Jockey Michelle Payne proved what really counts with the Melbourne Cup - and what we've all but given away to foreigners.
It's the stories. Australian stories. Inspirational and romantic stories about local battlers showing hope, loyalty, guts and passion. 
Payne delivered on Tuesday in a way that last year's winners - an English jockey riding the German-trained horse of German owners - never could.
On Prince of Penzance, she delivered in a way the 2011 winners couldn't either -not with a French jockey riding the French-trained horse of an Arab sheikh.
Who cared with those wins? Where was the public's emotional connection? But with Payne, all Australians could feel a winner, and that's the highest purpose of this great event: to bring us together.
The Melbourne Cup was once again not just a horse race but a cultural event that told us something about Australia.
Payne's win gave us the story of the girl from a battling family of 10 children, their mother dead, who dreamt of winning the Cup and is now the first female jockey to do it.
It also gave us the story of a game woman in a macho sport who on Tuesday could tell her critics: "Get stuffed because they think women aren't strong enough, but we just beat the world." Even better was the story of Payne's strapper, her brother Stevie, a beaming man with Down syndrome who was by Payne's loving side for the barrier draw and in interviews after her great win.
Then there were the other stories - of trainer Darren Weir, a bushie from the Mallee whose big dream once was to win a Stawell Cup.
Or how about the six mates who chipped in $5000 a head to buy a yearling who turned up as the rank outsider - 100 to 1 - to take on glamour horses owned by a sheikh, a Saudi prince, a UK banker, a Hong Kong lawyer and other rich guys.
This year 11 of the 24 runners were foreign-trained. In 2013, same story. The Cup has attracted trainers, owners and jockeys from around the world, which gives the event class and cash.But what stories we nearly lost this year. What did we lose last year? Have we risked our Cup for too little?