Michelle Payne has fire in the belly to ride in another spring carnival

MELBOURNE Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne has vowed to bounce back from life-threatening injury for one final Cup fling before retiring.

Back together: Michelle Payne with Melbourne Cup winner Prince of Penzance at Ballarat on Monday morning. Picture: Michael Klein

MELBOURNE Cup groundbreaker Michelle Payne has vowed to bounce back from life-threatening injury for one final Cup fling before retiring.

Payne, the only woman to win the Cup when she scored an upset win on 100-1 chance Prince

Of Penzance last November, has ignored surgeons’ advice to quit race riding.

She still has a “massive fire in the belly” to saddle up for one more spring carnival.

“I’m not scared of what might happen,” she said in an interview with Australian Women’s Weekly. “I have never hopped on a horse thinking, What if? I couldn’t wait to get back on (her horse) Woody and as soon as I was on him, I knew everything would be OK.

“I still have the massive fire in the belly to saddle up for one more spring racing carnival, I love competing and feel I’ve got more to give.

“A lot of people have asked, `Why keep going, you’ve won a Melbourne Cup?’, but why wouldn’t I?

“Like any other any other sportsperson, it’s about the competition and the challenge. If a tennis player wins a grand slam, they don’t just retire. I get frustrated with people telling me I shouldn’t ride anymore, so now I just ignore it.”

PAYNE BACK WITH HER PRINCE AGAIN

A surgeon said there was a real risk of death when Payne suffered a serious injury to her pancreas in a race fall in May.

Payne resumed trackwork last month after she was stomped on after falling from Dutch Courage, trained by her brother Patrick, in a race at Mildura 10 weeks ago.

She was flown from the Mildura Base Hospital to The Alfred when her condition deteriorated and later underwent emergency three-hour surgery to repair a ruptured pancreas.

Like any other sportsperson, it’s about the competition and the challenge. If a tennis player wins a grand slam, they don’t just retire. I get frustrated with people telling me I shouldn’t ride anymore, so now I just ignore it.

- Michelle Payne

Payne said she knew she wanted to ride again when she climbed onto her gelding Woody last month.

Surgeons at the Alfred Hospital discovered Payne had also fractured three vertebrae, received serious lacerations to her liver and the pancreas was split in two.

Trauma surgeon Dr Joseph Mathew said Payne was lucky to live.

“The pancreas was our biggest worry, it was a very serious injury and there was a real risk of death,” he said. “It is quite difficult to operate on the pancreas because it’s tucked away near the back, so this was major surgery and we were crossing our fingers the graft would take because there was a risk of leakage, and if that had happened, she would have been in a lot of trouble.”

Mathew said he politely advised Payne “it might not be prudent to resume riding”.

He said Payne had been warned of the risk of serious damage to the pancreas if she falls again.

Wants back in: Michelle Payne during trackwork at Ballarat this week. Picture: Michael Klein

Payne, 30, was back on Prince Of Penzance in a 800m track gallop at Ballarat on Monday.

She also applied for her trainer’s licence after a new rule was introduced for dual jockey/trainer licences and has bought a property next to the family farm at Ballarat.

Payne said that in the first three or four days following the fall and surgery, she experienced the worst pain in her life.

“I didn’t think I could keep going,” she said.

Payne described the accident as a blessing in disguise because she had a break away from everything. “Obviously you can’t prepare for what comes your way after winning a Melbourne Cup — it’s amazing but also overwhelming.”

PAYNE BACK IN THE SADDLE: ONE WITH TWO WHEELS

Earlier this week trainer Darren Weir said a decision on whether Payne would be reunited with Prince Of Penzance in the spring rested with others.

“It’s not up to me whether Michelle rides him,” Weir said. “It’s up to the owners and what they want.

Part-owner John Richards said it was “a conundrum’’ whether Payne would continue to be Prince Of Penzance’s rider.

“We will treat it on its merits — it’s quite awkward,’’ he said. “At this stage she hasn’t got her permit back to ride and she could be a long way off race-hard fitness.

Michelle Payne and Prince Of Penzance on their historic day. Picture: George Salpigtidis

“We’ve said to her we can’t guarantee the ride. She’s got to get physically fit and then she’s also got to be riding in good enough form. She’s certainly in contention, but she’s got to do a lot of work to get back to rock-hard race fitness.”

Payne has ridden the gelding in 26 of 27 starts, most recently in an autumn cameo in Adelaide.

Prince Of Penzance was a 100-1 chance when he won Australia’s greatest race last November, and is quoted a 30-1 chance for this year’s race.

Originally published as Michelle Payne has fire in the belly to ride in another spring carnival