Chris Rattue: Michelle Payne's inspirational ride

Michelle Payne became the first female to win the race, riding Prince of Penzance. Photo / Getty Images.

Victory at last. Not for women jockeys, horses who refuse to lie down when humans don't give them a chance, big hats, or even the race which stops the nation gambling responsibly.

No, the Melbourne Cup has finally brought a much needed win for one of sport's little battlers - the pitch side interview. Or in this case, the still-in-stirrups interview.

The genre has been in deep trouble, probably since All Black legend Sean "Fitzy" Fitzpatrick wandered off the field with a well-chomped ear apparently oblivious to the injury or skulduggery. Well, that's how I remember it.

The sight of a microphone heading towards a sweaty player has 'time to make a cup of tea' written all over it. One can sympathise with those trapped in these quasi-scripted moments where fairly obvious questions are greeted by blindingly obvious answers which are a re-working of a question designed to illicit a certain answer in the first place. If you know what I mean.

And then along came ballsy Michelle Payne, although ballsy is not quite the right word here.

The problem for many pitch side interviewers is they know the subject has no intention of telling them anything remotely interesting in the first place. Not so the 30-year-old Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup as of Tuesday. While still breathless in the saddle, she revelled in the moment and also blasted a chauvinistic sport, revealed some of Prince of Penzance's owners didn't want a woman on their horse, and told misogynist detractors to 'get stuffed'. Brilliant.

Payne even suggested a fellow jockey during the great race was "was a bit pissed off at me" for not conceding a good position. In other words, she was as real as she could be.

Payne gave credit where she felt it was due, and took a similar attitude to handing out brickbats. It was so refreshing and enlightening, the story unfolding in glorious ways from the moment Prince of Penzance zoomed out of the pack.

There were so many elements, including that of the horse's strapper Stevie Payne, Michelle's brother, who she shares a flat with. Stevie Payne doesn't let Down Syndrome stop his enthusiastic involvement in horse racing. What seemed an unremarkable Melbourne Cup at the turn flowed into a beauty down the Flemington straight.

I went looking for more on the internet, with a lump in the throat which got bigger.

Payne's mother was killed in an auto accident, when Michelle was six months old. The sister who helped bring her up died after a horse she was riding fell on her. This is a true horse racing family and Michelle Payne has survived two terrible riding accidents, resisting subsequent family pleas for her to retire.

It's her claims about facing huge obstacles as a female jockey which stick in the mind though. Really? Is the situation that bad? In this day and age?

Call me naive, but it came as a shock. Her comments have drawn admirers and detractors on the internet, although at least one of the latter has marvellous self awareness.

Someone called Billy wrote on the Telegraph website: "I lost (money) today but was so happy about the whole story and couldn't care she said get stuffed! Being honest even had she picked the horse up and carried it to win I still won't ever back a female riding a horse. Call me whatever you will but my continued ignorance after today gives merit to everything she said."

There's actually progress in there somewhere, even if it is on the slow side.

Payne was frank, charming, entirely believable and most importantly, inspirational.

"Women can do anything and we can beat the world," she said, although it is bizarre that this needs to be said at all. Payne may retire and if so, she will do so in style. Her Melbourne Cup ride and what came next will never be forgotten.