ENGLISH TEXTS
if it had been written … It’ s the same thing that happened to Jamie( Melham, winner of the 2025 Melbourne Cup only an hour before our interview). We both know very well it wasn’ t just luck.
G. Today, you’ re still at the stables in the morning, and very elegant at the races in the afternoon.
M. P. I had to get used to that! I’ m my family’ s seventh daughter, and we’ ve always loved fashion. As a child, I watched my older sisters: we didn’ t have much money, so we made do, but I would tell myself,“ One day, I’ ll be able to buy beautiful outfits and dress well.” Now, at 40, I’ m wearing incredible clothes, surrounded by stylists, makeup artists, hairdressers … It’ s both surreal and very moving. I love it!
G. The general public discovered you through the film about your life, Ride Like a Girl.
M. P. Imagine someone coming to you saying,“ We want to make a movie about your life.” It’ s hard to believe. I was barely 30 when they made it, so young. It felt crazy. The film took a few liberties; it was very difficult to recreate our family and our childhood, it’ s impossible to imitate perfectly: fewer screams, fewer swear words and a simplified timeline. But I liked the way they told it. My brother Stevie even became an actor, he was the real star of the film!
G. In your family, one figure clearly stands out: your father, who raised you alone.
M. P. He is an incredible man. His strength and sense of duty were everything to us. The energy he devoted to raising ten children, earning enough money, sending us to good schools and giving us a good education.
G. Jamie has now won the Melbourne Cup in turn, ten years after you. What does that mean to you?
M. P. It means everything to me. Jamie can carry the torch for women now. She’ s a talented, exceptional jockey, she never needed to be“ the second woman” to prove anything. She deserved that victory, that’ s all, and it continues our story: what we, as women, can achieve when we are given a real chance. We must continue winning, continue being present. Jamie is the perfect ambassador: her style, her talent, her professionalism- she is exactly what this sport needs.
“ Girls are just as good as boys; they only need the chance.” These words have become Michelle’ s guiding star, the intimate conviction that carried her through every race, every fall, and every moment of doubt. They are the words her father, Paddy Payne, used to repeat to her, and the words that every father, every man, should instinctively know how to say with conviction to the girls and women they love.
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DATA RACING
CALANDAGAN BREAKS TWENTY YEARS OF JAPA- NESE DOMINATION.
BY BRUNO BARBEREAU
“ To win, gentlemen, we need audacity, more audacity, always audacity …” and what if Francis-Henri Graffard saw himself as Danton?
Since the early 2000s, the Japan Cup( Gr. 1) has established itself as one of the most difficult races in the world for foreign competitors. The continuous progress of Japanese breeding— built on the accumulation of international bloodlines, the search for stamina horses and the constant improvement of finishing speed— has produced a very particular model: an athlete capable of sustaining a fast pace over 2,000 to 2,400 metres, then accelerating in under 34 seconds in the final 600 metres. This evolution, combined with standardised training methods and rigorous physiological monitoring, has made Japanese top-level Group 1 races extremely selective. Abroad, Japanese runners have become formidable; at home, they are nearly untouchable. The analysis of the 22 Japan Cups run between 2003 and 2024 confirms this structure. The typical winner has an average age of 4.4 years, with a large majority aged 4 or 5. The average winning time on firm ground is 2 ' 24 " 8, while the average last 600 metres is 34.3
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