A monumental victory aboard Half Yours saw Jamie Melham etch her name into racing folklore as only the second female jockey to win the Lexus Melbourne Cup in 165 years.
The emotional triumph was attributed to her late grandfather, who, just last week, had watched her Caulfield Cup success before he died.
Melham will not be attending his funeral on Thursday. Her pa had insisted he would rather she compete and win at Flemington's Oaks Day meeting instead.
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Speaking to Nine's Today, Melham said she believed her deceased loved ones, including her pa, helped create the small gap she needed for Half Yours to surge through and take the Cup.
"It opened a little bit of a gap for me for sure," she said of her late grandfather.
"He would have loved to drink from this [trophy] as well. It was amazing that he watched my last Caulfield Cup win. He watched it, and in the next few days, he went to sleep and went up to heaven.
"It's amazing that I've got some incredible people up there now looking over me in him and Col (who bred Half Yours).
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"Col McKenna must have opened a slight gap for me. It wasn't a big gap, but it was enough for me to get through."
With space limited, Melham praised Half Yours' ability to identify and move through the tight gaps in the field.
"There wasn't much room there, but when you're on a horse like Half Yours that was travelling so well, feeling amazing, he just took me through these gaps," she said.
"I didn't even have to ask him. In the end, it makes our job a lot easier when we are riding these incredible horses like him."
Melham and her husband, Ben, made Melbourne Cup history by becoming the first married couple ever to compete as jockeys.
With Ben aboard Smokin' Romans in the historic race, there was a split-second, high-stakes moment on the straight where she found a crucial gap beside him and shouldered past.
Highlighting the humour of passing her husband during the biggest race of her career, Melham also acknowledged how special it was to share the moment.
"I was going to give him a shout because the gap was closing, but I was already through it," she said.
"He was watching me from way back there.
"Crossing the line, he caught up to me and gave me a little pat on the back. It was an incredible feeling."
When asked about the post-race celebrations, Melham said she had an early dinner, was surprised by her best friend flying in from Adelaide, and was in bed by about 10pm.
However, the excitement of her victory lingered — she woke up at 2am and was unable to fall back asleep.
"I've been buzzing," she said.
"It's a weird feeling."
With sleep impossible, Melham rewatched the race "about 60 times". It was the first time she had actually seen the replay.
Probed if the Melbourne Cup was in bed beside her, Melham laughed, explaining it was "a bit dirty" after she had been drinking champagne from it throughout the evening.
The trophy required a proper wash on Wednesday morning.
Before Melham can sit back and relax next week, she has a busy few days ahead.
She is scheduled to ride on Oaks Day on Thursday and Stakes Day on Saturday to complete the Melbourne Cup carnival.
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