Michelle Payne keen on race riding return
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne has left hospital after pancreatic surgery.
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne still has the fire in the belly to make a return to race riding.
Payne was on Wednesday discharged from Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital where she has been for a little over two weeks after a fall from Dutch Courage, a horse trained by her brother Patrick, at Mildura in country Victoria.
Complaining of abdominal pain, the 30-year-old was transferred from the Mildura hospital to The Alfred where she underwent pancreatic surgery.
Payne became the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup when she guided the $101 chance Prince Of Penzance to victory last year.
She rode the gelding into second place in Adelaide last month at his only run since.
“A lot of questions have been asked if I will ride again and it’s something that I don’t want to feel pressured into or comment about yet,” Payne said.
“The fire in the belly is still there, but I just want to get home and concentrate on getting better, make sure I take the time to relax and make the right decision when I feel the time is right.”
Payne said there was a lot of people to thank for the care given in the two weeks since the fall.
“A big thanks to the Mildura Hospital initially that took me in after my fall and took really good care of me and made the right decision to send me here to The Alfred,” she said.
“A big thanks to everyone for their support. The amount of flowers and well-wishes I received is really tremendous and overwhelming.”
Victorian Jockeys Association chief executive Des O’Keeffe said doctors had told the jockey to rest for the next four to six weeks to recover from surgery.
He said a decision on when Payne would make a return to racing would be left up to her and her medical advisors.
O’Keeffe said Racing Victoria doctor Gary Zimmerman has been kept up to date with Payne’s progress.