Michelle Payne, who last year became the first female jockey to win the G1 Melbourne Cup aboard Prince Of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire {GB}), remains in serious but stable condition at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne after undergoing abdominal surgery on injuries suffered in a fall at Mildura racecourse on Monday. The 30-year-old Payne had been scheduled to ride at Royal Ascot and as part of the girls' team for the Shergar Cup, but her British stint has been cancelled.
Payne's brother, former Australian champion jockey Paddy Payne, said he thinks his sister should consider retirement from the saddle, telling The Age, “She had a bad fall three years ago and we suggested then to retire, but she maintained she had more to give. Now, after what she has been through in the last few days, I think she should look at retirement. What's the point in chancing it? She's won a Melbourne Cup–that could never be taken away from her–and it might be time to get married and have a few kids and just take a break. You have got to at least give it some thought.”
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