Melbourne Cup winner and The Voice star Robbie Dolan looking to take Ascot by storm at Shergar Cup

WHEN three of the four judges on The Voice turned their chairs around for Robbie Dolan, it was like no feeling he’d ever experienced.

Dolan had barely finished the second verse of James Bay’s ‘Let It Go’ when they hit their buzzers to put him through to the next round of the Australian version of the hit singing contest.

AFPRobbie Dolan won the Melbourne Cup on Knight’s Choice (right) last year[/caption]

Not known, clear with picture deskThe jockey also appeared on The Voice Australia in 2022[/caption]

Dolan will ride at the Shergar Cup at Ascot on Saturday

In the ultimate understatement, he said after finishing his audition: “That was pretty cool.”

Fast forward a few years and he was driving 90-1 shot Knight’s Choice to a shock, short-head Melbourne Cup victory. That was a good deal cooler.

Since winning the ‘race that stops a nation’, eight years after he moved Down Under, the Irishman’s feet have barely touched the ground.

It’s a far cry from his early days as a jockey, when he was apprentice to Yorkshire-based trainer Adrian Keighley, who was operating in Ireland at the time, and struggling for his big break.

For so many in the racing industry, Australia has become the land of opportunity and it was no different for Co Kildare man Dolan. As it turned out, not just on the riding front.

Dolan, 29, said: “Somebody sent in a video of me singing and one of The Voice producers emailed me and asked me if I’d be interested in going on the show.

“One thing led to another and I got to the next stage and then the next stage, before I knew it I was in the final 10 or 15 singers.

“I think 25,000 auditioned and only 100 or so people get to the stage where you sing in front of the judges. I knew I could sing a bit but you’ve seen it on the X-Factor years ago, people tell you you can sing and they end up being terrible. I didn’t want to be that guy!

“Thankfully it went well. Rita Ora was my mentor and she was a legend. The only judge who didn’t turn round for me was Keith Urban.”

He grinned: “Do you reckon he’d have turned around for me if the show was filmed after I won the Melbourne Cup?”

What a great question. He is definitely getting recognised when he is out in Sydney or Melbourne since his career-defining win last November.

Winning the Melbourne Cup is enough of a boost to any jockey’s profile, but when a video of Dolan duetting with Ronan Keating after the race went viral, it went to another level.

“That was good craic,” he says.

While he still makes a few quid on the side singing, it’s the riding that has his full attention and winning Australia’s biggest race has had a profound impact.

Dolan said: “The Melbourne Cup has changed my life, it’s one of those rare races that’s more than just a race.

“There are only a few of them in the world that are like it, the Melbourne Cup, the Arc, the Kentucky Derby.

“I didn’t think I’d get the opportunity to ride in it, and then to win it on my first try was very special.

“After the race you get recognised walking around, and it’s really driven me to get off my backside and do more, because I want that feeling again.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t win it, when you win those big races doors open and you have to jump at the opportunities when they come.”

By ‘here’ he means Ascot for the Shergar Cup, where he will ride as part of team GB and Ireland alongside Hollie Doyle and Joanna Mason.

He will have five rides in today’s unique team competition, which will be broadcast around the globe.

He said: “It’s an honour to be here riding against some of the world’s best.

“I watched it as a kid growing up, watching the likes of Mick Kinane and Kieran Fallon and Richard Hughes riding here. It means a lot and I can’t wait.”

He’ll have a flying visit back home to Ireland tomorrow before returning to Australia next week.

He said: “I aim to be having a pint of Guinness by 3pm. I haven’t had any in Australia. It doesn’t travel well.”

The same cannot be said of Robbie Dolan.