While jockey Michelle Payne is rightfully being saluted worldwide for becoming the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, it was trainer Darren Weir who defied industry and public perception that gave her the chance.
Thoroughbred racing is a huge industry, but it’s as chauvinistic as it is big.
As the 30-year-old Payne has found out during her frustrating career, trainers haven’t been queueing up wanting her undoubted talent – with the exception of Weir.
Payne has ridden Prince of Penzance 23 of the 24 times he’s started, but none more important and public than yesterday.
Payne turned the Prince of Penzance into the King of Flemington for a day, an unforgettable and emotional occasion.
And Payne had a short, but poignant, message to all those who reckoned a woman wasn’t strong enough to ride a Melbourne Cup winner.
“Get stuffed”.
But those two words would never be said to Darren Weir, who has also employed Michelle’s younger brother Stevie, a Downs syndrome sufferer, as a strapper for the last decade.
“Stevie’s terrific, he can follow the work sheet, he can saddle them up, he can swim with them, hose them, and he’s got a great rapport with the horses,” was Weir’s comprehensive salute.
One of the lasting memories of many yesterday was Michelle giving Stevie a big hug. They have been a team all their lives, and yesterday was the biggest day of them all.
Prince of Penzance, brought for $50,000 as a yearling in New Zealand, has had very serious setbacks in his six years with two joint surgeries and a twisted bowel that required colic surgery to became the fourth 100-1 pop to win the coveted Cup after The Pearl in 1871, Wotan in 1936, and Old Rowley 75 years ago.
In the interim three female jockeys have shown Michelle the way.
In 1987 Maree Lydon became the first aboard Argonaut Style in finishing 20th.
In 2007, Clare Windrop and Lisa Cropp rode Dolphin Jo and Sculptor to finish fifth and ninth respectively.
And 2009 was Michelle’s first Cup ride on the Bart Cummins-trained Allex Wonder, finishing 16th.
But it’s taken 155 years for history to be rewritten by a female hoop who lost her mother Mary in a car accident when Michelle was only six months old, leaving her father Paddy to raise ten kids. Eight of the kids turned out to be jockeys, but only Patrick and Michelle finished their apprenticeships.
If that wasn’t a hard enough road, Michelle has had her fair share of setbacks. She has experienced concussions, brain and vertebrae damage, resulting in many months of rehab.
But that’s all in the past, and it will be interesting to see how Michelle Payne will be treated by other trainers in the future now she’s a winning Melbourne Cup jockey.
loverofhorses
Guest
Thanks Floyd, Whilst understanding people are going gungho over the feel good story. especially in the industry, who are milking this for all it's worth due to previous bad exposure. Just wondering if the industry is willing to employ other downs syndrome people, or any other disabled people who say may have autism. And people who have no connections at all to the industry in any way in terms of family or friends already in it. Would Stevie Payne have been given this job as a strapper, if he did not come from the Payne family, and come from racing royalty ,as the industry has been calling Racing dynasties all through the Spring Carnival & before it ,to advertise the Carny. The real feel good story would be, that they open their hearts and doors to other downs syndrome or disabled people out there, who have no racing family history at all,and employ them too. That's putting your money where your mouths and tweets have been.
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
Fair enough. I hope she gets a job close to home. Cheers!
loverofhorses
Guest
Thanks Floyd. But unfortunately not in the state Hunter Valley, is and have no money to locate there,as we are poor as. But if we ever get the moolah to move, then we will be happy to look them up :)
ClarkeG
Guest
Sure there were some unlucky runners. Max Dynamite one, Criterion and Gust of Wind. Criterion was held up for a long time. Gust of Wind copped some of the interference from Frankie as it was about to follow the winner through. The winner was holding too strongly to say that any other runner could have won. Frankie did get off the fence long before Sheek seems to think. Like Criterion he just did not get the split when he needed it.
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
Where is your daughter based Loverofhorses? My sister & brother in law have just established stables on their property in the Hunter Valley. They've taken a young female trainer under their wing. It's a nepotism & chauvinism - free zone I can assure you. Maybe there's an opportunity.
loverofhorses
Guest
Nepotism is even more rife in the industry. That is , it caters to those who grew up in the industry, or have serious connections to it. Very hard industry to break into , if you have neither of those. My daughter has found that out the hard way,even though she has done the required certificates to get qualified and is good with horses. She studied with girls who were way less experienced, and hardly committed to the course,but because they had connections in terms of family and friends in the industry,They were guaranteed a job. My daughter is still busy trying to get into an industry that can be very closed to outsiders.
andyincanberra
Guest
I was going to make the exact same comment, Stevie didn't seem to be suffering at all.
Slim
Guest
The'get stuffed' message is a headline for a long time to come, especially having been said by a maligned woman. Therefore, we will be reminded as such for a long time to come so I will post my displeasure of reading and hearing this headline. To the journos, "GET STUFFED!!" ,
Phil
Guest
Horse racing's not my sport, as even for Melbourne Cup I couldn't give a stuff about a pack of horses running in circles, but well done to her; certainly a powerful story and good on her for speaking her mind and sticking at it despite the setbacks. One comment about the article though, why refer to her brother as a "Downs Syndrome sufferer?" The guy was the strapper for the melbourne cup winning horse; not sure "sufferer" is the best way to describe him. Could just say "who has Downs Syndrome".
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
Could you imagine if Tomic told TA to get stuffed if he won a major. Would never hear the end of it lol. There needs to be a law that allows winners to tell people to get stuffed.
sheek
Roar Guru
I want to make the observation that Prince Of Penzance is a much, much better horse that to be rated 100/1 for the Melbourne Cup. It seems to me, not only is chauvinism rife among those within the racing industry, but also among punters. I reckon if a male jockey had been aboard POP, his adds might have halved. His race record is 24: 7, 6, 2, which also include a first & second in the Moonee Valley Cup before winning the 'Big One'. Clearly, a much better horse than his odds suggest.
Bondy
Guest
I agree Sheek, Max Dynamite should've won relatively comfortably , Southern Hemispheres biggest Major in racing still alludes Frankie ..
nickoldschool
Guest
What a top lass she is. Am not into racing at all but after listening to her this morning on the abc I felt she really is an outstanding human being, and that goes beyond the family hardships everyone's talking about. She is eloquent yet simple, humble, hard working, not vain, didn't try to find excuses nor bag the industry, was positive without being over the top. She just seems to be a beautiful, authentic person, one who epitomises the true aussie character many talk about without having it themselves. So refreshing to see there are still ppl like this around.
sheek
Roar Guru
I agree with Brent, She definitely didn't fluke it. She probably rode the smartest race in the Cup. Payne was trailing Dettori but got off the fence before he did. She spied the gap opening & anticipated quicker, moving her mount across. When Dettori realised he had stayed on the fence too long, he reefed his mount across several others, causing massive interference. I would suggest Max Dynamite was a sure thing beaten, his chances ruined by Dettori's failure to move earlier. I'm a huge fan of Frankie's, by the way. But he genuinely screwed it. Michelle definitely rode a very smart race, way smarter than most of the guys.
Jrod
Guest
Adam Goodes - let it go. Many people stand up for minorities/equality and disadvantaged. Most are not disliked. Great effort by Michelle. Thought her speech fantastic.
Brent Ford
Guest
She certainly didn't fluke it, she went when she saw the gap open up, something Frankie Dettori was too slow to do, otherwise he might have run, she rode to the pattern of the course and got home of a slow tempo which other jockeys of fancied horses didn't do. Ridden well and deserved the win.
Perry Bridge
Guest
Okay - so - after people booed Adam Goodes for seemingly "playing the race card" will those same folk boo Michelle Payne for "playing the gender card"? Personally - great story - good on her. Great that regional Victorian centres were the hub of celebrations rather than the FIFO's at Crown and/or in Dubai or HK or Osaka or wherever.
kevin dustby
Guest
is she the greatest because she fluked a win in the melbourne cup? her older brother Patrick was a great rider with 18 group ones
Machooka
Roar Guru
Thanks for your comment sheek... yeah, what a great foot-note regards Paddy Payne's last para in their book!
sheek
Roar Guru
Thanks David, For re-living the wonderful occasion of yesterday. Great family, those Paynes. Interestingly, a book was written on the Payne family back in 1996. In the last para, patriarch Paddy apparently cautioned, with great prescience: "Maybe we've written this book too early. The youngest one (Michelle) may turn out to the best of the lot". And so it may have proved.....