THE hangovers wear off, cup fever fades and life returns to normal after the Melbourne Cup something special is lingering after this year’s race – the knowledge that women have broken though one more barrier. It’s not all about strength, there is so much more involved, getting the horse into a rhythm, getting the horse to try for you, it’s being patient and I’m so glad to win Melbourne Cup and hopefully it will help female jockeys from now on to get more of a go.
Advertisement
The genre has been in deep trouble, probably since All Black legend Sean “Fitzy” Fitzpatrick wandered off the field with a well-chomped ear apparently oblivious to the injury or skulduggery.
She could also be heard in the video saying the same thing as police took her away.
Suddenly, she and Prince of Penzance had passed the winning post. If you know what I mean.
Mr Hoysted said the Equine Park private residential development would be a key to their long-term future, while a $5.4 million project to re-align the racetrack entry and develop equine student accommodation would make them an industry leader.
Riding Pride of Penzance in Tuesday’s race, the 29-year-old Payne was considered a 100-1 long shot and yet stunned everyone by becoming the first woman to win the cup in the race’s history, since its inception in 1861.
“The main thing that I wanted to do was thank everybody that helped me to get there and the horse to get there and helped it happen because sometimes they get forgotten”.
Yesterday I was glued to the TV set. In other words, she was as real as she could be.
She then shoved Acting Superintendent Steven Cooper backwards into a bush – breaking his glasses – just moments before he was due to update the media on crowd behaviour.
He vividly remembered Prince of Penzance, who was sold off from the farm as a yearling about 2009.
“It’s been a great experience and the horse has done us proud”.
Feeling sorry for yourself because you lost a little bit of money on the Melbourne Cup?
I went looking for more on the internet, with a lump in the throat which got bigger. (Her mother, Mary, was sadly killed in a auto accident when Payne was only six months old.) In addition to her dad’s background, two of her nine siblings and brothers-in-law, Brett Prebble and Kerrin McEvoy, are also part of the horse-racing world. The punter had the relatively unknown Prince of Penzance for the win, who had barely been mentioned in the lead-up to the race. Really? Is the situation that bad?
But it was the follow up to this that had everyone talking, when she said that anyone that thought a man could do it better could “get stuffed”. Being honest even had she picked the horse up and carried it to win I still won’t ever back a female riding a horse.
She said she was working with Down Syndrome Australia and hoped Stevie’s place in her team showed the capability of people with Down Syndrome. “I definitely thought about it [retiring]”, she said. Payne may retire and if so, she will do so in style.
Advertisement
The Kiwi breeders of the Melbourne Cup victor say they are thrilled at his success.
