Melbourne Cup winning jockey turned trainer Michelle Payne will look to continue her stables positive performances after purchasing a number of yearling horses from overseas.

Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne says she’s looking to continue her early trainer success after acquiring a number of lightly race two-year-old horses for her new Sunshine Coast stable.

Melbourne Cup winning jockey turned racing trainer Michelle Payne says the number of two-year-old horses at her new Sunshine Coast stables was growing rapidly.

The dual license holder’s first horse raced at Corbould Park on Sunday, just six months after Payne announced she would establish a second stable on the Coast.

Her other base is at Ballarat in Victoria.

Queensland stable is run by fellow Group 1-winning jockey and close friend Nikita Beriman.

Payne, who won the Cup on Prince Of Penzance and whose story was turned into Ride like a Girl film in 2019, said the new venture was just getting started.

“We’ve been able to purchase a number of nice babies earlier in the year and there’s some overseas horses coming over as well which is very exciting,” she said.

“This season is about just trying our best with the horses we have but the whole thing about racing is you never know what you’ve got and you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a champion.”

Michelle Payne celebrates after winning the Melbourne Cup on Prince of Penzance at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne in 2015. Picture: Julian Smith

Seven-year-old gelding Smokin‘ Pierro kicked off the stable’s Sunshine Coast campaign on September 5 finishing fourth behind the short priced favourite, Genuine Al.

“He (Smokin‘ Pierro) had been racing well down south but I thought the change of environment would do him a world of good as it will for a number of other runners we have,” Payne said.

The smaller boutique stable holds 19 horses.

Payne said having two stables was incredibly helpful.

“I think it’s really nice to have the options of training down in Victoria through the Spring, Summer and Autumn and then having the flexibility of training up in Queensland through the Winter and through those colder months depending on the weather,” she said.

“Being able to allow those horses to get some sun on their back or to go down to the beach as well is really favourable for us.”

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne says being a boutique stable allows her to focus and gain a better understanding of each horse as an individual. Picture: Alex Coppel

The now 35-year-old and youngest of 10 children said working alongside Beriman was an added bonus.

“I’m really happy with the team we’ve got set up on the Sunshine Coast and to Nikita has been a dream to work with,” she said.

“She’s 100 per cent motivated and she’s as dedicated to the team as I am which is all you can ask for.”

Payne said the change from jockey to trainer had been enjoyable.

“I just thought that from my early 20s I needed something to go into after retiring as a jockey which is why I put these plans in place,” she said.

“The next step for me was to be a trainer so I travelled all over the world working alongside different elite trainers, gaining different ideas and experience that side of the industry.

“For me to now do it my own way and put it all together is really fun and I’m loving it.”