McEvoys to take on the world: Our lone Aussie hope in the Melbourne Cup

5 hours ago 5

Proud dad Tony McEvoy surprised his son Calvin at an awards night five years ago when he unexpectably announced to the crowd that they were forming a new training partnership.

On Tuesday, the father-and-son duo hope to shock the world as they fly the Australian flag with the only home-bred horse in this year’s $10 million group 1 Melbourne Cup.

Jamie Melham with the co-trainers of Half Yours, Calvin and Tony McEvoy.

The McEvoys will team up with a long-time family friend jockey Jamie Melham in a bid to win the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double with Half Yours, an improving gelding they bought for $305,000 in an online auction.

Melham became the first woman to win the Caulfield Cup last month and is now aiming to become the second female rider to win Australia’s greatest race, following in the footsteps of Michelle Payne who captured the heart of a nation 10 years ago on Prince Of Penzance.

Their task was made easier after drawing an ideal barrier eight on Saturday night and he remained a $6 favourite.

The gelding by unfashionable sire St Jean was bred in Warrnambool by the late Colin McKenna and will take on 10 internationals and another 13 imports which were purchased by Australian syndicates from overseas.

Chris Waller’s mega stable will field five of the staying expats in this year’s Cup, including $8 fancy Buckaroo, which drew gate 12, and Valiant King, which will jump from barrier 10.

Ciaron Maher is chasing his second Melbourne Cup with three former international runners - Middle Earth (gate 13), Smokin’ Romans (gate 11) and Royal Supremacy (gate 21).

“If you look at all the staying races in Australia, the horses have all got a suffix next to their name [such as IRE, UK, NZ and the US]. I am quite proud of that,” Tony McEvoy said.

“Knowing the story of how he was bred, it does add another dimension, that will be special. There are times when we’ve thought ‘it’s not our race any more, are we ever going to win it again?’

Jockey Jamie Melham will ride Caulfield Cup winner Half Yours in the Melbourne Cup.

“And we have – with the horse last year, Knight’s Choice, Vow And Declare (in 2019) and now hopefully this horse can do the same.”

Calvin McEvoy grew up at the famed Lindsay Park in the Barossa Valley as his father worked with the Hayes family before taking over the operations when David Hayes relocated to Hong Kong and brother Peter lost his life in a light plane crash.

“When I was in primary school, every weekend, through the holidays, I was able to go in and sit in the tower with David Hayes and CS Hayes at the end of his time,” Calvin said.

“I was only very young then, but I was riding the pony out with all the good horses and just doing all the really fun stuff. So I had the bug from a young age, and it was never going to be anything different for me.”

The young McEvoy was at a South Australian awards night in 2019 when his premiership-winning father revealed that he had been promoted from foreman to co-trainer.

“It really blew me away, actually, because I had no idea,” he said. “I didn’t expect it one bit. No one believed that I didn’t know, but I had no idea, and I actually, he was thanking everyone in his speech, and hadn’t said a word about me. And I thought, ‘what about this bloke?’.

“And then he kept it until the end, he got me up on stage. So it was a special moment. And you know, we’ve got a really good working relationship.”

Half Yours was originally trained by McKenna’s great mate Maher but was sold after the Warrnambool meat-processing giant and prominent racehorse owner passed away last spring.

Maher wanted to buy the horse and keep it in his stable but was outbid by the McEvoys as they went bid-for-bid online.

He might regret pulling out as Calvin believes Half Yours has bounced out of the Caulfield Cup and has “another really big run in him”.

“I think if the rain is around, and we get a soft track, it’s only going to make his chances even better. He loves soft ground,” Calvin said.

To win a Melbourne Cup would make the awards night announcement of five years ago even sweeter for the father-and-son pair who train out of Ballarat and Flemington.

“I strongly feel that us winning the Caulfield Cup has probably earned us a little bit of acceptance, showing that we can train a big race winner with a stayer,” Calvin said.

“So, hopefully, a few of those bigger syndicates that buy the internationals might take notice now.

“It’s a life-changing race isn’t it. And my old man, I remember he always spoke about when he won the Cox Plate back in 2003 was a bit of acceptance, a bit of recognition, and sort of got people to accept him as a trainer.

“But to win a Melbourne Cup would be life changing in many aspects, with business, but also just the whole industry.”

Tony McEvoy said he wanted barrier seven. Part owner Neville Smith picked the replica cup with the number eight underneath.

“That beautiful barrier allows Jamie to relax, ride the horse nice and smoothly, ” McEvoy said.

“We don’t have to be too far back, we can be in the middle and ride him to run the trip.”

A wet track will not bother the favourite, McEvoy said.

It was a six-length romp in soft going that lured the McEvoys to buy him last year.

“I’m dancing for the rain,” McEvoy said.