- The Irish Hoop lived a childhood dream in Flemington
- His horse was at 100-1 odds with some bookies.
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Robbie Dolan revealed he had to ask NRL legend Billy Slater if he had won the big race after his thrilling ride in Knight’s Choice on Tuesday.
With an 80-1 chance, Knight’s Choice took a one-goal victory over coaches John Symons and Sheila Laxon of Japanese raider Warp Speed on Tuesday in Flemington.
Okita Soushi, trained by Ciaron Maher, was third, and Zardozi, from global racing giant Godolphin, fourth.
The finish was so close that Dolan wasn’t sure he had claimed the honors immediately after passing the post, and he found out from the NRL great, who was on horseback interviewing the jockeys immediately after their races.
“Yeah, it felt like a lifetime playing with Billy Slater to see if he won or not,” Dolan revealed.
‘I said, “Did I win or not?”‘
Dolan said Slater responded, “Dude, do you have a loan?”
Irish hoops were delighted when it was confirmed that they had taken the biggest prize in Australian racing.
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Robbie Dolan wasn’t sure he had won the Melbourne Cup after his thrilling ride in Knight’s Choice on Tuesday.
Dolan says he asked NRL legend Billy Slater if he could confirm the result after his mount was in a photo finish with Warp Speed.
“It’s amazing,” Dolan said. ‘I can’t believe it. I don’t even know what to say…
‘I’ve watched every Melbourne Cup for the last 40 years. I thought my best chance was to get him to stay on the trip and hopefully he can run home and do the fast sections he can on a good track and he proved everyone wrong.
Irish expat Dolan, from County Kildare, west of Dublin, arrived in Australia eight years ago and fell in love with the country.
The 28-year-old’s impressive journey has cemented his relationship with his adopted home.
“I was young and immature and probably needed to go somewhere to broaden my experience,” Dolan said of his move to the other side of the world.
“I was planning to come for a year, I was here for eight and now I’ve won a Melbourne Cup.
Dolan (pictured with his wife, daughter and father after winning the Cup) moved to Australia in 2016 looking for a fresh start due to a lack of opportunities as an apprentice jockey in Ireland.
Dolan will take home just over $220,000, plus a miniature Melbourne Cup trophy valued at $10,000.
“I probably don’t see myself coming home anytime soon.”
Dolan was born into racing: his father, Bobby, worked in Ireland for two-time Cup-winning trainer Dermot Weld for 26 years.
But he hadn’t ridden a horse until at least his mid-teens and had a strained relationship with the sport, at a time when he turned to music as a possible new career.
The talented singer appeared on The Voice in 2022 and also worked to sing on a Cup-themed cruise, where a chance meeting with coach Sheila Laxon sparked a relationship that ultimately reaped huge rewards.
Dolan approached Laxon, who became the first trainer to win the Cup with Ethereal in 2001, and the rest is history.
‘Sheila was there with the Melbourne Cup. I met her and took a picture with her,” Dolan said.
‘Now we’ve won the bloody Melbourne Cup. It has to be a movie… surely.
