Thirty years on from his most memorable Melbourne Cup win, former jockey Wayne Harris shares his story from that race and says he can remember the race as if it was run yesterday.
The man from Muswellbrook in New South Wales who rode 35 group one winners over a storied career wrote his name into Australian sporting folklore as a Melbourne Cup winner in 1994.
Harris says it was 30 years ago now, but he remembers every blade of grass he went over to achieve something like that.
Harris described the win as life-changing, but in his moment of glory, he thought of others.
Harris battled health issues throughout his life, including brain tumours while he was an apprentice jockey.
Less than two years after his triumph he had to call it a day, with health issues taking away his ability to ride but then became an ambassador for the race which allowed him to travel the country with the cup itself.
He made a comeback, and although it was short-lived, Harris describes overcoming those issues to ride again in the mid-1990s as one of his greatest achievements.
Harris says he enjoys watching the race on his own, enjoying the famous race that he can claim to have conquered.
The Melbourne Cup race is at 4pm today.
Source: ABC
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