Melbourne Cup 2015: Michelle Payne hopes success paves way for female jockeys to follow in her footsteps
MICHELLE Payne hopes her Melbourne Cup success on Prince Of Penzance may have paved the way for other female jockeys to follow in her footsteps.
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THE doubters can “get stuffed.”
Michelle Payne rode her way into history and hopes her Melbourne Cup success on Prince Of Penzance may have paved the way for other female jockeys to follow in her footsteps.
With only a handful of other women having been legged up in a Melbourne Cup, Payne wrote the newest chapter into the 155-year history of the race when winning on the 100-1 outsider on Tuesday at Flemington.
Payne vented her frustration at what she sees as chauvinism in racing, where she’s judged by different standards to her male rivals.
“I feel a lot of the time I get taken off, because ‘she was unlucky’ or ‘she couldn’t get out’ or ‘she missed the start.’ Then the guys get on next time and do the same, but they say ‘he was unlucky.’ That just drives me crazy,” she said.
“A lot of the time I’m way more dedicated than those guys because I get less opportunities and try so hard in every race. It’s just frustrating.
“I don’t know whether this will help (other female riders), but I certainly hope it does.”
She also revealed some of Prince Of Penzance’s owners had wanted her replaced, but trainer Darren Weir stuck solid.
“It’s fair to say I drove Darren mad about this horse because I knew some of the owners wanted to take me off,” she said.
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“I just kept showing up and doing all of his gallops and just annoying the hell out of Darren to keep me on. He always said ‘just win on it and don’t give them a chance to take you off’.
“The Moonee Valley Cup I was under a lot of pressure that day because if I didn’t ride him well I knew there would be a big chance they would put somebody else on in the Melbourne Cup.
“I’m just so grateful that Darren stuck with me.”
The youngest of 10 children, Payne lost her mother in a car accident at the age of six months and was brought up by her father Paddy.
As the babies of the family, she and brother Stevie teamed up and their partnership was a key part of the fairytale win.
“Racing is in my blood. I’m the youngest of 10 kids, seven of my brothers and sisters were jockeys. I was always going to be a jockey. It’s my passion, it’s a game I love,” Payne said
“This horse cost $50,000 and he won a $6 million race. That’s what racing is all about, anyone can compete.
“Stevie is such a massive part of it. He can do as good a job as any of the staff down at Darren’s stables.
“It’s great that he’s been able to share this experience with me. Growing up, we were always so close, being the youngest two of 10 and we got left on our own to play together and grow up that way.”
Payne’s career almost came to an end in 2004 when she fractured her skull in a heavy fall at Sandown.
She suffered short-term memory loss for two months and her father wanted her to retire.
Payne thought about it too, but the love of racing and the fact she had seven siblings who were also jockeys drove her to come back.
She said her ambition was to be “better than my sisters” and in winning the Cup, she has also outdone her brother Patrick — a champion heavyweight jockey, but never a winner of Australia’s most famous race.
“It’s just awesome. My family is such a huge support, my sisters are all here. It’s fantastic. To share it with them and I know my dad would be so proud at home,” she said.
Retirement doesn’t look like an option in the short term, with 30-year-old Payne set to take advantage of new rules that will allow jockeys to also have a training license at the same time.
“I always thought if I won a Melbourne Cup I would retire (but) I am so much looking forward to the dual licensing next year,” Payne said.
“A lot of the time you can’t ride horses as you want, because you have to keep owners and trainers happy. You have to teach horses to win and bring them through their grades.
“My real aim is to get my (training) license and prove there is something in that. I’m pretty excited.”
Originally published as Melbourne Cup 2015: Michelle Payne hopes success paves way for female jockeys to follow in her footsteps
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