After her prestigious victory, Michelle Payne criticised the horseracing industry as "chauvinistic" and difficult for women to excel in. She has since become a global talking point.
She is the new golden girl, now making headlines around the world.
"Good evening, and welcome to the BBC news at 6 (o'clock). Australia's most prestigous horserace, the Melbourne Cup, has been won by a female jockey for the first time in its history."
Michelle Payne has become an overnight sensation in the aftermath of riding the 100-1 long shot Prince of Penzance to victory in the Melbourne Cup. But it was what she said after the race that has many people talking.
"It's such a chauvenistic sport. I know some of the owners were keen to kick me off Prince, and John Richards and Darren (Weir) stuck really solid with me. (I) just wanted to say to everyone else to get stuffed, because they think women aren't strong enough but we just beat the world."
The BBC out of Britain and CNN out of the United States were just some of the international news outlets to jump on the story, CNN saying Ms Payne was "challenging stigmas". A day after making those comments, the 30 year-old has added she hopes to be a beacon of inspiration -- particularly for women.
"I really want to be a great ambassador, not just for our industry, but for sportspeople, for women, for anybody who has a dream. You never give up."
Prince of Penzance co-owner Sandy McGregor has played down her comments that the owners wanted to dump her as jockey prior to the race, though.
"When you're a jockey, you're always probably frightened someone's goning to take you off, and they're taking blokes off just as quickly as they're taking girls off. But you know what? It's history now, isn't it? She's ridden a 10-out-of-10 ride."
Michelle Payne was one of 10 children and, when she was just six months old, her mother died in a car accident. Her father Paddy then raised the family single-handedly on a farm near Ballarat in central Victoria. He has told the ABC he never doubted his ability to hold his family together.
"I always saw it as a challenge, and the older girls looked after the younger ones -- it was easier than what a lot of people think. We did get a lot of help for a start, and we thought that it was better to not have too much, we better get stuck in ourselves, and we managed. Our cooking wasn't that good, but, anyway, we've survived."
But Michelle Payne did not just survive: she thrived. With her brother and strapper Steven, who has Down syndrome, by her side on Melbourne Cup Day, she won what she says was her childhood dream.
"It's a fairytale, really, how it all worked out with my brother Stevie. It's incredible. I had a really good feeling that I was going to win the Melbourne Cup, and, right from a young age, I thought, 'Yeah, one day, I'm going to do that.' And for it to come true is just unbelievable."
Ms Payne says while she is ready to be an ambassador, she hopes to go about her normal way of life and get the job done on the racetrack.
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