Calling greatness: Greg Miles reflects on Makybe Diva's third historic Melbourne Cup

In 2005, as more than 100,000 racegoers held their breath at Flemington, Greg Miles took his position in the broadcast box for what would become the defining call of his career. It was his 25th Melbourne Cup, and before him stood a moment that would rewrite racing history—Makybe Diva’s bid for a third consecutive Cup victory.

“I’d called her previous wins, but you’d never expect three in a row,” Miles recalls. “On the Monday before the Cup, Bruce McAvaney said, ‘I’m sure Greg’s already got a line prepared,’ and I thought—my God, I haven’t!” He revisited her Cox Plate win for inspiration, sketching a few phrases that might fit the fairytale.

On that famous Tuesday, Miles felt the weight of the moment. “When she loomed up turning for home, I thought, I must pay her some respect,” he says. The line came naturally: ‘A nation roars for a hero!’ And then, as she powered past her rivals to claim a third Cup, history unfolded in real time. “It just happened,” Miles smiles.

 “But a champion becomes a legend—that wasn’t planned. It just came out.”

Two decades later, those six words remain etched into the soundtrack of Australian sport. For Miles, they represent not only the pinnacle of his broadcasting journey but also the magic of the Melbourne Cup itself. “When you’re calling the Cup, you’re narrating history,” he reflects. “And that day, we all witnessed something we’ll never see again.”