Jamie Melham has broken new ground as the first female jockey to win the Caulfield Cup (2400m) in its 149-year history, steering favourite Half Yours to victory in the Group 1 $5 million handicap.
Trained by father-and-son duo Tony and Calvin McEvoy, Half Yours stormed home to justify his status in emphatic fashion.
The five-year-old son of bargain-priced sire St Jean gave Melham her 17th Group 1 triumph and first in one of the Melbourne spring majors.
Filling the minor placings were Chris Waller-trained duo River Of Stars and Valiant King, while Presage Nocturne was fourth, and Adelaide River faded after establishing a substantial early lead.
An emotional Melham, one of the world's leading female jockeys, was in tears after the race.
"Just hearing you say 'Caulfield Cup' is going to make me cry," Melham said.
"I've had an incredible career and ridden 17 Group One (winners) now, but that major has obviously eluded me.
"I just wanted to get one, but now I want maybe three more, maybe a Melbourne Cup, and this horse is going to run the trip out."
Half Yours was a short-priced favourite entering the race.
"I've tried not to think about it for the last few days," Melham said.
"I just wanted to come out here and ride him and give him the best ride I could because I knew he was the best horse in the race.
"But everything was perfect. It worked out perfectly for him and he had to dig deep and he's an absolute superstar horse.
"What Tony and Calvin have done with him, they've just made this absolute professional of a horse."
Half Yours was sold in November for $305,000 at a time when he had given little indication he would develop into a star, but the McEvoys saw potential and have been rewarded handsomely.
The Caulfield Cup winner's cheque is worth $3 million; almost 10 times the horse's auction price.
Tony McEvoy came agonisingly close to winning the Caulfield Cup in 2002 with Fields Of Omagh, narrowly beaten by the champion Northerly.
Melham had also fallen short in three previous rides, including a fourth aboard Prince Of Arran in 2020.
"This is why we do it, to have a runner in these, and they're bloody hard to win," Tony McEovy said.
"That was incredible."
It was the biggest win of Calvin McEvoy's young training career.
"What a proud moment for me, to be able to do it with Calv," Tony McEvoy said.
"It's really enjoyable."
Half Yours is now a firm $4 Melbourne Cup (3200m) favourite, after Sir Delius was on Friday sensationally ruled out by Racing Victoria stewards.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Sir Delius won the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes and Underwood Stakes at his last two starts.
But vets decided the five-year-old stallion was "at heightened risk of injury" following a CT scan in preparation for the Melbourne Cup.
Sir Delius was the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup favourite before he was ordered to be withdrawn from both races.
Earlier on Saturday, Blake Shinn guided Ole Dancer to victory in the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) for Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman.
Ole Dancer overhauled odds-on favourite Apocalyptic in a thrilling finish, leaving jockey Mark Zahra runner-up in the classic for the fifth time.
"It was an exciting race, a thrilling race for me to even ride in," Shinn said.
"Peter and Kat, you can just trust their horse's fitness, and when the pressure came on, she came to the fore. It was a great effort."
