Half Yours got the carnival the way it wanted at Aquis Park on Saturday afternoon. The reigning Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup winner saluted second-up in the Group 2 TAB A.D. Hollindale Stakes (1800m) under Jamie Melham, the Tony and Calvin McEvoy chestnut returning from a 13-week layoff to clock 1:47.09 on a Good 4 track. Knight's Choice ran second for Annabel and Rob Archibald, with Birdman third. The performance puts Half Yours back in front of the Group 1 Doomben Cup market for 23 May, the next race on the McEvoy plan.
How the Race Was Won
The Hollindale jumped at 4:08pm AEST in front of a packed Aquis Park crowd. Pride Of Jenni, the $5 second-elect tipped by Tony McEvoy himself in the lead-up as the horse to beat, set the pace from the inside barrier and was eventually swamped by the visitors heading north for the carnival. Half Yours sat sixth from barrier nine, with Melham riding patiently from the back of the field through the first turn. Knight's Choice and Birdman tracked in midfield. The race shape was set for a stayer's finish.
Down the back straight Half Yours edged forward without effort. By the home turn Melham was three wide and three lengths off the lead, with the gelding moving into a galloping rhythm that all the McEvoy-trained Cup horses recognise. The Champ kicked across the 200, took the lead at the 150, and went away. Knight's Choice ran on for second, with Birdman holding third. Pride Of Jenni faded to a midfield finish. Vauban, the imported Irish stayer in his first Australian start since the Melbourne Cup, ran a competitive sixth.
Doomben Cup the Next Stop
The McEvoys confirmed in the post-race interview that Half Yours backs up in the Group 1 Doomben Cup at Eagle Farm on Saturday 23 May, his third-up start. The plan beyond that is a fourth-up tilt at the Group 2 Q22 (2200m) on Stradbroke Day, 13 June. The horse is in the kind of form where Melbourne Cup champions are supposed to be in a stayer's prep, and the Brisbane carnival has its leading name back. The McEvoys also confirmed Half Yours will return to Flemington for the Spring 2026 carnival via the Cox Plate or the Caulfield Cup defence depending on which gives the stronger trial.
Knight's Choice's run for second was the surprise of the day. The Archibald yard's veteran of 11 starts since 2022 had been written off for the carnival but the 1800m suit and the soft-track preference both played in his favour. He firmed for the Doomben Cup market on the strength of the run. The third-placed Birdman was already considered a Cup chance and the run will keep him in the bookmakers' top three.
Where the Markets Land
Doomben Cup market post-Hollindale at Picklebet sits Half Yours $2.10, Knight's Choice $5, Birdman $7, Pride Of Jenni $9, She's A Hustler $11, Tom Kitten $11, Vauban $14. The Cup-winner has firmed from $2.30 across the night to $2.10, with She's A Hustler easing on the back of running 10th in the Hollindale. The Tattersall's Tiara market continues to favour Splash Back at $4 and the Stradbroke Handicap remains an open market at $11 about Yellow Brick. dabble, Ladbrokes and Neds have all refreshed Brisbane carnival markets across Saturday evening.
Doomben Cup Day jumps at 4pm AEST on Saturday 23 May with the Group 1 main event and a supporting Group 2 in the Bright Shadow Quality (1200m). Full Hollindale results, sectionals and stewards' reports are available at Racing Queensland.