Robbie Dolan's family beaming with pride after Melbourne Cup glory
Dolan's older sister Pamela was among those roaring him home from Kildare
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Robbie Dolan (right) with his siblings Barry, Lynn and Pam.
We were all sad to see him go but happy to see him follow his dreams, and now his dreams are coming true. - Pamela Dolan
Nearly 11,000 miles separate Kildare and Flemington but the two locations will now be forever interlinked thanks to Robbie Dolan’s Melbourne Cup exploits.
The jockey’s thrilling triumph on 90/1 shot Knight’s Choice, secured by a photo finish, etched his name into Australian racing folklore while also providing his family watching back home with a moment they will never forget.
His older sister, Pamela, was chief among those roaring him on and also found herself playing the role of commentator as the dramatic denouement unfolded.
“My friend lives in Australia and I had her on video call,” she said.
“She was driving home from work and asked if I could give her the commentary while she was driving.
“I was talking her through it and it went from ‘oh my god, he’s in the top three’ to ‘oh my god, there’s a photo finish’ to ‘oh my god, he won!’.
“We were jumping around the sitting room here, we must have been waking the neighbours up. My mam was round at my sister’s, we all had the alarm set nice and early and we just can’t believe it. We are so proud of him.”
The Dolans are a family steeped in racing heritage, with Robbie the latest in a long line of those to have enjoyed memorable days in the sport.
His grandad, Peadar, won two classics as a jockey while his father, Bobby, was a jockey who later became part of the team behind Dermot Weld’s trailblazing Melbourne Cup wins.
Bobby was among the crowds at Flemington to see his son’s finest hour – a surprise visit which made Robbie’s win all the sweeter.
“I’m just so happy he was there,” Pamela said.
“Dad is his biggest supporter, he gets up and watches every race Rob rides in no matter what time it is over here.
“He’ll get up at 3 or 4 in the morning, watch the race, then head off into work. For him to be there and experience it with him, it’s just amazing.
“Rob’s partner Christine organised the whole thing, she’s brilliant. She booked flights for my dad, picked him up from the airport, so Rob had no idea.”
Ronan Keating was among those to celebrate the success, fitting reward for a jockey who has been no stranger to a microphone himself and was tutored by Rita Ora on his way to reaching the semi-finals of The Voice.
“He’s a man of many talents,” Pamela said.
“We were sitting here in our house the night he auditioned, The Voice had contacted us and let us watch his audition live.
“We had it all set up here on the laptop and it blew us away that night as well when he got through and they all turned their chairs around.
“Rob has always been an entertainer, he was always a good singer and actor throughout childhood, so it didn’t surprise me he went far in that competition.”
He has now been living Down Under for eight years, having left Ireland in 2016, with Pamela still eagerly awaiting her first trip to visit her brother and his young family.
But while the distance apart may be testing at times, she takes plenty of comfort from the fact her younger brother is fulfilling his destiny on the track.
“I spoke to him this morning, he’s on cloud nine,” she said. “I think he’s still a bit in shock and doesn’t know what to make of it all.
“His phone is popping, he has so many missed calls and messages. He’s in demand. I think he’s a bit overwhelmed by it all.
“It was tough when he moved. Australia is so far away, it’s not like you can just jump in a plane and head over to see him.
“We were all sad to see him go but happy to see him follow his dreams, and now his dreams are coming true. Moving to Australia, it's every jockey's dream to win the Melbourne Cup. It makes it all worthwhile.”