Michelle Payne: 10 quick facts about Melbourne Cup winning jockey

MICHELLE Payne today crashed through the glass ceiling of Australian racing when she rode Prince of Penzance to victory in the Melbourne Cup. Here are 10 quick facts about the champion jockey.

MICHELLE Payne today crashed through the glass ceiling of Australian racing when she rode Prince of Penzance to victory in the Melbourne Cup.

The 30-year-old and her ride were given little attention in the lead up to the race that stops the nation, but Payne steered the horse home to the overwhelming cheers of the massive Flemington crowd.

But who is Michelle Payne?

Payne kisses brother and strapper Stephen after the big win. Picture: Quinn Rooney

First: Celebrating with the Cup. Picture: AAP Image/Julian Smith

Here are 10 quick facts about the champion jockey:

1. Michelle was born in September 1985 and grew up on a property near Ballarat in central Victoria.

2. Her mum Mary died in a car crash when she was just six months old. Michelle has said in the past that her dad Paddy would talk to her daily about how much he loved Mary.

3. Michelle is the youngest of 10 kids. She has racing blood running through her veins and is the eighth Payne child to become a jockey - five of her older sisters and two brothers have also spent time as jockeys. Brother Patrick is now a well known trainer in Victoria.

Earlier this year at the Geelong Cup with trainer Gai Waterhouse. Picture: Colleen Petch.

4. Michelle rode her first race on Reigning, a horse trained by her dad, when she was just 15. And she won.

5. In March 2004, Payne had a horrific fall while racing at Sandown. Thrown headfirst onto the track she suffered a fractured skull and bruising on the brain. Her family begged her to retire from the profession but she resisted.

6. Payne’s first Group 1 win came in 2009. Riding Allez Wonder for the late Bart Cummings, she was victorious in the Toorak Handicap.

7. The next month Cummings offered Payne a ride in the Caulfield Cup where she became only the third female jockey to do so.

Role reversal: Payne and Layne Beachley.

8. Michelle has said she believes her mum rides on her shoulder with her and has protected her in a number of big falls she’s had since Sandown.

9. Before the Melbourne Cup she had amassed prizemoney of more than $20 million on the horses she had ridden.

10. Michelle Payne became the first woman ever to win the Melbourne Cup when she rode Prince of Penzance - with odds of more than $100-1.

Michelle Payne celebrates the hug victory with trainer Darren Weir. Picture: AAP

Originally published as Michelle Payne: 10 quick facts about Melbourne Cup winning jockey