With 200m left to travel in the Gr 1 Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, two former jockeys, the Cathy and Jess Payne jumped from their respective couches and started cheering.
Cathy Payne, wife of Kerrin McEvoy saw her man on TIGER MOTH (Galilee-Lesson In Humility) get that horse going and he started to make a concerted charge at the leader TWILIGHT PAYMENT (Teofilo-Dream On Buddy) who was ridden by Jye McNeil.
At his home, McNeil’s partner Jess Payne, holding their brand new baby Oakley, started yelling too.
“When he kicked on the bend I thought, oh wow, he might win this and so we cheered,” said Jess.
Now, despite the fact they share the name Payne, and were both riders themselves, the girls are NOT related. Jess Payne is happy to be mistaken for being part of the Payne racing clan, but she is NOT related to any of them.
That aside, we tend to celebrate when siblings fight out races, or father and son do, or even those with the same name.
The universe loves sending us little jokes like that.
But it is the first time the riders of first and second past the post in the Melbourne Cup both had partners at home who both bear the famous name Payne.