BROWNIE'S BLOG: LOOKING BACK AT A TREMENDOUS MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL

By Damian Browne | Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Multiple Group 1 winning jockey Damian Browne might be retired from race riding, but his passion for racing still remains and he now gives back to the industry, offering invaluable mentorship to young apprentices wise enough to take on board his advice. Beyond that, Browne is as insightful as ever when offering his opinion on racing matters, with his knowledge gained from so many years in the saddle leaving him ideally placed to give an informed commentary on many aspects of the game. This is Brownie’s Blog, a blog which is exclusive to HRO

The Melbourne Cup Carnival produced a really good week of racing … the track played well all week as well … although it was probably a little bit of a shame the last day with the weather.

That adverse weather was probably due by the second Saturday. They expected it to be worse during the week, but there were some beautiful days though, so they probably got lucky there.
______________________________________________________________________

It goes without saying that Jamie Melham winning on Half Yours was the highlight of the week. Her ride was outstanding … that was a nice tight gap she took. It reminded me a bit of the Glen Boss and Makybe Diva days and those three beautiful rides.

I won’t say Jamie’s ride won the race … the horse’s effort was outstanding … but it was the best ride in the race.
Half Yours has just gone on since he came up to Queensland and won the Caloundra Cup … and all of his runs this time in had looked like he was on target.
His team did a fantastic job with him.
______________________________________________________________________

Quite often at most carnivals you’ll get one rider that dominates all of the way through, as happened at this carnival with Mark Zahra’s riding over the whole carnival being quite outstanding. His eight winners earned him the Ron Hutchinson Award as the Carnival's leading rider.

Two of his biggest wins … in the Coolmore with Tentyris and in the Victoria Derby with Observer … came with Zahra saluting in the famous royal blue racing silks of Godolphin, with the global racing powerhouse in the process also putting themselves on the Melbourne Cup Carnival highlight reel.

Full article

Latest Racing Blogs

More racing blogs