Irish-Australian jockey, Michelle Payne, Ballarat, well known as the site of the Eureka Stockade rebellion in the nineteenth century, has been severely injured in an overnight race fall. Payne, who won last year’s Melbourne Cup on Prince of Penzance, was injured in a fall during the Mildura Cup meeting on Sunday. Overnight she was flown from Mildura to Melbourne for emergency surgery on her bowel, liver and pancreas.
As all our Irish readers will know, thoroughbred racing is a dangerous game, and the jockeys are a game lot… young men and women guiding an animal, often weighing well over 500 kg, running at full speed.
Michelle Payne will not ride for several months. This was anounced just an hour or so ago. And big Prince of Penzance is without a jockey. All of this with the Australian spring racing carnival just around the corner. And we all knowing, yes?, that Irish punters love to keep an eye on events Downunder. Some would say, even, that certain trainers from Tipperary and Kildare are taking us over. All for the best, mind.
We all wish Michelle a quick recovery, and hope that it serves as a reminder to all of us, who love our horses, that riding and racing does not come without it’s own costs and risks. But, like the Irish, the Aussies will never stop loving their horses. Suffice to say, perhaps, that those of us who love our horses will not be vacating this space. Bless.