Jules Neale pours champagne in Melbourne Cup moment after marriage fallout

Jules Neale walked into the Birdcage looking like royalty and was handed the ceremonial sabre to perform the marquee's famous 'Tap Tap' champagne moment. The room erupted.

The champagne ceremony was a striking vindication after a brutally public year navigating her marriage breakdown and her ex's affair. Lachie had already shown his new partner Emma Field around the same tent on Derby Day, but skipped Cup Day itself.

Tension had been running high that the couple might cross paths at the event, but the awkward reunion never happened. Neale's moment stood as the day's clearest statement: she held the spotlight, alone, and the crowd got it.