Corey Brown was just a boy following his father around stables in country NSW when he sat on his first Melbourne Cup winner.Just A Dash, who won the 1981 Cup, paid a visit to Taree where Brown's jockey father Jack was based.A couple of decades later Brown is the toast of the nation and has the gold cup in his hands after Shocking's win on Tuesday."Just A Dash came to Taree where he was having an exhibition gallop and I got to sit on him," Brown said."It was great and it's every jockey's dream to

Corey Brown was just a boy following his father around stables in country NSW when he sat on his first Melbourne Cup winner.

Just A Dash, who won the 1981 Cup, paid a visit to Taree where Brown's jockey father Jack was based.

A couple of decades later Brown is the toast of the nation and has the gold cup in his hands after Shocking's win on Tuesday.

"Just A Dash came to Taree where he was having an exhibition gallop and I got to sit on him," Brown said.

"It was great and it's every jockey's dream to win a Melbourne Cup."

In the lead-up to Tuesday's race, Brown played down his defeat on Bauer last year in what was the closest photo-finish in the Cup's history.

But now that he's won the Cup, he admits 2008 was pretty hard to take.

"Last year played on my mind a lot," Brown said.

"I got sick of seeing it replayed over and over.

"At the time I didn't think I'd won but the more you see it the closer it looks."

Getting the ride on Shocking was a close call as well with Brown booked to ride Vigor if the Caulfield Cup placegetter made the field and on standby for Shocking.

Vigor was 25th in order of entry to the 24-horse field and Brown implored trainer Mark Kavanagh to wait until final acceptances when it looked as if Vigor would not get in.

Kavanagh obliged and, although it wasn't the prettiest of rides, Brown got the job done.

Although he is in the top echelon of Australia's jockeys, Brown says the Melbourne Cup experience is like no other.

"Riding in a Melbourne Cup is different from any other race," he said.

"There's so much hype and noise.

"Any jockey who says they don't get nervous - they're lying."