Jamie and Ben Melham have renovated and are now selling 131 Koornalla Cres, Mt Eliza.
Melbourne Cup winning jockey Jamie Melham and her horse racing husband Ben are preparing to sell a Mornington Peninsula renovation they’ve been tackling between rides.
Jamie became just the second woman in history to win the Melbourne Cup earlier this month, a history-making ride that also made her the first to win the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double.
She’d previously become the first jockey to win 100 races in a single Melbourne Metropolitan racing season.
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Her partner, Ben, was also riding in this year’s Melbourne Cup field, and has ridden 22 Group One winners in a career with more than 1400 wins overall.
The pair also made headlines earlier this year as they tied the knot at Rosemont Homestead near Geelong.
But extraordinarily, while they were preparing for their nuptials and galloping through the rigorous training that comes with their careers, they were also renovating a four-bedroom Mt Eliza house.
The home’s open-plan living area and kitchen embraces the location’s “treehouse” vibe.
amie Melham raises the Melbourne Cup aloft with co trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy. Picture: Michael Klein.
Within a week of some of the biggest dates of Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival, the pair is now selling the 131 Koornalla Cres, Mt Eliza, property that they have renovated alongside Jamie’s parents, Winter Olympic speed skaters John Kah and Karen Gardiner-Kah.
“We did our best for a couple of Olympians and a couple of jockeys” Ben said.
While it was the horse racing duos’ first time renovating a home, Jamie’s father built her first home in the Adelaide Hills.
He and his wife moved into the property during the renovation to ensure it could meet his exacting standards, with Jamie and Ben joining in around their busy schedules for what became a family bonding exercise and a lot of fun.
“I have never seen anyone work like them in my whole life,” Ben said.
Expansive views give the home a feeling of being a tree change, but it’s also walking distance to the beach.
Ben Melham atop Smokin’ Romans on their way to the barriers prior to the running of the Melbourne Cup: Picture: Getty Images
Key changes to the home include the addition of a bathroom, as well as overhauls of the two existing ones and the old cedar kitchen.
They’ve given it a light and bright coastal feel, with pale blue tilework in the kitchen splashbacks and bathrooms echoing Port Phillip Bay nearby.
The goal was to make it a perfect fit for a family, or for anyone who appreciates a home with a spacious walk-in wardrobe for their racewear — be it on the track, or for fashions in the field.
“It was a good home, there was nothing wrong with it (structurally), but it was very outdated,” Jamie said.
“But I really liked the treehouse vibe it has going. And I wanted that to be experienced from the kitchen and everywhere.
“And I fell in love with it during the renovation. If I could pick that house up and put it on my property, I would be very, very happy. But I need 20 acres for all my horses.”
With Earimil Creek out the back and the bay at the end of the road, the home is well located.
A second living zone in the home offers space for residents to spread out in.
With their hard work preparing for this year’s racing meets already having paid off, their wedding had been a highlight, and they’re now hoping the time spent on the home will also be a win as they prepare to sell.
Jamie admitted that having been riding since their teens, renovating was tougher than the average Group One race — but a lot of fun.
“It certainly didn’t scare us off, and it’s been good to put our minds to something different,” Ben said.
“We might even look into buying another to flip.”
Crowder Community Real Estate’s Will Crowder is handling inquiries for the $1.395m-$1.525m listing and said the home had been “completely transformed” inside.
“This is out by itself,” Mr Crowder said.
Pale blue tiles in the splashbacks, and a light and bright decor give the kitchen a sense of coastal cool.
The home’s bathrooms were also renewed — including an extra one being added to the floorplan.
Noting homeowners in the area typically bought and stayed put long term, Mr Crowder said with all the work now done he was backing a professional couple or maybe a young family as the most likely to buy the 1336sq m property — though he wasn’t ruling out a downsizer, or someone looking for a holiday rental or weekender.
Vendor advocate Michael Sier from Buyer X said after the family bought the property two years ago, the renovation had made the most of the home’s elevation and tree-lined views.
“And you can walk to the beach, so it’s a tree and sea change,” Mr Sier said.
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