A dream come true: Michelle Payne and her brother Stevie. Photo / Getty Images
A dream come true: Michelle Payne and her brother Stevie. Photo / Getty Images
As the strapper of the winning horse in Melbourne Cup said about his sister after she crossed the finishing line: "Great win, great ride, ten out of ten."
The touching story behind this year's Melbourne Cup win is of Ballarat strapper, Stevie Payne, who has Down syndrome and his sister, jockey Michelle Payne, who rode the winning mount, Prince of Penzance.
Michelle and Stevie Payne come from a family steeped in the Australian horse racing industry. Eight of the nine Payne siblings have ridden as jockeys at Australian racecourses.
Payne and her brother have an unbreakable bond. Photo / Getty Images
Not only that, but two of her brothers-in-law, Brett Prebble and Kerrin McEvoy, are past winners of the Melbourne Cup, the ABC reported.
She and her siblings were brought up by their father Paddy after their mother Mary died in a motor vehicle accident, when Michelle was six months old, the Sydney Daily Telegraph reported. The pair also tragically lost an older sister.
A former pupil of Loreto College, Ballarat, she and her brother share a flat and now they are sharing the Melbourne Cup victory, as Stevie works as a strapper for Darren Weir, the trainer of the winning horse ridden by his sister Michelle.
Jumping with joy after watching his sister become the first female jockey to win a Melbourne Cup, Stevie Payne later accepted the Tommy Woodcock Cup - named after the legendary racehorse Phar Lap's strapper - and said: "I hope you all have a great night."
Most of the Payne's other siblings were expected to be trackside for the Melbourne Cup ride, after which the 29-year-old jockey may retire from the sport which Michelle told the Age, has 'been my passion since I was five years old. I could not have thought of anything else to do'.
She has thought of retirement before - after a shocking fall in 2012 when she fractured nine vertebrae and broke ribs and another months later.
In another horrific fall in 2004, she suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.
She even lost a sister to a equestrian injury - her eldest sister Brigid died from a heart attack six months after being put in an induced coma following a fall while carrying out trackwork in 2007, the ABC reported.
In a post race interview alongside her brother, Michelle said of Stevie's work with the horses sharing the stables with Prince of Penzance, "the horses just respond so well to him".
The win topped off what had been a nervous wait for the race for Stevie Payne. He told ABC News that helping his sister to prepare to ride on Prince of Penzance in the 3200 metre race will be the first time he has worked on Australian racing's biggest day.
Stevie Payne also performed another role - drawing the winning barrier one for his sister.
"He couldn't have done it better. We only gave him two options out of the 24 [one or two - he drew one] and he did well so it was like a dream come true really," Michelle Payne said.
Stevie Payne and his sister celebrate her history-making Melbourne Cup victory. Photo / Getty Images
Stevie Payne is one of the few people with Down syndrome to work as a strapper in the racing industry, which is gradually undergoing change and acceptance of people with disabilities.
Michelle told the ABC her brother's work in the industry made it possible for other people with Down syndrome to see that they could work with racehorses too.
"Stevie can pretty much do anything, and look after himself when he's on his own," she said.
"I think he'll be great. It's great to be able to share this experience with him," she said.
"We were always the youngest two growing up and spent a lot of time together... it's great for him to have such an important role."
Darren Weir, who has employed Steven Payne at his stable in Ballarat for almost a decade, praised the man's ability and dedication to his work.
"He can follow the work sheet, he can saddle them up, he can swim them, hose them, and he's got a great rapport with horses," Weir told the ABC.
"He's really enjoyable to have around, and I think it's important for those sorts of kids to get a go at something, and if they get a go they reward you. They're all terrific horse people and Stevie is no different," Weir said.
