was the order of the day.

“There is literally not a word to describe the feeling,” said Melham. “It’s insane.

“I’ve had some really great days on the track, but nothing ever, ever compares to this feeling I'm feeling right now.

"I’ve just won the Melbourne Cup!

“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 arses 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.”

Half Yours wasn’t available for comment, but you could imagine him saying … ‘what a ride! What a win!’

What a win sums it up.

Settled in midfield along the inside, Melham was happy to bide her time, even when Joao Moreira and Land Legend took off a long way from home to open up a huge, tearaway lead coming through the 1000m mark, but she wasted little time in putting Half Yours to the test when the field turned for home.

At the 450m Melham gave her husband a slight brush and a ‘see you later’ as she swept on past his mount Smokin’ Romans.

Half Yours still had three lengths to make up at that stage, but the five-year-old chestnut was now on a mission of his own and he was in full cry when the most critical moment of the race arrived 100m later at the 350m mark.

Confronted with a line of horses in front of her and a gap that was so small it was hardly worthy of the name, it appeared that Melham was extremely brave when she directed Half Yours in-between runners at full speed, and emerged on the other side, in daylight, with a clear path to victory now beckoning.

Melham was brave, but her own description of what happened at that vital stage was probably as accurate as it was modest.

“The gap was extremely tight. I had no say. My horse just took me through it,” said Melham.

Half Yours was into the clear, but not home yet.

The Joseph O’Brien trained Goodie Two Shoes, a $41 bolter, along with the Ciaron Maher trained Middle Earth out wider had got first run on Half Yours with the former looking set to give O’Brien his third Cup winner with 250m left to run … but Half Yours continued to surge.

Goodie Two Shoes did not weaken but, with Up Yours seemingly getting stronger with every stride, Melham pushed Up Yours alongside Goodie Two Shoes at the 200m mark before scything their way into a lead by a margin that steadily increased all to way to the line.

Goodie Two Shoes remained solid in landing second spot, 2,75 lengths behind Half Yours with a game Middle Earth staying on for third another 1.50 lengths back.

Emphasising the supreme nature of Half Yours’ victory was the fact that you had to go back 6.75 lengths to find the fourth place-getter River Of Stars in a field that finished strung out over 28 lengths, that is not including the last placed finisher Buckeroo who was eased out of the race over the final 300m.

In a race in which it is notoriously hard to pick a winner, those who stuck fast with Half Yours and Melham after their Caulfield Cup win, were very happy to see her salute at a healthy starting price of $9.

Goodie Two Shoes jumped at $41. Middle Earth was a $26 chance.

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