Jockey Jamie Melham and Half Yours bolted through Flemington towards history, claiming victory at the race that stopped the nation this afternoon.
In roughly three minutes and 23 seconds, Melham became the first woman to win both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups and the second to win the Melbourne Cup after Michelle Payne in 2015.
In another unique factor to her win, she raced against her husband, Ben Melham on top of Smokin' Romans, as the first married couple to race against each other in the cup.
READ MORE: Melham's beautiful words for jockey husband seconds after winning Cup
Speaking to Nine moments after her win, she said, "Words can't describe the feeling".
Her name is on everyone's lips tonight, but who exactly is Jamie Melham?
Who is Jamie Melham?
Jamie Kah was born in 1995 to former speed skaters John and Karen Kah who both represented Australia at the Olympics in the 1990s.
Growing up in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, she worked at a friend's stables when she was just 13 before leaving school two years later to begin her riding apprenticeship.
She eventually moved to Melbourne in 2019.
She married her husband, Ben Melham, earlier this year and changed her surname to Melham.
She is 29 years old.
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Her career history
Melham won the Adelaide Jockeys' Premiership three times before she moved to Melbourne, where her career only continued to skyrocket.
She was ranked the leading female jockey in the world in 2020 and the 77th jockey overall.
The following year, she jumped to become the world's 41st jockey and the only female jockey in the top 100.
She became the first jockey to ride 100 winners in a Melbourne Metropolitan racing season in 2021, but was suspended by the Victorian Racing Tribunal for five months for breaching COVID-19 regulations and providing misleading evidence in the investigation.
In 2023, she was seriously injured during a fall at Flemington and spent several days in an induced coma.
READ MORE: Why every 2025 Melbourne Cup runner can – and can't – win the iconic $10 million race
She suffered brain injuries and broken bones, but eventually returned to the sport later that same year.
Melham has had 7686 starts, 1344 wins (17.5 per cent winning rate) and 3375 places (43.9 per cent winning rate) in her career, according to racenet.
She has placed twice in the Melbourne Cup before, finishing third aboard Prince of Arran in 2020 and Okita Soushi in 2024.
Australian-bred horse Half Yours has nine wins in its career and was trained by father and son duo Tony and Calvin McEvoy.
READ MORE: Melbourne Cup day starts with drama as protest dismissed from first race
Female Melbourne Cup winners
There have now been two female cup winners: Michelle Payne aboard the Prince of Penzance in 2015, and now Melham.
"Welcome to the club," Payne told Melham as she greeted her after her win.
Payne described Melham as a "revelation for racing".
"We have so many young girls coming into our industry, and to see her win the Caulfield and Melbourne Cp douuble is just so fitting," Payne said of Melham.
"She is such a hard worker."
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