- Knight’s Choice surprised Australia by winning the Cup
- The main figure behind the victory talks about the battle for health
Melbourne Cup-winning trainer John Symons has revealed how a concerned friend saved his life after urging him to go to hospital when he was suffering from crippling back pain.
It was late 2019 and Symons went to see a doctor on the Sunshine Coast.
Subsequent scans revealed grim news: Symons had a tumor in his lung while cancer from an undetected melanoma engulfed his body.
“They told me I should get my things in order because I probably only had three months to live,” Symons said. Racenet.
‘The oncologist in charge gave me immunotherapy and they gave me four double doses… they did not want to operate on me, because the cancer was in both lobes of my lungs.
“The next 12 months, I spent probably eight months in hospital… luckily it worked and now I’ve just won the Melbourne Cup.”
Laxon, Symons’ wife, said her husband’s diagnosis was “pretty horrendous” at the time and they hope his story inspires others facing a similar situation.
On Tuesday at Flemington, Symons and co-trainer Sheila Laxon shocked the field by winning Australia’s most prestigious race.
Melbourne Cup-winning co-trainer John Symons (right) has revealed how a concerned friend saved his life after urging him to go to hospital in 2019 for treatment for crippling back pain.
Irish jockey Robbie Dolan delivered on the big stage for John Symons, winning the Melbourne Cup on the outsider Knight’s Choice (pictured)
Robbie Dolan’s stunning victory shocked racing fans across Australia, but the jockey always appeared quietly confident.
Dolan asked NRL legend and former track jockey Billy Slater if he could confirm the result after Knight’s Choice was in a photo finish with Warp Speed.
Irish-born, Queensland-based jockey Robbie Dolan, formerly a singer on the Australian reality show The Voice, steered the 66-1 shot to victory, edging out Warp Speed when they came to the line together.
Surprisingly, Dolan asked NRL legend and former track jockey Billy Slater, who was on horseback interviewing jockeys for Channel 9, if he had won the race that stops a nation.
“Yeah, it felt like a lifetime playing with Billy Slater to see if he won or not,” Dolan said after the race.
“I said, ‘Did I win or not?’ – Dolan said Slater responded: ‘Mate, you got a loan?’
Dolan, from County Kildare, west of Dublin, came to Australia eight years ago and quickly fell in love with the country.
The 28-year-old’s impressive run at Flemington has further cemented his relationship with his adopted home.
“I was young and immature (in Ireland) and probably needed to go somewhere to broaden my experience,” Dolan said of his move.
“I was planning on coming for a year and I’ve been here for eight… and now I’ve won a Melbourne Cup… “I don’t see myself coming home anytime soon.”
