First ever female jockey to win Melbourne Cup stuns chauvinists

Jockey Michelle Payne has led the path for female jockeys in the sport as she has become the first female to ever win a horse race. Australia’s Melbourne Cup was held at Flemington Racecourse in the A$6.2 million race on Tuesday. The horse race is known to bring the entire nation to a standstill for three and a half minutes. By winning the race, being the only female jockey among 24 other male jockeys, Payne has proved that women can participate in the race and win it too.

Payne rode on a horse name Prince Of Penzance which is trained by Darren Weir. She was followed by Max Dynamite and then Criterion. The bout was considered to be highly impossible due to the long odds chance of 101-1 and yet Payne’s win seemed effortless on her part.

On being asked about her feelings after her historical win, Payne said that it was “unbelievable and a dream come true.”

She also talked about the ugly male-dominated face of the game. “It is such a chauvinistic sport, some of the owners wanted to kick me off the horse. But I gave it everything I got. I want to say to everyone else get stuffed, they think women aren't strong enough but we just beat the world,” said Payne as reported by Mashable.

Payne was very upset of the way women were treated in the sport and she took it upon herself to change that. This win certainly has brought the negative side of the sport quite clearly. After her win, her trainer Weir also congratulated Payne.

“Michelle, you’re a credit to what you have done for the industry, and what a wonderful ride,” said the winning trainer, Darren Wier as stated in Telegraph.

This will definitely bring more confidence to other female jockeys who had been waiting to ride in an official race. One more barrier has been broken with Payne winning the horse race not just for herself, but for the entire womanhood. Her efforts have spoken for herself and others.

Picture Credit- Racing