If the Melbourne Cup is looking to expand its appeal beyond thoroughbred diehards, organisers could not have asked for a better winner of the 2024 race. The jockey who rode outsider Knight’s Choice to victory is less known for his horsemanship, and more for his appearance on The Voice.
In riding the gelding’s late kick all the way to the post, Robbie Dolan became the first widely recognised singer to win the Cup, “unless ... Ronan Keating hasn’t won a Melbourne Cup, has he?”, the jockey joked afterwards.
Both were born in Ireland and proved to be the main attractions at Flemington on Tuesday. They even shared a post-race embrace. But while Keating is just a visitor to these shores, Dolan now calls Australia home, a country he can barely praise enough. “If you’re willing to work hard, you’ll be rewarded,” he said.
The 28-year-old moved to Australia from Kildare eight years ago after a lack of opportunities in his own country, and although he has a long family history with racing – his father Bobby worked for two-time Melbourne Cup winning trainer Dermot Weld in Ireland – music almost drew him away.
“I could have easily given up riding to do the music, but I just loved it too much,” Dolan said. “You work so hard not only as a jockey, but just in the racing industry – you get up early hours, long days, long nights, and not a lot of breaks.”
“Once I started doing a little bit of music, it was a nice change. I’d just been grafting for 10 years before that. At one stage, I was struggling to get a few rides, and I was thinking, ‘gee I might just do the music on the side’. And then I just missed riding winners, I missed the camaraderie of the jockeys in the room.”
It was actually his musical talents that led Dolan to Knight’s Choice trainer Sheila Laxon two years ago. “I was singing on the Melbourne Cup cruise, and Sheila was there with the Melbourne Cup,” he said. “I met her, and I got a photo with her and the Melbourne Cup, and now we’ve won the freaking Melbourne Cup.”
That sense of destiny was given greater weight when Dolan walked downstairs at home on Sunday to find his father – the source of his connection to horses, who he thought was back in Ireland – in his kitchen.
“He surprised me, I didn’t know he was coming,” Dolan said. “I just said to my parents it was a good thing I didn’t come down naked.”
His father was clearly happy he made the trip to the other side of the world, saying he was “over the moon” in the immediate aftermath of the race. With a sense of humour not dissimilar to his son’s he grinned proudly, saying “I’ve bred a Melbourne Cup winner.”
The surprise was engineered by Dolan’s partner Christine, who gave birth to their daughter two years ago. Maisie was born 15 weeks premature and spent 110 days in intensive care. Dolan has developed a ritual of singing Take Me to the River to her.
“Maisie is taking it in her stride,” Christine said. “She is a professional and watched him in the Cox Plate and is used to the hustle and bustle of it all. She is a little fighter as well, she is very brave, she was born early but she is kicking goals now.”
Dolan’s family remained front of mind, even when he found himself on the summit of Australian racing. “Christine does everything for me, and little Maisie, I was rushing around trying to get ready for the Melbourne Cup this morning, and then she’s watching her iPad and just oblivious to everything.”
Dolan warned – given planned celebrations – he may not make it to Ipswich for his scheduled rides on Thursday. The man who had never won a race at the Melbourne Cup carnival, and was eliminated in the semi-finals of the Voice, recognises the significance of his – and Knight’s Choice’s – achievement. “You can never take this away from us, ever, that’s all that matters.” – Guardian
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