Michelle Payne backs Aussie horses to win at Royal Ascot carnival

06/20/2023

EXCLUSIVE: Michelle Payne reveals why Royal Ascot is as special as winning the Melbourne Cup after rubbing shoulders with royalty – and has a hot tip on the surprise Aussie horse she thinks can shake things up at the famous carnival

Payne will be on ITV’s broadcast for Royal Ascot
Melbourne Cup-winning jock likes Aussie chances
She explains the most special honour of her career

She’s won a Melbourne Cup, been the subject of a movie and ridden over 750 winners, but Aussie jockey Michelle Payne’s new career highlight might just be joining the broadcast team for the Royal Ascot carnival.

The 37-year-old became the first (and currently still only) woman to win a Melbourne Cup when she stunned the racing world by winning the world’s most famous turf races on 100-1 shot, Prince of Penzance.

She famously called horse racing a ‘chauvinistic sport’ after her historic win, saying: ‘I want to say to everyone else, get stuffed, because they think women aren’t strong enough but we just beat the world’.

And she’s only gone from strength to strength since, making an incredibly successful transition to training as she continues to ride winners on the track.

But she told Mail Sport being a host on ITV’s coverage of the iconic Royal Ascot carnival is one of the biggest honours of her career, as she prepares to be a guest contributor on Tuesday and Thursday, aptly for Ladies Day.

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne poses in London as she prepares to make her TV debut in Britain on ITV’s coverage of the Royal Ascot carnival

Payne won the 2015 Melbourne Cup in one of racing’s most historic moments Down Under, piloting 100-1 shot Prince of Penzance to victory

The famed Royal Ascot straight is set to host a blockbuster week of racing

‘I can’t wait. I’ve been so looking forward to this for the probably about six months now, and can’t wait to be joining the team. It’s an honour in itself,’ she said in an exclusive interview.

‘I think one of the things I love about commentating and being on the team broadcasting at any race meeting is just my experience that I’ve learned over the years riding and training, and being able to bring a different perspective to the people at home.

‘There’s so many intricate details that I’m sure people aren’t aware of, and I think being a part of the Ascot team is just a whole different level from home because obviously the prestige of it.’

Payne knows what it is like on the other side of the fence at Royal Ascot, too.

She produced an impressive ride to almost pilot yet another huge roughie (67-1) to victory when she was fifth aboard Kaspersky in the time-honoured G1 Queen Anne Stakes in 2017.

In front of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Payne said she had ‘never experienced anything like it’ in her life, and said even without the racing-mad monarch, the carnival would continue to be incredibly special for punters and royals alike.

It [riding at Royal Ascot] felt like being in the Melbourne Cup. It was just amazing, the atmosphere and the adrenaline and the crowd,’ she said.

‘I remember getting cheered from both sides of the track all the way down to the barriers all the way down the straight for the Queen Anne.

Queen Elizabeth II, who never missed a carnival until her heath issues last year, will be greatly missed at Royal Ascot but her family is set to continue on the grand tradition

Royals like Prince William and wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, are set to feature prominently come race day

Payne reserved high praise for Zara Phillips and her love of racing and horses – which includes appearing in the Olympics for Equestrian

The jockey piloted Kaspersky at Royal Ascot in 2017 (pictured arriving on track)

‘It was unbelievable and I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life. It was unbelievable to be there.

‘It just felt so special to be riding in front of the Queen.

‘I loved the Queen and just to be there riding in front of her was just one of the most special moments.

‘I feel like they will be racing honour of her [Queen Elizabeth], and that the royal family will still continue to make it really special.

‘Camilla loves the racing and I’ve been lucky enough to meet Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall, they love racing.

‘They’re there all the time, so I feel like it’s a tradition they’ll carry on, and I really hope they do.’

Of course Payne is not the only Aussie in action, with four horses live chances to win at the famed track: superstar filly Coolangatta, The Astrologist, Cannonball and Artorius.

The latter will need no introduction to UK racing fans, and was luckless in defeat (a common occurrence) in the G1 Platinum Jubilee last year after he was held up at a vital stage.

Aussie fans at Royal Ascot have four local runners to cheer on this week – and Payne thinks three in particular have huge chances at winning

Coolangatta (left), Brett Prebble riding Cannonball (centre) and James McDonald riding Artorious (right) preparing for their Ascot challenges on May 29 at Flemington

https://youtube.com/watch?v=FyeTYPYflYA%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US

He was yet again luckless in the G1 July Cup at Newmarket, but Payne believes superstar Australian-based jockey James McDonald can get the job done this time around.

‘Artorius ran really well last year over here and he just deserves to win one of these races, doesn’t he. I really hope he can win for the Freedman team and J-Mac can get him home,’ she said of the galloper ahead of Saturday’s G1 Jubilee Stakes.

‘His racing pattern doesn’t help himself, but that’s that’s the way he races, so you have to go with that. But hopefully he gets the luck on Saturday and we get to see the see him.’

Two-time Group 1 winner Coolangatta, has been popular with punters – and Payne said she is excited by the three-year-old filly, just like the rest of Aussie racing fans are ahead of her run in the G1 King’s Stand Stakes on Tuesday..

‘Looking at her work since she’s been in England, she’s really come on. You could see her improvement and you can tell by the feel from around the stable,’ Payne said of the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace runner, who will also be ridden by McDonald.

‘I think she’s going to be very, very hard to beat. She’s going to be in it for a long way and give us a lot of excitement.’

Superstar Australian-based jockey James McDonald, pictured after winning the G1 King’s Stand Stakes last year will be piloting two of the top Aussie hopes this week

Bet Right CEO Anthony Waller told Mail Sport that the last-start winner in the G1 Black Caviar Lightning had seen good support in the market.

‘We’ve had good support the Maher-Eustace runner Coolangatta, with gun Aussie hoop James McDonald in the saddle,’ he said, with the filly currently flirting with favouritism and paying $4.75 on Bet Right.

‘The Australian bookmakers seem to think there is a fence around the country, not giving the Australian public the prices on offer in London on Coolangatta, so Bet Right’s exclusive Price Watch will be matching biggest UK bookmakers and offering the best price on Coolangatta right up until the jump.’

But Payne tipped a surprise and ‘exciting’ runner to upset Coolangatta and is her pick of the Aussie horses in the carnival at huge value.

And I think we’ve established that she knows a thing or two about roughies.

The jockey, trainer and presenter took in some of the F1 action at the Australian GP recently

‘The surprise one I think it going to be really hard to beat is Cannonball,’ she said of the Paul Snowden runner, that will be ridden by 32-time Group 1 winning Aussie jockey, Brett Prebble.

‘Obviously he’s not right down in the betting, but I think he’s sort of gives them a bit of a shake and he’s drawn down the outside and at Royal Ascot they often finish down the outside.

‘You don’t want to forget about him. He’s just a ball of muscle. So I think it’s really exciting to watch him.

Waller backed up those thoughts, saying the talented-yet-inconsistent colt was great value in Bet Right’s market at $17.

‘There has a sprinkle of money for the Peter Snowden-trained Cannonball with Aussie Brett Prebble on board, and he has firmed from $19 to $17,’ said Waller.

‘At the end of the day, the Snowdens didn’t catch a 24 flight just for the tea & scones.’

Payne with cult icon brother Stevie, Prince of Penzance’s strapper after her 2015 Melbourne Cup victory. She likes the look of a roughie in the first race of the carnival

Another at big-value odds has also caught Payne’s eye, with David Simcock’s four-year-old Light Infantry ($17 on Bet Right) set to race in the first race of the carnival, the G1 Queen Anne, ahead of a likely tilt at the Cox Plate – where he is currently on the fourth line of betting.

‘And there’s another horse that came out to race in Australia last year, a horse called Light Infantry,’ said Payne.

‘He’s in the first race and he’s a he’s a European horse, but I think he’s coming back out for a race like the Cox Plate and he’s a horse that’s going to be really exciting.’

Of course it’s not all about the horses, royals or punters.

One of the greatest jockeys in history, Frankie Dettori, will be riding in his last Royal Ascot carnival after an astonishing career that has so far yielded an incredible 2281 winners that includes 210 Group 1s.

The hugely-popular rider has been a huge support for Payne as she dealt with going from relative obscurity in the minds of regular Aussies to being responsible for one of the most iconic moments in sporting history Down Under.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=NO7Ab0Hpeqg%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US

Legendary jockey Frankie Dettori, pictured with the Queen after winning the Gold Cup on Stradivarius in 2019, has been a huge role model for Payne

‘I’ve known Frankie since I was 18 years old. He’s just so inspirational in the way that he is,’ Payne said of their almost 20-year friendship.

‘He’s so flamboyant. He’s just this amazing personality that lifts everybody up and just makes it so exciting for the sport.

‘So for it to be his last year, I think it’s just going to be a really amazing spectacle to see, and I know he’ll want to go out with a real bang. He’s still riding at the top of his game and I know he wants to go out as that.

‘It’s going to be incredible to watch. He’s one of the nicest guys you will meet, and so helpful.

‘I’ve spoken to him a fair bit in the past about dealing with the pressures of a changing experience like the Melbourne Cup and the attention, and he’s so giving of his time.’

Payne, pictured in London as she prepares to appear on ITV’s Royal Ascot coverage, is teaming up with racing icons Francesca Cumani and Jason Weaver

The superstar jockey has appeared regularly on TV in Australia, but she will be making her debut in the UK on the grandest stage of all

Payne is as knowledgeable about the horsing industry as there is Down Under, and part of a famous racing family with a somewhat tragic history (mother Mary died in a car crash when she was six, leaving her father Paddy, also a star trainer, to raise his 10 children alone).

So viewers will be in for a treat as the the affable host with a strength and confidence belying her tiny frame teams up with racing icons Francesca Cumani and Jason Weaver.

‘I just can’t wait to be a part of the team. I really loved working with Francesca Cumani when she came over for the Melbourne Cup Carnival,’ she said.

‘And I love Jason Weaver. He’s really good friends with my older brother Patrick. I met him when I was a little kid, about seven years old, so it’s wonderful to be able to work with those two on the team.

‘It’s going to be really fun and really special.’

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