Lady jockey makes history in Melbourne Cup

Michelle Payne became the first lady jockey to win the Emirates Melbourne Cup, a Group One handicap held at Flemington Racecourse in Australia.

Outsider

Payne, 30, rode 100-1 outsider Prince Of Penzance to victory in Australia’s premiere race, becoming the first women to win the Melbourne Cup in its 155 year history.

The Darren Weir-trained gelding sawoff 23 rivals to claim the £2m first prize. Hefinished half a length in front of Frankie Dettori’s mount Max Dynamite, while Criterion was third.

Dettori was later given a one-month ban after admitting to careless riding.

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Michelle’s win has made headlines around the world. “It’s a very male dominated sport – but you do get rewarded for hard work,” she said. “I’m so grateful to Darren Weir my trainer. If you showed up at gallops or the trials, he had a lot of horses, and always looked after his riders. So I kept showing up and hoped a bit of luck would come my way.”

There are very few lady jockeys competing at the top level, and not many can claim to have won a Group One.

“I finally got the opportunity to show we [female riders] are as good as the boys,” Michelle added.

Michelle is the youngest of 10 siblings, and was raised by her father after her mother died in a car crash when Michelle was just six months old.

She’d dreamed of becoming a jockey – and winning Australia’s most famous race – since she was a child.