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November 3, 2026 \u2014 7:41pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n A heart-to-heart over a couple of beers with trainer Ciaron Maher about two years ago sowed the seeds for 27-year-old jockey Ethan Brown\u2019s Melbourne Cup win on Point Of Law.<\/p>\n After nearly losing his life in a massive fall off Maximillius in the 2023 Australian Guineas, and a stop-start return to riding, Brown wondered whether he should continue in the toughest of capers.<\/p>\n The injuries were significant, and that was before the emotional toll was considered.<\/p>\n Brown suffered a grade-five lacerated liver and severed artery, damage to his right kidney, significant internal bleeding, and hairline fractures to three vertebrae in his lower back. He lost more than five litres of blood. The fall was in the March, and he returned to the races that August.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time I got [back] to the races, I still wasn\u2019t ready,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI was tricking myself into telling myself I was ready, so I rode for a month and thought, \u2018I am not ready for this\u2019, and took a step back. That was the stage I wondered whether I would get back.\u201d<\/p>\n He contemplated training, but Maher \u2013 who became a trainer after a short-lived career as a jumps jockey \u2013 set him straight over a drink with Brown. The pair\u2019s relationship went way back, with Brown riding the horse he learnt to ride on in Alice Springs, Here to There, to victory at Caulfield in 2017.<\/p>\n Maher told him he was a rider, not a trainer.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was very firm about that. He said, \u2018You are delusional mate, get back riding\u2019,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n Brown took the advice on board, but still took time to commit.<\/p>\n \u201cI woke up one morning. I was hungry again, and it was full-bore,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n Maher \u2013 who on Tuesday became the first trainer to claim the Melbourne Cup trifecta with Point Of Law, Zahrann and Juja Kibo \u2013 had merely passed on the wisdom he had gathered over his time in the business, recognising Brown\u2019s talent was as a rider, and backing him in.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a very dedicated man, and he was just a bit lost because he is a bit of an overthinker,\u201d Maher said.<\/p>\n \u201cI rode at a very low level, and it was the greatest time of my life just booting around with my mates and riding, and he was just a bit down, and he was going to be a trainer. I thought, \u2018Riding is much more fun\u2019 and I just told him my thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n A stint in Hong Kong gave Brown the confidence he needed to compete with the best, having grown up in Alice Springs where he started riding under Greg Connor before becoming an apprentice to Michael Kent. \u201cHe\u2019s always been a grounded lad,\u201d Connor said. \u201cHe still is.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, he recognised that the only way of being a jockey was to devote himself to the craft, showing the same traits he revealed as a teenager when he modified his diet after being told he had heavy legs.<\/p>\n \u201cI have just matured a lot in the last 12 months. Mentally I have grown up … staying quiet, not going out [and a] bit of sacrifice here and there. It has paid off,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWhen I came back it was like a switch, \u2018I\u2019m back to ride and that is all I am doing\u2019. When you make those sorts of decisions you\u2019re not half-hearted. You\u2019re not back to just push around for your riding fee. It was, \u2018I am going in full-bore\u2019 and it was a moment like this I dreamt of, and it has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article It didn\u2019t just happen, though.<\/p>\n Brown had to choose between Point Of Law and his other potential mount, Zahrann, in the lead-up. It was not a call he took lightly, but he opted for Point Of Law due to the horse\u2019s X-factor.<\/p>\n He then took on board Maher\u2019s decisions to work Point Of Law hard to have him peaking for the race, finding the balance between being worked hard enough to relax in the run and fresh enough to quicken when called upon. Former hoop Simon Marshall, who has worked with him for 12 months, helped get him in the right frame of mind and if he needed further advice, his partner Celine Gaudray had ridden Torranzino to fifth place in the 2025 Melbourne Cup.<\/p>\n Brown had not ridden Point Of Law before the Geelong Cup, but he got off the horse in the winner\u2019s stall and whispered to Maher it might be the best horse he has trained. Then he made early visits to Werribee to ride Point Of Law in trackwork, which gave him an understanding that he was on the best horse of the race. He could win as long as he could get him to settle in just his sixth race start.<\/p>\n Editor’s pick He did it beautifully, timing his run to perfection as he reeled in, and then roared past, Royal Supremacy who looked to have opened up a winning lead entering the straight. With 350 metres remaining and Royal Supremacy still five lengths ahead, Brown knew it was all over.<\/p>\n \u201cHe quickened like a sprinter at the end of 3200. When he hit that top gear, I knew we had won,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n The question of whether it was all worth it had been answered, and Brown was looking forward with a bank full of memories.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat doesn\u2019t kill you makes you stronger,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n His joy was contrary to that of Jye McNeill, who did not ride in the race after his Chris Waller mount Asterix was scratched on the morning of the race. Waller was fined $50,000 after a stablehand mistakenly administered the medication penetrene to both legs at the stable on Tuesday morning. Penetrene is generally allowed on horses, but it is banned on race day.<\/p>\n Read more of our Melbourne Cup coverage here:<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Friday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Ethan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/fc3d6f90f0a346873599a816c96b44847bc17f9c.jpeg\")
Ethan Brown and girlfriend and fellow jockey Celine Gaudray celebrate with the trophy after Point of Law won the Melbourne Cup. Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Brown](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/6083ffdac5473d732dbdb9b1670ca3c9a1639d0b.jpeg\")
Brown and Ciaron Maher embrace after the Melbourne Cup.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Ethan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/ba32f80eb36a803fb227dc201df6249460e0962a.jpeg\")
Ethan Brown celebrates winning the Melbourne Cup on Point Of Law.Justin McManus<\/p>\n![\"Ciaron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/f755cc44abf00f2731477ee79342596a74d47ea1.jpeg\")
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