Jamie Melham becomes first female jockey to win historic Australian horse racing double

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Jamie Melham rode Half Yours to victory at the 165th Melbourne Cup on Tuesday to become the first female jockey to win a historic Australian racing double.

A decade after Michelle Payne became the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, Melham became the first to complete the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup winning double.

Melham’s late grandfather was among the people she dedicated the victory to, saying the last race he watched was her win in last month’s Caulfield Cup.

“I have to mention my grandpa. He died last week,” Melham said in an interview with the Nine Network immediately after the race. “He was such a big supporter of mine. So he’s up there opening those gaps for me, because I needed a few gaps open.”

Half Yours, a five-year-old gelding, finished hard to win from Goodie Two Shoes. Middle Earth placed third in the event referred to widely by Australians as the race that stops the nation.

Half Yours, trained by the father-and-son duo Tony and Calvin McEvoy, was the only Australian-bred starter in the 24-horse field.