With the dust barely settled on the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Festival, the racing focus switched to Australia on Tuesday, 4 November. As ever, Flemington Racecourse, Victoria, set the stage for the richest two-mile handicap event in the world. A maximum field of 24 lined up in the Melbourne Cup, including runners from Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Japan, the USA, and, of course, Australia.
The market suggested the raiders had a solid chance of success, with Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa and Alessandro Botti’s Presage Nocturne, in particular, fancied to go well. However, for the fifth year in a row, the hosts were not to be denied in Australian racing’s flagship event. Half Yours, making only the sixth start of his career and his first beyond 1m4f, fully deserved the plaudits following his impressive triumph by a margin of just under three lengths. And so too did his rider, Jamie Melham.
A History-Making Success
As the wife of Ben Melham, Jamie Melham (formerly Kah) is one half of Aussie racing’s most famous couple. With 18 previous Group 1 wins to her name, Jamie is no stranger to success on the biggest stage, but this triumph stands out as a clear career highlight. She joins Michelle Payne on the exclusive list of female jockeys to win the “Race That Stops a Nation” and becomes the first female jockey to complete the Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double.
This was a remarkable achievement for the Mount Pleasant native, representing the peak of a career that has had its share of lows in recent years. Since 2021 alone, Melham has been punished for a COVID-19 breach, spent five days in a coma following a horror fall at Flemington, and been involved in a controversial incident involving a plate of white powder.
2021: COVID Party Triggers Ban and Fine
On a professional level, 2021 represented a memorable year for Jamie Kah. Nine years after taking up a career in the saddle, she rode her 1,000th winner at Pakenham in May. Earlier that year, she claimed Group 1 wins in the Black Caviar Lightning and Doncaster Mile. A further top-level success came in the TAB Kingsford-Smith Cup, but Kah was forced to miss the Spring Carnival following a COVID-19 indiscretion.
At the height of lockdown, Kah and fellow riders Ethan Brown, Celine Gaudray, and future husband Ben Melham breached government and racing protocols by attending a gathering at an Airbnb. All four received a three-month ban from competitive racing and an A$5,452 fine.
Expressing remorse for her actions, Kah stated at the time.
“There is no excuse for what I have done, and I let myself down, my family and friends, the racing industry and all Victorians who are doing the right thing in this lockdown.”
Back in the saddle by December, she won the All-Star Mile aboard the ex-Sir Michael Stoute runner Zaaki, and ended the year as the first jockey to ride over 100 winners in a Melbourne campaign.
2023: Flyball Leaves Jamie in Critical Condition
In 2022 and early 2023, a refocused Kah added to her Group 1 haul with further victories aboard Zaaki and the star mare Coolangatta. However, a terrible incident at Flemington Racecourse in March 2023 brought Jamie’s career to a standstill.
Riding the Henry Dwyer-trained Flyball in the Group 2 Produce Stakes, Kah was sent hurtling to the turf when her mount clipped heels with eventual winner, Veight. She suffered multiple fractures and a bleed on the brain, and was placed in an induced coma for five days. Upon regaining consciousness, her memory loss was so severe that she Googled her own name to discover her age.
Thankfully, Jamie made a full recovery. However, her five-month absence wasn’t without controversy. Before her comeback in August 2023, Kah was charged with conduct prejudicial to racing after being photographed with a plate of white powder. Ultimately, all charges were dropped, allowing Kah to return to race-riding when fully recovered.
Half Yours Takes Rider to New Highs
Jamie wasted little time resuming her ascent to the summit of Australian racing. 2024 brought six further Group 1 wins, while away from the track, she married Ben Melham in January 2025.
The name may have changed, but the results were the same. Already in 2025, Jamie Melham had added the Victoria Derby, the C. F. Orr Stakes, the Sportsbet Goodwood, and the Caulfield Cup to her list of top-level victories.
As satisfying as those previous wins, and indeed her marriage, had been, for an Australian jockey, nothing can match a Melbourne Cup success. Reflecting on her momentous victory, Melham stated:
“I’ve had an amazing year, amazing year – got married, had some really great days on the track – but nothing ever, ever compares to this feeling right now.”
