British racegoers will get a chance to see the first woman jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, Michelle Payne having agreed to take part in Ascot’s Shergar Cup next August. Payne, the subject of worldwide media attention and comment since landing Tuesday’s race on a 100-1 shot, was promptly signed up by Ascot for the track’s annual competition between teams of jockeys from around the world.
Payne responded to the invitation by saying: “I was hoping you’d ask! It’s a real honour,” reported Ascot’s head of international racing, Nick Smith. The pair made a joint appearance on Australian television to reveal the news just minutes later.
Having beaten Frankie Dettori by half a length to the £2m prize this week, Payne sparked a renewed debate about racing’s treatment of female jockeys by saying: “It’s such a chauvinistic sport, a lot of the owners wanted to kick me off. Everyone else can get stuffed [who] think women aren’t good enough.”
Payne will join Canada’s Emma-Jayne Wilson and one other in the team of female jockeys at next year’s Shergar Cup, riding against three teams of men representing different parts of world racing. Wilson led her team to its first success in this year’s competition, three years after the female team was introduced.
