Jamie Melham becomes first female jockey to win historic Australian horse racing double

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Jamie Melham rode Half Yours to victory in the 165th Melbourne Cup on Tuesday to become the first female jockey to win a historic Australian racing double.

A decade after Michelle Payne became the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, Melham became the first to complete the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup winning double.

Melham's late grandfather was among the people she dedicated her victory to, saying the last race he watched was her win in last month's Caulfield Cup on Half Yours.

“I have to mention my grandpa. He died last week," Melham said in a post-race interview with the Nine Network. "He was such a big supporter of mine. So he’s up there opening those gaps for me, because I needed a few gaps open.”

Half Yours, a five-year-old gelding, finished strongly to win by 2 3/4 lengths from Irish mare Goodie Two Shoes in overcast conditions on a soft track at Flemington. Middle Earth placed third in the event referred to widely by Australians as the race that stops the nation.

“I’ve had an amazing year. Got married, had some really great days on the track, but nothing ever compares to this feeling right now I’m feeling," the 29-year-old Melham said.

Trained by the father-and-son duo Tony and Calvin McEvoy, Half Yours was the only Australian-bred starter in the 24-horse field.

Melham had to steer Half Yours through a series of gaps in the straight, including one past her husband Ben Melham, who placed 14th on Smokin' Romans. They were the first married couple to compete against each other in Australia's richest race.

“There was a tight gap and I said, ‘Move over Ben, I’m coming through.' The next gap was extremely tight and I had no say — my horse just took me through it," Jamie Melham said. “Then he had to produce the finish.”

Payne, who rode long shot Prince Of Penzance to victory in the 2015 Melbourne Cup, embraced Melham after Tuesday's race.

“I’ve got tears in my eyes,” Payne told the Nine network. "It’s just the most incredible feeling and for Jamie, who deserves it, it just couldn’t be better.”

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Spectators watch a race ahead of the Melbourne Cup horse race in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Spectators walk ahead of the Melbourne Cup horse race in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Trainer Calvin McEvoy and jockey Jamie Melham celebrate after Half Yours won the Melbourne Cup horse race in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Jockey Jamie Melham reacts after riding Half Yours to win the Melbourne Cup horse race in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Jamie Melham rides Half Yours to win the Melbourne Cup horse race in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

MADRID (AP) — A wildfire roared through a remote expat community in southern Spain overnight, killing at least 12 people as victims tried to flee the flames in cars and on foot, authorities said Friday. Eight people were injured and 23 missing, Andalusia’s regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno said.

The blaze, one of Spain's deadliest wildfires, broke out late Thursday in a semi-arid area near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almeria province, as the country has been dealing with soaring temperatures.

Most of the victims died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions, said Antonio Sanz, head of Andalusia’s emergency services. Some tried to escape via a dry riverbed that “turned into a death trap,” he said.

Four victims were believed to be British nationals because the steering wheel of their burned-out car was on the right side, as with British vehicles, regional authorities said. Other unspecified nationals also were believed to be among the dead, and the death toll was expected to rise, authorities said.

Seven people died while on foot after abandoning their cars, Sanz said, adding that most of the deceased were believed to be foreign nationals.

Dean Taylor, a resident who divides his time between Spain and the U.K., said he managed to just barely escape the neighborhood by using back roads to get out.

“It was quite terrifying,” Taylor said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It's a very sad day, isn’t it? It’s devastating, really."

The fire was still burning as of Friday afternoon. Some 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers from Spain’s military emergency unit were battling the blaze, which had consumed more than 3,200 hectares (7,900 acres) of forest and farmland.

Moreno, the Andalusian regional leader, said containing the fire was difficult because of the steep, dry terrain.

“It consists mainly of scrubland and esparto grass,” Moreno said. “Everything is extremely dry due to the heat waves, making it the perfect fuel; combined with the wind, it’s a ticking time bomb.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his condolences. “Immense sadness and desolation in the face of the terrible consequences of the fire affecting the province of Almeria,” he wrote on X.

Spain has battled frequent and severe heat waves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 40 C (104 F). Wind, high temperatures and little rainfall help small wildfires grow into unchecked blazes.

In June, Spain experienced several days of record-setting heat, with over 1,000 excess deaths attributed to heat.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Parts of Western Europe are facing their third heat wave in six weeks. Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing several intense heat waves across Europe.

France is experiencing the peak of its third heat wave of the summer, with temperatures reaching 40 C (104 F) across western and central areas and around 37 C (98 F) in Paris.

French authorities have also warned of a very high wildfire risk, as large fires in the south have already scorched thousands of hectares this week, disrupting the Tour de France cycling race and stretching firefighting resources.

The largest wildfire, in the eastern Pyrenees near the Spanish border, had decreased in intensity by Friday, authorities said. But it has burned about 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) and forced the temporary evacuation of more than 10,000 people from nearly villages.

Last month was France’s hottest June on record, with deaths surging by nearly a third during the hottest week.

Scientists warn that climate change caused in part by the burning of fuels like gasoline, oil and coal is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making certain regions more vulnerable to wildfires.

Spain is no stranger to wildfires, with last year's fire season burning more than 393,000 hectares (almost 1,520 square miles), according to the European Forest Fire Information System, an area twice as large as London. Four people died.

Spain's deadliest wildfire was in 1979 when 21 people perished in Lloret de Mar, a coastal town about an hour north of Barcelona.

In 2017, a wildfire in neighboring Portugal left 66 people dead in Pedrogao Grande, located 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Lisbon. In that blaze, 47 people died on one road while similarly attempting to flee in their cars.

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Associated Press journalist Sylvie Corbet, in Paris, contributed.

Firefighters work on a wildfire in Los Gallardos, near Almeria, Spain, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

A helicopter drops water while fighting a wildfire near Los Gallardos, Almeria, Spain, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

A firefighter truck next to a wildfire in Los Gallardos, near Almeria, Spain, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

A Military Emergency Unit vehicle operates as a wildfire rages in Alfajir, near Almeria in southeastern Spain, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

A wildfire rages in Alfajir, near Almeria in southeastern Spain, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)

A wildfire rages in Alfajir, near Almeria in southeastern Spain, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)