Michelle Payne has officially had her last ride, confirming on the eve of the new season that she’s relinquished her jockey licence to Racing Victoria.
After 23 years in the saddle and 772 career victories, the Melbourne Cup-winning rider says it was the hard but right choice she had to make.
“I’ve handed in my licence so that’s it for me,” she said.
“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.
“(I’m now) really looking forward to the training side of things, you still get as much of a kick out of it just watching it.
“I probably get a bit more nervous, which is interesting because it gets taken out of your hands a bit.
“But at the end of the day it was always going to come to an end and I’m content and looking forward to the next step.”
Payne has previously said this season would be her last in the saddle.
That next step of the 38-year-old’s life includes forming a training partnership with her brother Patrick and potentially also her brother Andrew.
After more than two decades in the saddle since having her first ride and winner as a 15-year-old when saluting on a horse called Reigning for her father Paddy Payne Snr, she says she’s excited for the next challenge.
Hoping to once again reach the sport’s highest levels, this time as a trainer, Payne says as she reflects on all that she achieved as a jockey that she wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without the support and guidance of her family.
– racing.com
