By Melissa Singer and Stephen Brook
The whooping, mostly female crowd at the annual Crown Oaks Club Lunch got more than chicken or fish when Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Robbie Dolan joined singer and honorary Australian Ronan Keating on stage for a celebratory singalong.
On top of proving quite handy on top of a horse, Dolan, as some will by now know, has a great voice. He turned three chairs as a contestant on The Voice two years ago and made it to the top 24.
At Flemington on Tuesday, Dolan mentioned his love of Keating in the aftermath of his Cup win. The Irish crooner heard the mention on a TV in the committee room and galloped down to the yard where he embraced the winning jockey.
On Wednesday, the Irishmen joined forces in front of a fascinator-clad crowd old enough to remember Boyzone to sing When You Say Nothing At All and the classic Brown Eyed Girl, Dolan clutching the winning jockey’s cup the whole time.
But when it came to the finale, Keating’s hit, Rollercoaster, Dolan couldn’t keep up his on-stage charm and admitted to not knowing the words.
But as the most popular guy in the room — by a photo finish over the ebullient Keating — Dolan was easily forgiven.