Half Yours wins Melbourne Cup as Jamie Melham makes history

Half Yours surged late to win the 165th Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday, delivering jockey Jamie Melham a historic triumph in front of large crowds. The six year old gelding, trained by Tony and Calvin McEvoy, took the lead inside the final 200 metres and held on to beat Goodie Two Shoes into second, with Middle Earth third and River of Stars fourth in the 24‑horse, 3200 metre feature.

Melham, who rode as Jamie Kah until marrying fellow jockey Ben Melham this year, became the second woman to win the Melbourne Cup and the first female jockey to complete both the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup in the same season. She guided Half Yours to victory after the gelding had won the Caulfield Cup last month, a feat that made Half Yours the 13th horse to complete the Caulfield–Melbourne Cup double. In the moments after the race, Melham said, "Oh my god. This is what we do it for. This is why we get up out of bed every morning, at 4am and work our arses off."

Race conditions were reported as good after light rain in Melbourne cleared before the finish. Officials said the Melbourne Cup was contested by a full field of 24 runners over the traditional two miles, and the...