Payne dynasty sealed by Prince Of Penzance in Melbourne Cup

Michelle Payne described her landmark victory in the Emirates Melbourne Cup aboard Prince Of Penzance as "a dream come true" and the win certainly sets the seal a memorable career.

The 30-year-old's name will be etched into the record books as she became the first female rider to claim the two-mile contest since its inception in 1861, with the win proving popular for a member of one of Australian racing's most well-known families.

Michelle Payne is the youngest of 10 children and has followed in the footsteps of seven of her siblings by becoming a professional jockey.

Sisters Therese, Maree and Cathy were trailblazers in the plate while another sister, Brigid, was also a jockey before her sudden death in 2007.

Her brother Patrick, who is now a trainer, is arguably the best of the clan having been crowned champion jockey and ridden in both Singapore and Hong Kong, but it is now Michelle Payne who boasts the jewel in the Australian racing crown on her CV.

It has certainly not been an easy road for Ballarat-based Payne though, both on and off the track.

Her mother Mary died in a car accident when Payne was just six months old leaving her father Paddy, a former jockey and trainer, to raise the children alone.

Among those children is brother Stevie, who has Down's Syndrome but has carved out a career as a stable lad with trainer Darren Weir and it was he who led up Prince Of Penzance for his famous Flemington Park win.

That half-length verdict over the Frankie Dettori-ridden Max Dynamite marked a fifth Group One win for Payne but those kind of pretensions looked a distant dream after a heavy fall in 2004 left her nursing a fractured skull and bruised brain.

Payne battled back to return to the saddle but soon suffered another fall, breaking her wrist in the process. Her misfortune prompted the authorities to grant her an extra three months of her apprenticeship to allow her to ride out her claim.

The injury setbacks have not stopped her making her mark though, and Payne's maiden Group One victory came in 2009 when she guided Allez Wonder to victory in the Toorak Handicap for legendary trainer Bart Cummings.

Payne added a further three Group Ones to her resume by partnering Yosei to claim the 2010 Sires' Produce, 2010 Thousand Guineas and 2011 Tatts Tiara for Caulfield-based trainer Stuart Webb but she has long been associated with Weir.

Payne suffered a further nasty fall in 2012, when she was thrown over the head of El Devine shortly after the start of a race at Donald.

That incident left her with four fractured vertebrae and broken ribs, and in September that year, just weeks after resuming in the saddle, she had another bad tumble at Ararat.

Those injuries must seem a lifetime ago to Payne now she has joined brother-in-laws Kerrin McEvoy, who is married to Cathy, and Brett Prebble, who is the husband of Maree, on the Flemington roll of honour.