Ask any Cup-winning jockey or trainer what it feels like to win the Melbourne Cup, and the answer is never quite the same — because words can only go so far. For champions like Gai Waterhouse, Damien Oliver, Glen Boss, Corey Brown, James McDonald and Sheila Laxon, and others, it’s an emotion that lives somewhere between disbelief and pure euphoria.
“It’s one of the greatest feelings of all time,” says McDonald, reflecting on his 2021 triumph with Verry Elleegant. “You just hope for it, but when it happens — goosebumps, the whole way.”
For Glen Boss, who partnered the legendary Makybe Diva, the emotion is eternal. “If I could bottle that feeling and give it to people, you couldn’t put a price on it. It is surreal, overwhelming, even otherworldly. You think of the journey, the people who helped you, all the ups and down and flashes through your mind in those few seconds,” says Boss.
Winning the Melbourne Cup is more than a race — it’s a moment that defines careers, unites a nation, and captures the very heart of Australian sport.
