Powerhouse women of racing launch 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup Carnival in style
To celebrate the launch of the 2024 Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Herald Sun asked powerhouse women of racing, including legendary trainer Gai Waterhouse and talented jockey Michelle Payne, what they love most about the event.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Women in racing have made a profound and powerful impact both on and off the track.
Alongside mighty mare of the turf, Makybe Diva — history-making winner of three Melbourne Cups — are some of the biggest names in the industry who gathered at Flemington for an exclusive Herald Sun photoshoot to launch the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
They are Gai Waterhouse, legendary trainer; Michelle Payne, the only female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup; Kylie Rogers, the first female chief executive of the Victoria Racing Club; model Montana Cox, a regular fashion plate; Ariarne Titmus, Olympic swimming champion and Melbourne Cup Carnival ambassador; and rising female jockey Winona Costin.
For each of these leading ladies, the Melbourne Cup Carnival holds a special place.
“To marinate in this amazing powerhouse of women in industry is very cool,” Rogers said.
“Makybe Diva was being diva I must admit, but she’s incredible. I feel really inspired.”
Waterhouse, who won the 2013 Melbourne Cup with Fiorente, said: “They’re all such professionals, they all love racing and they’re all different walks of life in racing.”
Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Titmus added: “I’ve been exposed to a lot of powerful women in the sporting world, this is truly an honour.”
Payne, who won the 2015 Melbourne Cup on Prince of Penzance, said: “It’s wonderful to be surrounded by such powerhouse women to support something that’s very close to my heart in the Melbourne Cup.”
To celebrate the launch of the Melbourne Cup Carnival at Flemington on Monday, the Herald Sun asked each of the women what they love most about the event.
Gai Waterhouse, legendary trainer
“I don’t see myself as a woman, I just see myself as a horse trainer. I love it, I love the spring carnival in Melbourne. I love the way the VRC do it, no one does it better. The energy, the time they put in, the attention to detail, it’s fabulous. I think it’s evolved very well, the four days, with a day in between is excellent and they’ve orchestrated it very well.
“My favourite memory would have to be winning the Melbourne Cup with Fiorente, it was a dream come true. Winning the MacKinnon with All our Mob, winning the Newmarket with him and doing the double in just six months time hadn’t been done before. All fabulous moments.”
Kylie Rogers, first female CEO of Victoria Racing Club
“There’s a uniqueness about the Melbourne Cup Carnival. Melbourne Cup is the race that every owner, trainer and jockey wants to win. It’s the race that stops the nation and it’s the beautiful combination of celebration, competition, hope and Australian pride and I’m really honoured to be leading this Club.
“What a great way to celebrate the outstanding females in our sporting industry. Racing royalty in Gai, incredible Ariarne, Michelle Payne the one and only female jockey to win a Melbourne Cup … it’s been awesome to marinate in all of that and celebrate the strength of great women that are in our industry.”
Michelle Payne, the only female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup
“It’s the elite racing, it’s what we train for, it’s what you want to be competing in because I think anyone who is a sportsperson is competitive and you want to be the best at your craft. Melbourne comes alive with racing after football and there’s just that electric feeling through the city. My brother Patrick rode in the Melbourne Cup when I was five and I became obsessed with it then and I remember the next year when Let’s Elope won, it just blew me away. She was a champion in her own right, she won the Caulfield Cup in the lead up, she was going for four in a row with the Melbourne Cup and Bart Cummings the legend was trainer and just the enormity; I have such great memories of that as a young kid and just absolutely fell in love with it. I loved it when it was the past and I love it now. It’s gone to another level with the internationals and the glamour side of things. All the celebrities that come out to watch it, they really embrace the race that stops a nation, so it’s fantastic.”
Ariarne Titmus, Olympic swimming champion and Melbourne Cup Carnival ambassador
“It’s the best week of the year, outside the Olympics. It’s just a celebration of everything that’s wonderful in the world — sport, people, fashion, showcasing our beautiful country. It’s almost the epitome of the Australian lifestyle to be honest. I’m very excited to be back on board with the VRC, it’s honestly the best gig in town. I remember in 2022 bringing the Lexus Melbourne Cup in on horseback before 100,000 people, it was such an honour. I’ll be at Lexus Melbourne Cup Day and TAB Champion Stakes Day and the VRC Oaks lunch at Crown.”
Montana Cox, model and regular racegoer
“I’ve been going to the races since before I was modelling so maybe 16 or 17 years of horse racing. I love it and it’s always such an amazing week. I love getting down to Melbourne every time, there’s a lot of buzz in the city. It holds something special. I love the fashion, the glam, even the jerseys, I love everything about it. I’ll be there at Penfolds Victoria Derby Day.”
Winona Costin, rising female jockey
“This whole Carnival means a lot. It piqued my interest when I was very young coming from a racing background and the Carnival is just so special. It’s been great with other riders like Michelle Payne, Kathy O’Hara, it makes my job a lot easier these days, it’s not just a male world anymore. Kathy O’Hara, she spent a lot of time at Kembla Grange and I grew up there so she was a big idol for me. Hopefully it’ll be a big week for me and I’ll get a ride in the Melbourne Cup.”
Originally published as Powerhouse women of racing launch 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup Carnival in style
Join the conversation
Magistrates taught how to avoid having pedophiles deported
Victorian magistrates have been given training on how to sentence violent migrant criminals such as pedophiles and drug dealers so they don’t get deported at the end of their jail term.
Read more
New blood test to ‘revolutionise’ detection of Alzheimer’s disease
A simple and cost effective blood test will be able to detect Alzheimer’s disease quicker and more accurately, Melbourne researchers at The Florey Institute have found.
Read more