Jamie Melham will forever be etched in Australian racing record books following her triumph in the 2025 Melbourne Cup on board Half Yours – but it could have been a very different story for the supremely talented jockey.
Melham, 29, grew up in Adelaide, blessed with elite sporting genes, even though she described herself as a ‘little fat kid’ after her incredible win at Flemington.
The daughter of John and Karen Kah – former speed skaters who represented Australia at the Winter Olympics – left school at 15, and began her riding apprenticeship in 2011.
Success quickly followed, with Melham claiming the Jockeys’ Premiership in her first full season, back in 2012/13.
Two more premierships followed in Adelaide, but trouble seemingly followed Melham – then competing under her maiden name Kah – off the track after she moved to Melbourne in search of bigger riding challenges.
In 2021, an Airbnb holiday house where Melham and three other riders held a lockdown-breaching party was ‘totally trashed’, a cleaner claimed.
Jamie Melham will forever be etched in Australian racing record books following her triumph in the 2025 Melbourne Cup on board Half Yours – but it could have been a very different story (pictured, with husband Ben Melham)
In winning the Melbourne Cup, Jamie Melham became just the second woman to win the race after Michelle Payne saluted on board Prince of Penzance in 2015
At the time, it was reported bloodstains and wine marks were smeared on the floors and the couch at the lavish short-stay rental in Mornington, south of Melbourne.
Melham, her now husband Ben Melham, Ethan Brown and apprentice Celine Gaudray were all fined for staying at the property.
Police were called to the house due to a noise complaint just before midnight, reportedly after a tip-off from an estranged partner of one of the jockeys.
‘Upon arrival officers located six people inside, all allegedly outside their 5km radius and in breach of curfew,’ Victoria Police said in a statement.
The jockeys were fined $5,452 each for breaching the directions of the chief health officer for breaching COVID protocols.
They also pleaded guilty to charges laid by racing stewards, of ‘failure or refusal to comply with an order, direction, or requirement of the stewards or an official’.
Melham later took to X to apologise for her behaviour.
‘I am deeply embarrassed and disappointed with myself,’ she posted.
Melham left school at 15, began her riding apprenticeship in 2011 and claimed the Jockeys’ Premiership in her first full season back in 2012/13 before her life-changing win on Tuesday at Flemington (pictured)
Two more premierships quickly followed in Adelaide, but trouble seemingly followed Melham – then competing under her maiden name Kah – off the track after she moved to Melbourne
‘There is no excuse for what I have done and I have let myself down, my family and friends, the racing industry and all Victorians who are doing the right thing in this lockdown.
‘I deserve the penalty handed down by the stewards and will take the time to reflect on my actions and its impact on so many people.’
Melham then attracted more headlines in June of 2023 after she was embroiled in a white powder scandal.
Fresh from announcing she was returning to the sport after a horror fall that resulted in a stint in hospital due to a brain bleed and memory loss, damning photos began circulating within the racing industry on WhatsApp which appeared to show Melham racking up a line of a white substance.
Her subsequent ban was the wake-up call she needed, and in January this year she married fellow hoop Ben Melham on Victoria’s Surf Coast Shire at Gnarwarre.
Esteemed race-caller Matt Hill believes Melham – a polarising figure in the Sport of Kings – is a victim of her ongoing success.
‘She is one of the first females that has come through and just dominated,’ he told The Age.
‘That year when she had 100 winners [2021], she was just killing them and we haven’t seen the likes of that before. ‘So what comes with that is obvious scrutiny.’
Melham has also attracted plenty of attention from racing stewards, some who hold the belief she hasn’t given her all in some previous starts.
She insists that isn’t the case, and after snaring the Melbourne Cup and Caulfield double on board Half Yours, she has had the last laugh.
In June of 2023, Melham was embroiled in a cocaine scandal which threatened to end her storied career
In terms of her future, Melham wants to be a mother – but that won’t happen until she retires, which won’t be anytime soon
For now, being a Melbourne Cup winner (pictured front) will suit her just fine – and tonight, she will have bragging rights over her husband, given Ben Melham finished 14th on Smokin’ Romans
The Group 1 double is a first in Australia for a female hoop, and Melham also joined close friend Michelle Payne as the only two women to ever win the race that stops a nation.
In emotional scenes, Payne was one of the first to pass on her congratulations, offering a line for the ages – ‘welcome to the club.’
‘Oh my God, this is what we do it for,’ a jubilant Melham told Nine as the enormity of her victory began to sink in.
‘This is why we get up out of bed every morning at 4am … it’s tough. It’s not all glorious and perfect, as everyone can see sometimes.
‘I’ve had an amazing year. Got married, had some really great days on the track, but nothing ever, ever compares to this feeling right now.’
In terms of her future, Melham wants to be a mother – but that won’t happen until she retires.
Given she only turns 30 next month, it is unlikely Melham will swap the jockey’s room for nappies anytime soon.
For now, being a Melbourne Cup winner will suit her just fine.