If Jamie Melham wins the Caulfield Cup, it would be the feel-good story of the spring carnival

Enter McEvoy. His son and assistant trainer, Calvin, and the stable’s racing manager, Rayan Moore, moved in.

“We crunched the numbers and based on the numbers we determined, we had a very impressive return,” Moore said.

Another person shared this view; The McEvoy stable would learn in November that bids were still coming in at online sales run by bloodstock auction house Inglis. The price far exceeded initial expectations of around $200,000.

“I was prepared to stop at $250,000,” Tony McEvoy said. “But the kids pushed me so hard.”

“We were all sitting in the office and doing an online auction, wondering who would be interested in the horse,” Moore said.

He had a feeling Moore was bidding against Maher. They were right.

“He was just a good horse and his going confirmed our interest,” Maher confirmed to this imprint, confirming that he was indeed the other bidder. “I’d rather train him and have Col still with us.”

Half Yours has put in another $470,000 since its acquisition by the McEvoys. The winner’s check on Saturday is worth $3 million, 10 times the auction price.

McEvoy came agonizingly close to winning the Caulfield Cup in 2002 with Fields Of Omagh being sneered at by champions Northerly.

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The race also eluded Melham, who has raced three times in 2020 with a best finish of fourth on Prince Of Arran.

Melham cut his teeth riding McEvoy in South Australia. The duo dominated in this situation. McEvoy won six trainers’ championships and Melham three jockeys’ titles.

Melham, then known by her maiden name Kah, caught McEvoy’s attention by regularly beating her horses.

“I thought, ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,'” McEvoy said. “I tried so hard to get him to ride the bike for me and it finally happened.

“Even back then, people who knew him well knew he would reach the heights he did. I was lucky enough to have him drive for us. I was just a tool on his journey.

“I didn’t have much to do with his abilities. He was extremely talented, very natural. The horses loved him and I gave him opportunities, which helped me a lot.”

“I love him so much and I feel like he’s closer to me than most because of this journey. I applaud him for what he’s doing, it’s amazing.”

Winning a race as famous as the Caulfield Cup with Melham will be extra special for McEvoy given their bond.

“Colin Hayes taught me at a very early age that if you are going to be as good as you can be, you have to surround yourself with good people,” McEvoy said.

“For a trainer, it’s kind of a relief to have someone like Jamie ride for you in an elite race because he’s been there before, he knows the horse well and you know he’s going to do a great job of it. Having him ride is really special for us.”

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