Corey Brown celebrates resurgence

As his second Melbourne Cup win starts to sink in, Corey Brown believes he is still feeling his way in the jockey ranks since returning from four years overseas.

Brown won his first Cup on Shocking in 2009 when the horse scraped into the race as the winner of the Lexus Stakes with 51kg.

Rekindling, his winning mount at Flemington on Tuesday, carried 51.5kg, which puts Brown in an enviable position in handicap racing.

He has been back in Sydney since the beginning of this year after a successful stint in Singapore.

“I’ve won some big races in the nine months since I’ve been back but I still feel like I haven’t found my place yet,” Brown said.

“This feels quite surreal and it’s a different feeling from my first Melbourne Cup.

“It’s hard to explain but my family is here and my daughters are old enough to appreciate it now.

“It is so special.”

Brown and his manager identified the Lloyd Williams-owned, Joseph O’Brien-trained Rekindling as a live Melbourne Cup chance several weeks ago.

“I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn these colours,” Brown said.

“But my manager and I picked this horse out as a lightweight chance and I sent my resume in to Mr Williams. He contacted Joseph in Ireland and got back to me within 24 hours.

“It was great knowing that far out I was on a horse who was a really good hope in the race.

“I was so happy to get the ride and so happy to win.”

Brown also had a little extra help from a friend.

“I’ve got a mate who is a property developer who was looking at some land and kicked a small gold nugget,” he said.

“He gave it to me last night for luck and perhaps it was.

“Everything he touches turns to gold.”