Michelle Payne to front racing inquiry
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne will appear before stewards on Thursday.
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne will admit she has made a mistake when she appears at a Racing Victoria inquiry after returning a positive test to an appetite suppressant.
Des O’Keeffe, chairman of the Australian Jockeys Association, told Melbourne radio RSN927, Payne had taken the prescribed Phentermine but had neglected to tell her doctor she was subject to testing.
O’Keeffe said precedents suggested Payne would be suspended for four to six weeks.
Payne, who last week competed at the famous Royal Ascot meeting in England, will face the stewards in Melbourne on Thursday.
The positive result is from a urine sample she gave at the Swan Hill Cup meeting on June 11.
RV stewards told Payne of the positive test last week and stood her down from riding in races and trackwork from June 23.
Payne has been invited to compete in the Shergar Cup international jockeys’ challenge at Ascot on August 12.