A new chapter for Michelle Payne

Michelle Payne was only five years old when she set her heart on winning a Melbourne Cup. At home on her family’s property in Ballarat, she remembers intently watching the race and desperately wanting to win.

“I was obsessed with the Melbourne Cup. I’d sit and watch the race and pull out my eyelashes so I could make a wish that I’d win it one day. I still find it hard to believe that I’ve achieved that,” said Payne.

“But I had no idea of what would happen to my life after winning. I crossed that finishing line and went back to the mounting yard to be interviewed and I still had no idea of the enormity of it. It was an absolute shock.”

For the quiet, hardworking jockey from a family of other quiet, hardworking jockeys and trainers, the spotlight and expectations that came with her history-making ride were sometimes difficult to navigate.

“In no way am I ungrateful for what happened after I won, but I just wasn’t prepared. There were so many requests and people asking for help and I didn’t want to let anyone down, but I simply couldn’t do everything. I’m also someone who likes some quiet, private time and so I struggled with all the attention for a while ..”

In the middle of the chaos, Payne’s haven was the 40-acre property next door to her Dad’s farm in Ballarat. She bought it with her brother, Stevie, in 2013, and it’s here that she’s focused on her career as a trainer.

“My farm is next door to Dad’s which is where I learned to ride, so this place is very special to me. I love the country lifestyle and being close to Dad and Stevie. I lived in Melbourne for 16 years when I became a jockey, but always wanted to come home when the time was right,” she said.

“I grew up in the country, love the lifestyle and there’s nothing like being out in the fresh air with the horses. It doesn’t feel like a job to me and working with Stevie is a lot of fun. We have been inseparable from as far back as I can remember and I’m lucky to have him in my life. He takes what he does very seriously but he also makes me laugh every day.”

Becoming a trainer was also always a long-term plan. Having worked with and for some of Australia’s and the world’s most respected trainers, Payne has developed a wealth of knowledge and experience that she now uses as a trainer.

“By the time I was 21 I recognised that I had to think about what I’d do when I finished riding. It had to be something I was passionate about because, as a jockey, I put all my energy into that. I think when you do something for a long time and you stop, you can get a bit lost and becoming a trainer was a logical step for me,” she said.

Payne’s first highlight as a trainer was winning at Moonee Valley on Sweet Rockette in August 2018. After raising her from a yearling, Payne rode Sweet Rockette to victory that day.

“She wasn’t an easy horse to train and she had quite bad confirmation but I took a chance with her and to get her to win a good race was exciting,” she said.

While training and riding Payne also took on a number of media and ambassadorial roles, giving her a chance to sample a different side of the industry.

Now, she has hung up the riding boots for good.

“I’ve handed in my licence, so that’s it for me,” Payne told the media. “It was a tough decision to come to and obviously took a lot of time to decide on. But I’ve achieved my biggest dream of winning the Melbourne Cup and had my time in the sun. I really enjoyed it and obviously loved the competitive side of riding and being out there and being connected with the horse.”

Payne is now looking forward to new adventures with her brother Patrick, as they plan to form a training partnership.

Most of the partnership's horses will be based at Patrick Payne's private training facility in Plumpton, 40 kilometres west of Melbourne. His 320-acre property features a 2400-metre dirt track, a 2400-metre grass track, and numerous other amenities.

Their brother Andrew might also join the team, as the Paynes begin an exciting new chapter in their racing story, something that made their father, Paddy, very happy.

“I think it’s a good idea, very good idea, excellent,” he told racing.com. “I think they’ll learn off each other and they should work at it well.”

Since May of last year, Payne has been planning her retirement, acknowledging that she had been gradually stepping away from riding. She rode her last race in March, finishing fifth on Pop Quiz at Pakenham.