GrainCorp Silos at Birchip - Victoria

Photos by: Kyle Torney

The GrainCorp Silos at Birchip in Victoria were painted by artist Kyle Torney in March 2026.

In 1948, a 15-year-old lad from Victoria's north-west and a tired horse named Rimfire did the unexpected.

In a classic against-all-odds tale, they won the Melbourne Cup in one of the tightest finishes the famed race had seen.

Jockey Ray Neville — "the boy from Birchip" — was called up on the day before his birthday to compete in the famed race, which would run later that afternoon.

Legend has it that Neville was not told he would be in the race until that morning to ensure he got a good night's sleep and was not kept awake by nerves.

The then-15-year-old apprentice jockey had only acquired his jockey licence eight weeks prior, and the horse, a six-year-old Chestnut, was experiencing sore legs after an unsuccessful race a few days earlier.

Many expected the horse would be scratched from the field entirely, but he was given the all-clear to run.

Neither Neville nor Rimfire were seen as serious contenders. Their odds were 80-1.

The race was supposed to only be an opportunity for Neville to gain experience, but it became a life-defining moment when he crossed the line narrowly ahead of second-placed Dark Marne.

The race was the first Melbourne Cup to be decided by a photo finish, which declared Rimfire the winner by a nose.

Information taken from an ABC Melbourne story. Link to full story here.