The photo that made Jamie Melham’s mum ask her to give up racing

Champion jockey Jamie Melham made history on board Half Yours on Tuesday, but she wouldn’t have even started the race had she agreed to her mother’s request back in 2023 not to keep racing at all.

Melham was in bed by 11pm after becoming the first woman to ride the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double, her night of celebrations ending early when the enormity of her achievement hit her, the colour drained from her face and exhaustion took over.

But she was wide awake by 2am, tuning into replays of her memorable ride on the five-year-old gelding.

Melham almost didn’t get the ride on Half Yours. Trainer Tony McEvoy revealed the decision to put her on the horse for the spring was made after Harry Coffey was already booked for the Caulfield Cup on Zardozi and Ash Morgan had been earmarked to ride Private Harry in the Everest Handicap (a ride he eventually lost) on Caulfield Cup day.

He briefly considered his nephew Kerrin McEvoy, winner of three Melbourne Cups, before the light weight and their long association with Melham, who rode for them when all three were based in South Australia, made the decision obvious.

“Jamie was here and she can ride the weight, and we love her ... even more now,” McEvoy said.

Melham was still paying tribute to the horse on Wednesday at Flemington, where she posed for photos with Half Yours.

It was there she admitted her mum Karen had wanted her to give the game away after her horrific fall at Flemington in March 2023 when she was placed in a coma for six days.

“I couldn’t work out why until I saw a photo of me on my husband’s phone [of] how I looked in the hospital. I could understand why Mum wanted me to give up after that,” Melham said.

But she began her comeback in August that same year.

Gradually she got her mojo back in the saddle and returned to the form she was in before the incident. She is glad that time in her life is not vivid in her mind.

“I can’t remember anything from that month when I had my fall. I was hoping I would make it back and get back to the races and be 100 per cent. It took me a while,” Melham said. “I’m glad I don’t really remember anything from that time because it’s a very tough time in my life. I can barely remember it and I have put that well and truly behind me. Days like this [mean it was] worthwhile pushing yourself and coming back.”

She knows the dangers of the sport all too well and was reminded of the reality as fellow jockey Blake Shinn suffered a fall in race nine on Tuesday. He was taken to hospital with a fractured leg.

The stewards reported post-race that “an inquiry into the circumstances into the reasons for Shinn being dislodged [from She’s Got Pizzazz] near the 200m was adjourned to a time and date to be fixed after initial evidence was taken from Melham who rode Fancify”.

She could spend time on the sidelines for her involvement, but she didn’t want to discuss the fall on Wednesday. Clearly, however, it was a relief to everyone that horse and jockey would recover.

On Tuesday as the field thundered around the turn in the Cup, Half Yours was perfectly placed, having been ridden exactly as planned by Melham, one off the fence with cover, and hidden in the middle of the field.

She waited and waited from her position before the horse pushed through two narrow gaps to find running room and kick clear.

“Racing is a confidence game so you have to be confident out there. When you are on a horse you trust 100 per cent, you are confident to take those gaps,” Melham said. “I am paying credit to the horse but I had to point it in the right direction. I wouldn’t do that on just any horse. I would only do that and take those sorts of runs on a horse such as Half Yours.”

Melham’s resilience has made her a champion jockey. Her husband and fellow jockey Ben told her on Wednesday he was “epic proud” of her effort to return to the top of her game.

Melham suspected a few angels, including her grandfather Albert who died after the Caulfield Cup (Melham calls him Grandpa Bertie), were helping her out after she took Half Yours around the track.

“Nine times out of 10 you run into some bad luck but we had no bad luck yesterday. I think a few people in the heavens up there were opening gaps for me,” Melham said.

Melham’s life has changed forever more than once in her career, but this time the feeling is euphoric. She also understands what it means for women and girls to see her ride the winner of Australia’s most famous race.

“I just love when you get a younger generation of kids, when they come up to you or they hang across the fences at the races and say ‘we just want to be like you when we grow up Jamie’. That’s the best feeling about being a role model and encouraging the younger generation,” she said.

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