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A female jockey and trainer duo has won the iconic Birdsville Cup in outback Queensland for the first time in its 134-year history.

More than 7000 attended the condensed Sunday program on September 4 which combined 11 races from the programs cancelled on Friday and Saturday after more than 55mm, three times more than Birdsville’s annual rainfall, flooded the track.

A 10-horse field contested the S35,000 Birdsville Cup with Darwin-based jockey Kayla Cross storming to victory on the Heather Lehmann-trained More Alpha, a horse she wanted to sell.

“This horse was a bit trying earlier on. I was keen to sell it but it’s my husband’s favourite so we kept him and I persevered,” Lehmann said.

“He’s come good and it’s a great Father’s Day present.”

The deluge turned Birdsville’s iconic red dirt track to sludge and forced the closure of all roads in and out of the small township with a population that rarely exceeds 120.

“We worked on the track until late at night. It was a case of the outback spirit coming through – we were determined that the rain wouldn’t beat us,” said Gary Brook, the vice president of the Birdsville Race Club.

“It’s been an awesome two days and I’d like to thank everyone who put in such a massive effort to get us to where we are.”

The race club hosted an impromptu phantom race day on the Saturday to entertain the thousands of punters who had made it to Birdsville ahead of the downpours.

The weekend featured concerts, special film screenings a 6km charity fun run and Fred Brophy’s famous tent boxing troupe.