Michelle Payne: My Cup memories will never fade, now it’s Katelyn’s time in the spotlight

MICHELLE Payne tells Melbourne Cup rider Katelyn Mallyon she must stay composed, adding the crowd will just hit you as soon as you enter the mounting yard.

I GUESS you might have thought last year’s Melbourne Cup day was a blur for me — far from it.

I remember so many things about it as if it happened yesterday. It’s funny.

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There have been so many occasions since when I’ve woken up and genuinely thought that it and everything that has happened since could so easily have been a dream, that it didn’t happen at all.

But it wasn’t — that day, that race, is so clear in my mind.

As it turned out, I was grateful the male jockeys’ room was so full because I had three great international riders for company in the female jockeys’ room — William Buick, Ryan Moore and Gerald Mosse.

Jockey Katelyn Mallyon shares a laugh with Nick Williams before her ride on Our Century at Bendigo this week. Picture: Colleen Petch

They were so calm and relaxed and they relaxed me.

Two were doing stretching exercises with me as we had a final look over the form before we walked out to the mounting yard. They had ridden in big races around the world and to them this was just another race.

I was OK, anyway, but they put me in the right, relaxed frame of mind.

I was on a 100/1 shot but he wasn’t a 100/1 shot to me. I never worry about what odds any horse is. I treat them all the same.

I really thought Prince Of Penzance could win. I had so much to do with him, I just knew he would run a strong two miles.

The crowd hits you as soon as you walk into the mounting yard. It almost doesn’t seem real. There’s just so much noise.

My advice to Katelyn Mallyon when she has her first Cup ride on Tuesday would be to just treat it as another race, like I did. You’ve had years of practice. Stay composed on Assign. Just do your best.

Michelle Payne crosses the line to become the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. Picture: George Salpigtidis

I remember smiling as I looked down at my brother, Stevie, who was the strapper, as we paraded before the race.

I thought “who’d have thought the two of us would ever get to a place like this?’’

Although I was really focused as we cantered to the gates, there was a funny moment. I remember two blokes handcuffed to the running rail at about the 400m mark. Craig Newitt cantered past me and said “did you see that?’’ We both just laughed.

Katelyn Mallyon will ride in her first Melbourne Cup on the Lloyd Williams-owned Assign. Picture: Colleen Petch

Barrier one gave me my best chance. The track was suiting horses drawn in and I knew if we were to win, we would need all the benefits the inside draw provided.

I was a bit worried for probably the first 1000m because Prince Of Penzance just wanted to race aggressively. The speed was so slow and he really wanted to get on with it.

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But well before we got halfway I became much happier. He was still aggressive but he was breathing well and in a good rhythm. He was rocking along.

Michelle Payne, brother Stevie and Prince Of Penzance. Picture: George Salpigtidis

By the 1800m I was in the perfect spot and all I needed to do was hold him and keep him in a rhythm.

Darren Weir wanted me to be on the back of Max Dynamite and Criterion and that’s exactly where I was, about five back the fence.

Darren and his form guru, Peter Ellis, wanted me to stay on the back of Max Dynamite but a gap opened on my outside when Trip To Paris moved out three-wide to get into the race at the 1100m.

He was the second-favourite, the right horse to take me into the race as well. I had to take that chance.

From there I was just determined to stay composed. I’ve seen so many jockeys lose their heads in big races, going too soon or getting into a bumping duel. I was determined not to be another one. I wasn’t aware of the chaos behind (when Frankie Dettori caused interference to many runners) as I went for home.

But until then it was actually a very quiet race. My other Cup ride was on Allez Wonder (unplaced in 2009) and it was a particularly rough race. There was yelling and interference everywhere from the start

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But last year was so quiet.

In the lead-up to this year’s Cup I reflected on just how special that last 150m was last year.

It was crazy, like a dream. The things that happened after it in my life have been outrageous. I remember waving to the crowd coming back to scale, which I actually felt a bit funny about because I’m not a lairy person.

And I don’t regret my comments about women not getting a fair go in racing, the “get stuffed’’ line.

Female jockeys are still underappreciated, underused.

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You look at country meetings every day of the week. The girls are riding three, four winners, against some of the best male riders around. There’s far fewer of us girls.

The three women who rode winners of majors through Melbourne Cup week did it on 100/1 shots — myself, Nikita Beriman (Tears I Cry, Emirates) and Clare Lindop (Rebel Raider, Victoria Derby).

Female riders deserve to be on better horses in these big city races. I firmly believe that.

It’s great that Katelyn has a ride this year, but it’s only the beginning in my book. I look back at last year and I always think of that old saying: “On the racetrack, everyone is equal.’’

A famous victory: Prince Of Penzance wins the 2015 Melbourne Cup. Picture: Jason Edwards