Melbourne Cup 2015: History made as Payne brings her Prince home

Michelle Payne leads the way on Prince Of Penzance. Picture: George Salpigtidis

One hundred things could take your eye. One hundred more things could make you jot down events that were piling on top of one another as swiftly and dangerously as an avalanche. But the story of the 2015 Melbourne Cup had one dominant theme. And it was Michelle Payne. It is hers to keep.

Yes, she was the first female jockey to win the world famous Cup. She is now an indelible part of Australian history. Her accomplishment transcends sport history. Her triumph is now part of the country’s consciousness. Not quite of Cathy Freeman proportions but it is breathtaking and critical to the country’s growth nonetheless.

It is one wonderful thing to be the first woman in a Cup history that started back in 1861. But it is even better when she rides the race that only champions can conjure. It is the quality of the ride that enhances the story.

From the jump she was on the rails. Not hard because she had drawn barrier one. But she conceded a spot to Frankie Dettori on Max Dynamite, who slipped onto the rails ahead of her but forced Joao Moreira on The United States to fall in behind her riding shotgun. From there she held both her nerve and her mount Prince Of Penzance together. Finding the rail was one thing, getting Prince Of Penzance to find some peace of mind another.

The six-year-old son of Pentire at times likes to rate his own galloping speed. He led the Moonee Valley Cup just 10 days ago using the lane against the fence which was considered to be the best going. So Payne sensibly chose to make the most of it. Some 600m from the finish she asked her Prince to quicken in a bid to shake the field. It was a bold tactic and it failed oh so slightly. The United States ran her down just before the post.

Yesterday the Prince wanted to go quick again. But in front of Payne and her Prince was Max Dynamite and around them a field that was unsettled and constantly jostling for a position in a field that was clumping together on the rails in search of the most favourable ground.

Payne had little option but to settle the Prince where he was. Kind hands and a persuasive voice brought the gelding back under her. And so they settled into a rhythm that would allow them to run out the 3200m with a gusto the European toffs in the race could not.

Coming towards the turn and some 600m from the finish Payne made her Melbourne Cup winning move. It would mark her ride as the best of the Cup. She eased off the back of Max Dynamite.

Soon she was three off the fence and following English fancy and Caulfield Cup placegetter Trip To Paris. And there she stayed as the field turned left and straightened for the post. Dettori opted to stay put and soon found himself locked in on the rail when he should have been out after Payne. He had time to wave goodbye to the $3.6 million first prize.

Payne’s next move would lock the Cup away. She waited long enough into the straight to find perfect balance and then moved off the backside of Trip To Paris. Or more precisely her Prince did. He was travelling so sweetly, so smoothly it was as though the Prince told his rider it was time to go. So Payne and her Prince made their dash into history.

In her wake horses were crashing into each other as they bullied for galloping freedom. In Dettori’s attempt to get back into the race he crashed his way off the fence some 300m from the finish. Such was the carnage he caused he was suspended for a month and fined $20,000. The stewards watched from their tower as Payne left this mayhem behind.

A look further back and Red Cadeaux, a 10-year-old gelding owned by the Hon Ronald Arculli, had finished his race if not his life. He was competing in his fifth Cup after finishing second three times. This time he damaged a fetlock and was taken to Werribee Veterinary Clinic. Finally Old Red might get some rest.

Dettori would finish second on Max Dynamite after being completely outridden. And Criterion, baulked when he desperately wanted to bolt down the straight, was third. Jockey Michael Walker thought Criterion unlucky but it is becoming an ever increasing lament.

The celebration after the race was like no other. No doubt because the crowd was acknowledging two special moments — the Melbourne Cup victory and the victory by Michelle Payne. While they would appear to be one and the same they most certainly were not. The Cup is won every year. The year 2015 is the first time the Cup winner was ridden by a woman. It is why the crowd embraced Payne.

Her family was in the mounting yard waiting for her to return. Which probably accounted for the crowd of 90,000. Payne is one of 10 siblings.

There are other wonderful ­angles and lines to this Cup. But this is the story of Michelle Payne. In three minutes, 23.15 seconds she rode herself into history. It is shameful it has taken so long.