Sheila Laxon’s secret to Cup glory: love, training, and timing

Laxon believes in conditioning her horses to respond to race-day demands. “The horses don’t always understand what we’re asking, so I think it’s important for the riders to be able to educate them.” She credits her team, especially rider Ellie, for mastering this technique. 

“When you’re working, you don’t work that fast up that hill, but when you get to the last hundred, teach them to sprint off the mark. Because in a race when the gap opens, they've got to sprint off that mark to get through that gap. So if you can educate them to do that in the race it’s easier for the jockey to push that button and they’ll sprint.”

This was the tactic that gave jockey Robbie Dolan his first Lexus Melbourne Cup win, and Laxon her second, alongside partner John Symons.

“It’s surreal – like it was when Ethereal won. To come back and do it again feels like a fairy tale, and I’m very privileged to be part of this journey.”