Meet Ireland's Melbourne Cup winning jockey Robbie Dolan who blew Rita Ora away with 'extraordinary' singing
The Kildare rider partnered Knight’s Choice (100/1) to victory in "the race that stops a nation" at Flemington for joint-trainers John Symons and Sheila Laxon
Irish eyes were smiling Down Under after Irish jockey Robbie Dolan won the Melbourne Cup with his first ever ride in the race.
The Kildare rider partnered Knight’s Choice (100/1) to victory in "the race that stops a nation" at Flemington for joint-trainers John Symons and Sheila Laxon.
Incredibly, the win comes just two and a half years after Dolan blew Rita Ora away with his 'extraordinary' singing on the Australian version of TV series The Voice in 2022.
Ora, a judge on the show, gave the jockey a standing ovation after his performance of James Bay's Let It Go in 2022.
Speaking at the time, Ora said: "The fact you haven't got a clue how good you are is probably the reason why everyone watching is falling in love with you every time you speak through that microphone.
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"You are creating a whole new book for The Voice, for people who had no idea they could hold a note."
Dolan added: "I don’t know anything technical about music, but I’ve always been singing in the car, on the way to the races and in the shower.
"I’m not too sure if I can even sing well enough for something like this.
"I just know that I love singing, it’s definitely from the heart.
"It’s pretty exciting – it feels like a dream at this stage. Singing has always just been a hobby to me.
"I did school plays years and years ago and always really enjoyed singing.
"Racing took over my life but just recently I’ve started to learn guitar and try to do a few gigs.
"It’s a step away from racing. I’d love to get into it but it’s hard to have two lives and racing is everything at the moment.
"They are very different worlds but once I got the opportunity to perform on The Voice I was like, 'why not, what have I got to lose?'"
Dolan progressed to the top 24 artists on the show before being knocked out in the Sing-offs.
The 28-year-old told of his shock after winning the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, telling Channel Nine: "Pinch me, I think I’m dreaming! It’s incredible, I can’t believe it.
“I’ve never ridden in this race before so I didn’t know what to expect, but I feel like I’ve ridden in it 10 times because I’ve ran the race in my head before I got here.
“It panned out exactly as I thought it would. I thought I’d be closer, but they went quick and I decided I ride him for luck as I know he’s got a good turn of foot.
“Sheila and John were so confident in this horse before he got to the race, a lot of people doubted him but I didn’t.”
Dolan’s father Bobby worked for Dermot Weld in Ireland and surprised his son by arriving in Australia ahead of the race.
The winning rider added: “I woke up Sunday morning and he was standing in my kitchen – I couldn’t believe it. Win, lose or draw, it was a great day for me but to win it with him here as well as my partner and daughter, I’m going to cry again!”
Dolan was all smiles as he left Flemington with his family and the Melbourne Cup after racing.
It was a second Melbourne Cup success for Laxon, who became the first woman to officially train the winner of the race when she saddled Ethereal to victory in 2001.
She said: “It’s fantastic, we’ve got some fabulous owners and had lots of help along the way from everyone at Macedon Lodge (training base) and people back home.
“The most special moment for me is my son John and daughter Lucy came over with their children, it’s just such an amazing experience to share it with them.”
Symons added: “This is the pinnacle of all pinnacles, we’ve just won the Melbourne Cup.”
Knight’s Choice was returned a huge outsider for the race with Warp Speed another longshot after he finished well down the field in the Caulfield Cup for trainer Noboru Takagi on his Australian bow.
Beaten just a short head, stable spokesman Kosi Kawakami told www.racing.com: “It was obviously a great run and we knew we could turn the form around, we were confident but at the same time, we just can never be sure in racing, but he proved that.
“We are very, very proud of him but at the same time, with that little margin, we just desperately wanted to win this race, the same as everyone else.”
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