Cup wins makes it all worth it for Ethan Brown

Not that long ago Brown contemplated bringing down the curtain on his riding career, which started in the Northern Territory before moving to Victoria at the age of 15.

The 27-year-old lacked motivation and confidence in his body after a life-threatening fall at Flemington on March 2023 and after a brief return later that year he stepped away for another few months to get himself right.

He returned in January 2024.

Less than three years later Brown is now firmly established among Australia's elite riders and can now call himself a Melbourne Cup winner after partnering Point Of Law to a dominant 3-3/4-length win in the $10 million Group 1 over 3200 metres at Flemington.

"Don't wake me up," he said after returning to scale on Point Of Law.

"I'm lost for words. I mean, where do you start?

"This is the race that we all try and win. To be in a position at such a young age to do so, I mean, it's just indescribable."

The fall in the Australian Guineas, in which Brown rode Maximillius, left him with a lacerated liver and severed artery, kidney damage, internal bleeding and hairline fractures to three vertebrae in his lower back.

He lost more than five litres of blood.

Brown, who battled weight issues earlier in his career which led to an earlier stint on the sidelines, that time unenforced, toyed with the idea of taking up training while convalescing but was talking out of it by the man who trained his Melbourne Cup winner – Ciaron Maher.

"As they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and there were a lot of speed bumps from that fall to get it to my comeback. It was very hard at times," Brown said.

"At one stage, I didn't think I was going to come back. I didn't think it would be worth it.

"But I had a slow burn and woke up one morning and thought I needed to get back riding and it's all led to this moment now. I've just got to pinch myself."

Since returning Brown has won nine of his 14 Group 1 wins, all but one – the Gavin Bedggood-trained Mornington Glory's Moir Stakes success – trained by Maher.

He has ridden more winners – 38 – in Victoria than any other rider this season and sits in third position in the metropolitan jockey's premiership on 15 wins, seven behind Blake Shinn.