Michelle and Stevie Payne stay upbeat after Stevie’s debut flop at Kilmore
The unflattering race-track debut of Stevie at Kilmore drew a surprisingly upbeat reaction from Michelle and Stevie Payne.
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It was light years removed from the 2015 Melbourne Cup triumph they shared with Prince Of Penzance, but Stevie’s unflattering race-track debut drew a surprisingly upbeat reaction from Michelle and Stevie Payne.
Stevie, the two-year-old debutant, finished last in a field of six at Kilmore but not even the outwardly dismal nature of the performance doused the animation of the gelding’s owner and racing’s most celebrated strapper, Stevie Payne.
“All good,” he grinned while leading the bay back to the stalls area as his famous sister assessed the youngster’s performance.
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“It’s a learning experience, he’ll learn a lot from that,” Michelle Payne said, addressing possibly both Stevie the human’s first foray into horse ownership and Stevie the horse’s maiden race-track display.
“I thought he jumped a little bit slow and I wanted to be positive on him.
Never had so much fun coming last. First start at the races. Plenty to work on. stevie.payne #steviethehorse kilmoreracingclub 😠ðŸ‡ðŸ½ https://t.co/fK8ILIrtOg
— Michelle Payne (@mj_payne) February 27, 2020
“He just got running a bit and he would have been better off in the box seat. But he’ll learn a lot from that and benefit a lot fitness-wise and hopefully we’ll have a bit of fun with him.”
Beaten just under 11 lengths behind Tony and Calvin McEvoy’s Maccabee, Stevie led the field until the 400m mark as his owner/strapper watched expressionless while leaning over the outside rail.
When the son of Pride Of Dubai crossed the line, Stevie strolled back to the mounting yard, lead in hand – and with a huge smile on his face.
“Stevie’s, Stevie. He’s not too hard to please,” Michelle said of her brother.
“He’s just happy being here and having a horse racing that he loves.”
It was the same, according to Michelle, when Prince Of Penzance surged to a historic Cup win at Flemington five years ago.
“Stevie doesn’t say too much, regardless of what happens. He’s just happy.” she said.
Payne will assess Stevie – the horse – before making a decision on which of two races to contest on March 9.
“I was going to put him in the Magic Millions in Adelaide if he ran any good but he probably didn’t warrant his trip over there,” Michelle Payne said.
“I’ll nominate him and if the race is not as strong or a small field, but the same day there’s an 1100m maiden, which I think will be pretty good for him.”