Sliding doors moments often shape racing careers — and Jamie Melham’s historic Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double was no exception.

Half Yours gave Melham two of the biggest wins of her life, but the ride could just as easily have gone a different way.

Ashley Morgan had guided Half Yours to earlier success, including the Caloundra Cup. But when Morgan remained committed to Private Harry in The Everest, the McEvoys were forced to explore alternative riders.

“Ash was riding him beautifully, but he was already locked in,” Tony McEvoy explained.

“We asked Harry Coffey, but he was taken as well. Jamie was next — and the story wrote itself from there.”

Another key decision came when Half Yours was accepted for races across two states in September.

Initially the stable planned to stay in Sydney, but Half Yours’ low ballot status forced a rethink.

“The boys pushed to accept in the Naturalism Stakes, and I wasn’t convinced at first,” McEvoy said.

“He scraped into the field, won, and that’s what got us into the Caulfield Cup.”

The rest is history — and now international ambitions are real.

“Ascot’s Gold Cup suits him, and a Cox Plate-into-Japan campaign is something we could seriously look at,” McEvoy said.

He hopes the success prompts breeders and owners to reconsider Australian staying stock.

“We want to show that you don’t need to import every stayer. Horses like him prove we can breed them here.”

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