Michelle Payne

Michelle Payne

Michelle Payne on Yosei, upon winning the 2010 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield
Occupation Jockey, trainer
Born (1985-09-29) 29 September 1985
Weight 50.5 kg (7.95 st; 111 lb)
Major racing wins

Michelle Payne (born 29 September 1985)[1] is an Australian jockey. She won the 2015 Melbourne Cup, riding Prince of Penzance, and was the first female jockey to win the event.

Early life

The youngest daughter of Paddy and Mary Payne, Payne grew up on a farm at Miners Rest, a locality near Ballarat in central Victoria, Australia.[2] Her mother Mary died in a motor vehicle crash when Payne was six months old, leaving her father Paddy to raise their ten children as a single father.[2] Payne dreamt of being a winning jockey as a child, and, aged seven, told friends she would one day win the Melbourne Cup.[3] She attended Lady Help of Christians primary school and Loreto College, Ballarat,[4] and entered racing aged 15, the eighth of the Payne children to do so.[2] She has Irish Australian heritage.[5]

Career

She won in her first race at Ballarat, aboard Reigning—a horse trained by her father.[6] In March 2004, Payne fell heavily at a race in Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne, fracturing her skull and bruising her brain. As a result of her prolonged recovery period—including a further fall where she fractured her wrist—Payne was granted a three-month extension to her apprenticeship to allow her time to ride out her claim.[7]

Payne won her first Group One race, the Toorak Handicap at Caulfield Racecourse aboard Allez Wonder on 10 October 2009, and trainer Bart Cummings offered her the ride at the Caulfield Cup the following week. Payne was the third female jockey to ride in the Caulfield Cup.[8] As a first-timer in the 2009 Melbourne Cup, she rode Cummings' Allez Wonder[9] with a riding weight of 50.5 kg. The horse was placed 16th in the field of 23. In 2010 Payne rode Yosei to victory in the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield.[10]

In 2015 she gained national attention when she rode the winning horse in two races at Melbourne Cup carnival at the Flemington Racecourse. One of them was the Hilton Hotels Stakes and the other was the Melbourne Cup itself.[11][12] Payne said she was "floating on the cloud and it's a nice feeling".[11]

In May 2016, Payne suffered severe abdominal injuries in a race fall at Mildura.[13] She underwent urgent surgery for a torn pancreas which would have caused her to become a diabetic. Her return to racing remains unclear.[14]

Melbourne Cup 2015

Payne won the Melbourne Cup on 3 November 2015, riding Prince of Penzance, a six-year-old gelding with which she had a long-term association.[15][16]

The training strategy she used in the lead-up to the race included a focus on galloping, and a consistent horse-jockey relationship.[15] "...'you know what?' Payne asked. "It's not all about strength, there is so much more involved, getting the horse to try for you, it's being patient."[17]

"I want to say to everyone else, get stuffed, because women can do anything and we can beat the world."

—Michelle Payne (after her win in the Melbourne Cup)[18]

Payne was the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup in its 155-year history. She was also the fourth woman to ride in the race and was coincidentally wearing the colours of the suffragette movement: purple, green and white.[19] In an interview shortly after her Melbourne Cup win, Payne said that horse racing is a "chauvinistic sport".[20] Her short speech about the capability of women in sport was described as "unambiguous and galvanising".[21] She later stated that she hopes her win "helps female jockeys".[15]

The victory was a surprise for bookmakers and speechmakers. The horse, bought for $50,000 (a figure described by sportswriters as "pocket change" for horseflesh) was a long odds chance at 100–1,[22][23] and afterwards Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and other speechmakers were criticised for failing to adapt their pre-prepared congratulations to acknowledge the historic nature of the win.[24][25]

In October 2016, she was awarded the Don Award at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame awards. The Don Award is "awarded to a sportsperson who, through their achievements and example over the last 12 months, is considered to have most inspired the nation". [26]

References

  1. ↑ Eddy, Andrew (29 September 2009). "Payne gets El of a birthday surprise". The Age. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Hanlon, Peter (17 October 2009). "Passion & Payne". The Age. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  3. ↑ "Michelle Payne: From nasty falls to Cup ecstasy". ABC News. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Local heroes home with Cup". Stuff. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  5. ↑ Virginia Trioli (5 November 2015). "Virginia Trioli celebrates Michelle Payne's triumph". The Weekly Review. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Cormick, Brendan (17 October 2009). "Wonder woman Michelle Payne rides to forget pain of the past". The Australian. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  7. ↑ Eddy, Andrew (15 July 2005). "A life of pleasure and Payne". The Age. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  8. ↑ Stewart, Matt (17 October 2009). "The wonder of Michelle Payne". Herald Sun. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  9. ↑ Presnell, Max (3 November 2015). "Shocking truth is Flemington on a Tuesday's no place for learners". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Yosei wins Thousand Guineas at Caulfield". The Australian. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  11. 1 2 Pengilley, Adam (7 November 2015). "Michelle Payne and Darren Weir team up again to win Springtime Stakes at Flemington". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  12. ↑ Garvey, Andrew (7 November 2015). "Power Trip wins Maribyrnong Plate". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Michelle Payne in hospital after fall". smh.com.au.
  14. ↑ "Michelle Payne unveils scar from career-threatening fall". smh.com.au.
  15. 1 2 3 "Melbourne Cup: Michelle Payne lauds 'incredible' Prince Of Penzance after historic win". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 November 2015.
  16. ↑ Thomas, Ray (3 November 2015). "Melbourne Cup 2015: Michelle Payne scores historic win on $101 outsider Prince Of Penzance". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  17. ↑ Editorial (6 November 2015). "Michelle Payne stands tall for women's sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  18. ↑ Decent, Tom (3 November 2015). "Melbourne Cup 2015: Winning jockey Michelle Payne hits back at doubters after making history on Prince of Penzance". The Age.
  19. ↑ Jabour, Bridie. "'Get stuffed': how Michelle Payne and family beat odds to win Melbourne Cup". the Guardian. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  20. ↑ Radio New Zealand and agencies (3 November 2015). "Prince of Penzance wins Melbourne Cup". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  21. ↑ Dumas, Daisy (7 November 2015). "Against the odds: women trailblazing in male-dominated sports". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  22. ↑ Webster, Andrew (3 November 2015). "While Michelle Payne was winning the Melbourne Cup, the male jockeys were mauling". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  23. ↑ "Melbourne Cup 2015: Michelle Payne first woman to ride winner as long shot Prince of Penzance wins". Guardian Australia.
  24. ↑ Hull, Crispin (3 November 2015). "History made but speeches missed it". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  25. ↑ Armitage, Catherine (4 November 2015). "What Peter Cosgrove should have said about Michelle Payne". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  26. ↑ "King Wally becomes a Legend as Michelle Payne rides off with the 'The Don'". Sport Australia Hall of Fame website. Retrieved 13 October 2016.

Further reading

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