The Melbourne Cup-winning rider has been riding work for the past couple of weeks as she determines when and if she will resume her riding career.
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Well, she has for the Group 1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield on August 27, only the second time they will be separated in a (then) 26-start affair that started with a Stawell maiden in March, 2012, and culminated in the grail that is last year’s Melbourne Cup and global stardom. “Why work your a– off for people who don’t appreciate what you do and write you off anyway”.
Part-owner John Richards said a decision on who will ride Prince Of Penzance has yet to be finalised, but Payne will not be getting the mount.
This was later deleted – a flurry of phone calls ensured, without much enlightenment.
“She’s had medical advice not to ride again, which she’s chosen to ignore”, Richards said. It is also important for the hor.
Payne has been on the sidelines recovering from a fall at Mildura in May that left her hospitalised and requiring pancreatic surgery.
“We wish she would rest on her laurels”. ‘She’s keen, she’s riding, she’s working very hard’.
‘His [Prince Of Penzance] first start is coming up and if she can’t ride him, we’ve then got to look around and have someone ready to replace her’.
‘I’m a bit surprised they’ve taken it off her.’ Said her father Paddy.
Payne has kept a low profile since her return to trackwork and even some of her closest friends have not heard back from her for several days.
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Last year, Payne famously criticised Prince Of Penzance’s owners just minutes after she rode the $101 outsider to victory. “Everyone else can get stuffed [who] think women aren’t good enough”.
