A former singer on a Melbourne Cup-themed cruise ship who appeared on television’s The Voice has won Australia’s biggest horse race in a huge 90-1 upset.

The Kildare rider partnered Knight’s Choice (100/1) to victory in "the race that stops a nation" at Flemington for joint-trainers John Symons and Sheila Laxon

A former singer on a Melbourne Cup-themed cruise ship who appeared on television’s The Voice has won Australia’s biggest horse race in a huge 90-1 upset. Irish jockey Robbie Dolan, who was making his debut in “the race that stops a nation”,

Melbourne Cup winning jockey Robbie Dolan isn't just a talented hoop - he can also sing. Dolan, 28, won plenty of admirers when he appeared on one of Australia's favourite TV shows in 2022.

In riding the gelding’s late kick all the way to the post, Robbie Dolan became the first widely recognised singer to win the Cup, “unless ... Ronan Keating hasn’t won a Melbourne Cup, has he?”, the jockey joked afterwards.

Knight’s Choice, ridden by Irish jockey Robbie Dolan, claimed Lexus Melbourne Cup gold as European trainers including Willie Mullins failed to fire in the Flemington feature. Ireland and Britain appeared set to mount strong challenges for the two-mile contest with Mullins’s pair of Vauban and Absurde joined by Harry Eustace’s Bendigo Cup winner Sea King and the Brian Ellison-trained Geelong Cup hero Onesmoothoperator towards the head of the betting.