Jamie Melham is a lady on a mission at Ascot this Saturday.
She’s in town to captain the Rest of the World Team in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup and describes the chance of riding on the Royal Heath as ‘one off the bucket list of must do’s’ but still cherishes hopes of returning for rides at a future Royal Meeting.
"Ascot’s just incredible," she said, standing some 10 yards from the winners' enclosure so much in her sights.
"When you walk in you know of its history and think you’re in a movie. The place is incredible."
Melham’s family have always been in sport - her parents were Olympic speed skaters but from the very first time she rode winners in her native South Australia in 2012 she seemed destined for the top. In 2025 she made history when becoming the first female to ride a Caulfield Cup winner on Half Yours, who then went on to give her the jackpot of a Melbourne Cup triumph - a feat only Michelle Payne has also achieved.
She also has a 2023 win in the Hong Kong Mile on board Vintage Bubble on her C.V.
Thanks especially to the heroics of Hayley Turner and Hollie Doyle, along with American Emma-Jayne Wilson, the lady riders have often stolen the Shergar Cup headlines and with her, and Britain’s best Saffie Osborne as Team Captains, there is every chance It could be the same again.
"Flemington is one of my favourite racecourses for obvious reasons," she said. "But its perfectly flat. Here as you walk it the slopes mean there are times when you can’t see the finish. It’s a very different track.
"I have ridden against the Hong Kong Team but not my own teammates (Yutaka Take and Surraj Narredu) and one of the things that’s great about this job is the travelling and meeting new people.
"Us jockeys are greedy. I want to ride a winner here, want to ride another Melbourne Cup winner, which is on my bucket list, and then want to come back here and ride at Royal Ascot, one of the world's great meetings," she added.
Talk to Melham and you’ll find her smiling and relaxed - but within two minutes of starting a conversation you’d be left in no doubt. She’s a winner and is determined to show that in the Northern Hemisphere - just as he has in her homeland.
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