Holding the jockeys' version of the Holy Grail of Australian racing in his hands at Wollongong PCYC yesterday, Corey Brown knew exactly what it meant to him.
Even if the 33-year-old is still sometimes amazed that the Melbourne Cup is actually his.
Speaking to a small, youthful audience - some who have spent time in the juvenile justice system, others just struggling to find employment - Brown's story is one of redemption.
Sure, he reflects on the glory of winning the Melbourne Cup aboard Shocking on the first Tuesday of November last year.
Brown smiles, knowing the win erased the bitter disappointment of being beaten by a nostril riding Bauer over the same Flemington 3200m course just 12 months earlier.
It was also the perfect remedy for his career after splitting with the Lee Freedman stable just a year after moving from Sydney to Melbourne.
But the real success for Brown was putting his life on the right track.
At the age of 16, Brown nearly walked away from riding after being involved in a race fall at Rosehill that killed another jockey, Ken Russell.
He was cleared of any blame over the incident, but it was the first of a number of personal hurdles he has had to overcome.
"When I came out of my apprenticeship, I'd never been educated and I came out when I was 18 with a lot of money at hand," he said. "I wasted a lot of it and it wasn't until I met my wife (Kylie) which became a bit of a turning point.
"I was a similar age to what the boys are now and I was heading in the downward direction rather than up, but she showed me right from wrong.
"No matter how deep the rut you think you're in, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.
"You can always get out of it what you want to achieve.
"And that's what I told the boys today, to never stop dreaming."
Brown and Kylie have three daughters, Charli, Maddy and Holli.
In 2005, Brown moved to Hong Kong to ride, but his plans unravelled when he was banned for six months for alleged drug use.
After returning to Australia, it was a chance meeting with former NSW rugby league coach Phil Gould at Melbourne's Crown Casino that helped set Brown straight.
"He embarrassed me in front of everyone, saying I was a wasted talent and I'd never get back to the heights that I'd left," he said.
"I'd never met him before and I've never seen him since, but he recognised me and gave me a bit of a verbal arse-kicking.
"It was another turning point and I just thought, 'well, I'll prove him wrong' and here I am standing here with the Melbourne Cup in my hands."
The chance to win the Melbourne Cup came only after Shocking's trainer, Mark Kavanagh, handed him the ride when his original mount Vigor missed out on order of entry.
As he returned to Sydney chasing more winners at Canterbury last night, it only took one last look at the cup in Brown's hand for his story to be an inspiration to his captive audience.
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