Half Yours Wins 2025 Melbourne Cup in Historic Triumph for Jamie Melham.
Australian horse Half Yours has won the 165th running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse, marking a historic moment in Australian racing.
In a groundbreaking victory, jockey Jamie Melham became only the second woman to win the Melbourne Cup — following Michelle Payne’s 2015 triumph on Prince Of Penzance.
Goodie Two Shoes placed second, Middle Earth came in third, and River Of Stars finished fourth.
Half Yours, the race favourite, carried high expectations after its Caulfield Cup win with Melham in the saddle. It was the only Australian-bred horse in the field, and the six-year-old gelding has now become the 13th horse to complete the Caulfield–Melbourne Cup double.
Melham also made history as the first female jockey ever to achieve this feat.
“Oh my god. This is what we do it for,” said Melham, who raced under her maiden name Jamie Kah until marrying jockey Ben Melham earlier this year.
“This is why we get up out of bed every morning at 4am and work our arses off.
The last 15 years I’ve been in this industry — it’s tough. It’s not all glorious and perfect, as everyone can see.
I’ve had an amazing year, got married, had some really great days on the track, but nothing ever compares to this feeling right now.
I’ve just won the Melbourne Cup.”
Earlier in the day, during Race 4: 3YO Open, 1000m, New Zealand jockey James McDonald secured his first win of this year’s Cup Day aboard Pallaton, marking his 50th career victory at the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
McDonald announced he would donate his winnings to the fund supporting apprentice jockey Tom Prebble, son of former Cup winner Brett Prebble, who was left paraplegic after a fall at Warrnambool in September.
The total prize pool for the 2025 Melbourne Cup rose by $2 million from last year, reaching $11.44 million.
With this victory, Half Yours not only claimed the sport’s most coveted trophy but also reignited pride in Australian-bred champions, while Melham’s emotional win underscored the growing legacy of female jockeys on racing’s biggest stage.
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