Jockey Robbie Dolan wrote himself into the history books with the unlikeliest of Melbourne Cup victories on board rank outsider Knight’s Choice.
Dolan is from Ireland, born in County Kildare in the province of Leinster.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Robbie Dolan stuns on The Voice.
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But if you think you’ve seen this face before, you’d be dead right, because the Irish jockey made a name for himself in Australia in 2022 when he appeared on Channel 7’s The Voice Australia.
Indeed, Dolan turned heads — and three chairs — when he performed James Bay’s famous song Let It Go a couple of years ago.
He then joined Rita Ora’s team where his Voice journey began, making it all the way to the top 24 artists.
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He was knocked out in the ‘sing-offs’ but he certainly made an impression.
In fact, later that year he was asked to sing the iconic anthem The Horses (made famous in Australia by Daryl Braithwaite) at the Cox Plate.
Fast forward to 2024, and Robbie is once again the centre of attention on a famous day in Australian horse racing.
This time, however, he is not the sideshow entertainment … he is the main event, the winning jockey of the Melbourne Cup.
When Dolan and his family headed to Australian shores in 2016 to set up home in Queensland, they could not have imagined that Robbie would become synonymous with horse racing in their adopted country just eight years later.
But the fairytale has just been written and the family was trackside as the 28-year-old stunned Flemington.
Robbie’s father, Bobby Dolan and the entire Dolan family, flew to Melbourne and surprised Robbie before Cup Day.
After the race, superstar jockey James McDonald said to Robbie: “Not only have you won it, you have won it with one of the best rides I’ve seen in a Melbourne Cup!”
Robbie responded: “I don’t even know what to say. I can’t believe it. My dad is here. It’s mental.
“He flew in. I woke up Sunday morning coming out to the kitchen and he was standing in the kitchen and he was standing in the kitchen and I couldn’t believe it.
“Win, lose or draw, it was a great day for me. To win it with him here and my little daughter Maisy and my partner Christine, I’m going to cry again. Jesus Christ.”
Robbie was in disbelief after his shock win, saying he thought he was in a dream.
“It is incredible. I can’t believe it. I don’t even know what to say,” he said.
“I watched every Melbourne Cup far the last 40 years.
“I thought my best chance was to get him to stay the trip and hopefully he can run home and do the quick sectionals he can on a good track and he proved everybody wrong.”
Robbie predicted a decent night of celebrations were ahead.
“I will be singing tonight with a few beers,” he said.
And you can bet with confidence, Robbie will be hitting all the right notes … and the family will be singing along.