A lot can happen in 12 months.
Last year, having missed out to James McDonald on riding Verry Elleegant at the Melbourne Cup, Mark Zahra was drinking his sorrows away in Byron Bay.
Twelve months later Zahra called it “redemption” as he pulled off an upset by riding Gold Trip to the 2022 Melbourne Cup as the French horse claimed its second career victory.
“I feel like crying. It’s unbelievable,” Zahra told Channel 10.
“That last 100 I was just thinking, ‘just piss off, no one come near me!’
“It’s just elation when I crossed the line.”
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Zahra’s victory was quite the fairytale comeback.
The West Australian missed out on riding the Cup winner, Verry Elleegant, due to a three-month ban for breaking COVID-19 regulations.
The indiscretion came last year, when Zahra and four other jockeys attended a house party during lockdown in Victoria.
The drama rocked the racing world, with fellow jockey Jamie Kah calling it one of the “darkest times of her life” after being handed a lengthy suspension for her role in the saga.
“I definitely don’t take anything for granted anymore. It’s not that I took it for granted but you just think it’s never going to end,” Kah said on the Howie Games podcast.
“I probably was a bit selfish, people were going through such a hard time and I made a mistake and I’ve had to learn from it.”
It was a similarly tough time for Zahra, who admitted to feeling “terrible” and trying to drink his way out of the pain.
“This time last year I was in Byron Bay and I was getting told off for drinking too much and it could have been my ride. Redemption day today. Just a miracle,” Zahra said.
“12 months ago I felt terrible and probably drinking my way out of it and [my wife] was saying ‘don’t drink too much. I said, ‘What do you want me to do? My horse just won the Melbourne Cup?’
“To come a full year and have redemption, with good mates of mine who train the horse and own the horse, my wife’s here, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
In a later interview, Zahra’s raw emotion continued to spill out as he let rip two ‘F’ bombs.
“The last 50 I was thinking, ‘f–k me, I’m going to win this here,’” he said. “It just went forever the last bit.
“I still can’t believe it. It’s the Melbourne Cup, it’s just unbelievable.”
Zahra drops two F-bombs hilarious chat | 00:47
