Melbourne: When Michelle Payne gave her acceptance speech after becoming the first female jockey to win the Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup in 154 years aboard rank outside Prince of Penzance, she brought all the women present to their feet with her message about gender equality.
“This is such a chauvinistic sport, I know some of the owners were keen to kick me off but Darren [Weir] stuck strongly to me, and I put in all the effort that I could and galloped my horse all I could because I thought he had what it takes to win the Melbourne Cup,” she told a crowd of over 100,000 racegoers at a radiating Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to him for believing in me. I want to say to everyone else ‘get stuffed’, because women can do anything and we can beat the world.”
Payne and her Prince of Penzance beat a world class line-up of horses and jockeys including the incomparable Frankie Dettori, who had to settle for second place aboard Lonsdale Cup (G2) winner Max Dynamite, who was beaten ½ length following a scrappy finish to the 3,200 metre contest.
Criterion, last year’s Australian Derby (G1) was a competitive third and Ascot Gold Cup scorer Trip To Paris fourth of 24 starters.
Godolphin’s Hartnell finished best of three Dubai-owned horses in 15th place, while Almooqith was 18th and Sky Hunter, also racing in the colours of Godolphin 22nd.
William Buick, the rider of Sky Hunter, winner of the Dubai Gold Cup on Dubai World Cup night said: “I tried to get a smooth trip. He was three-wide the whole way around but he was in a nice rhythm.
“The pace was stop-and-start and I was in a spot that I could not do anything about. The bottom line is that he probably did not get the trip.”
Ninteen runners in the field finished within four lengths of each other with several horses’ chances being comprised by the heavy congestion in the home straight. Prince of Penzance was not one of them though as Payne rode a smart race settling him on the inside in the middle of the field before switching him out clear with three furlongs to run.
As the riders began to work on their horses, Prince of Penzance found a new set of gears under Payne’s command and took the lead which he held on to resolutely till the end.
Payne was even able to celebrate with a wave of her whip as her horse crossed the finish line, with Dettori wearing a disappointed look on his face as the hundreds of flashbulbs flashed. “I was denied a clear run, but that’s racing,” said the Italian.
Payne, 30, enjoying her place in the spotlight, said she hoped her victory would create more opportunities for female jockeys around the world.
Reflecting on what she had achieved she encouraged up-and-coming riders to keep dreaming.
“I was lying in bed last night and gave myself a chance to think and dream about it, and thought about it as if I was being interviewed after the race,” she said.
“So it’s like a dream-come-true. This horse is just awesome. He just burst to the front and his character won. It was just unbelievable.”
