Region 16 Good News StoriesMelbourne Cup dream comes true for strapper 'Stevie' Payne

Updated Tue at 4:42pmTue 3 Nov 2015, 4:42pm

Photo: Steven and Michelle Payne celebrate their Melbourne Cup victory. (AAP: Julian Smith)

Strapper with Down syndrome 'challenging stigma' ahead of Melbourne Cup. As it happened: Prince of Penzance in Melbourne Cup boilover Payne becomes first female jockey to win Melbourne Cup.

Ballarat strapper Steven Payne's Melbourne Cup dream has finally come true, and he has his sister to thank.

Michelle Payne today became the first female jockey to claim the Cup when she rode rank outsider Prince of Penzance to victory ahead of Max Dynamite and Criterion.

Steven was jubilant in the mounting yard as he summed up his sister's efforts shortly after the race, saying of the ride "10 out of 10".

It is the strapper's first time working on the biggest day in Australian racing, and he now has a perfect record to show for himself.

"I've finally got one on the hands," he said.

"Thank you very much, everybody. To all of the crowd today at the races. I hope you have a great night. Thank you very much."

Steven's involvement in the Melbourne Cup continues a rich family tradition in the sport — eight of his nine siblings have worked as jockeys.

The strapper, who has Down syndrome, was responsible for drawing Prince of Penzance's number one barrier, and correctly predicted the horse would be "in front at 200 metres [to go]".

"It was a dream come through to pick barrier one. [I'm] so excited that I could get the job done for him today," Michelle said of "Stevie" during her victory speech.