‘From a singer to a winner’ cry fans as Irish jockey who wowed Rita Ora on The Voice wins Melbourne Cup in huge shock
‘From a singer to a winner’ cry fans as Irish jockey who wowed Rita Ora on The Voice wins Melbourne Cup in huge shock
ROBBIE DOLAN shocked the racing world by winning the Melbourne Cup on a massive 80/1 outsider on Tuesday.
The Irish jockey rode Knight’s Choice to victory in the €5 million feature Down Under on a dramatic photo finish.
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It is the latest pitch-perfect performance offered by the Queensland-based rider.
Two years ago, he showed off his vocal chops during a run on The Voice Australia in 2022.
One performance on his way to finish in the final 12 saw him sing a stirring rendition of ‘Before You Go’ by Lewis Capaldi.
His voice blew away the judges of the show, including popstar Rita Ora.
A clip of his singing resurfaced in the wake of winning the Melbourne Cup, with Tom Magnier Coolmore tweeting: “From the Voice to winning the Melbourne Cup!
“An absolute gent of the sport, a great rider and a huge talent. Well done [Robbie Dolan]”
The post prompted a deluge of reaction from fans who praised him from going from “a singer to a winner”.
Keatley Racing said: “He’s came a long way unbelievably proud of our man @ZRKD onwards and upwards a true hero and inspiration to all”
Razor said: “The best omen bet ever and I had no idea. Great work @ZRKD
“Maybe you can do the anthem and ride next year? Very happy for you despite the fact you messed up my trifecta”
Jockey who lives double life as TV singer on BBC show wins Melbourne Cup on 100-1 shot in incredible photo finish
Zingsi said: “From a Singer to a Winner of the most important Race of a Continent.
“Congrats @ZRKD what a brilliant story – what a superstar you are Man!”
Bilbo commented: “Can’t keep a good Irish lad down …” and Mitchell added: “I bet he belts a few tunes out tonight . How good”
Speaking after his crowning moment at Flemington, the Kildare-native admitted that he once considered giving up horse-racing to pursue a career in music.
But passion brought back to the saddle and set him on his way for glory on Knight’s Choice.
He said: “I think I’ll be singing for the rest of my life after that,” said Dolan.
“I feel like I’m going to wake up any minute. Can you pinch me?
“I could have easily given up riding to do the music, but I just loved it too much.
“You work so hard not only as a jockey, but just in the racing industry and you get up early hours, long days, long nights, and not a lot of breaks.
“Once I started doing a little bit of music, it was a nice change. I’d just been grafting for 10 years before that.
“At one stage, I was struggling to get a few rides, and I was thinking, ‘Gee, I might just do the music on the side’. And then I just missed riding winners, I missed the camaraderie of the jockeys in the room.”
