Australia’s first female Melbourne Cup winner Michelle Payne has tonight paid a beautiful tribute to her brother Stevie on The Project.
Stevie Payne shot to national stardom today after being the strapper for his sister Michelle Payne. He was responsible for drawing Prince of Penzance’s number one barrier position, and correctly predicting the horse would be “in front at 200 metres [to go]”.
In a gracious and humble interview, Michelle said her brother Stevie, who has down syndrome, was “a blessing to our family”
“Stevie is beautiful… Stevie has down syndrome obviously. There is not a bad bone in Stevie’s body.”
“It was so nice to be able to share that with him today.”
“My charity that I am donating to is called Down Syndrome Australia.”
Top Comments
So lovely to read a story about real people working hard to see their dreams realised.
I'm so extremely happy for Michelle and Stevie. A real Australian family, who have been through so much, but still maintain such determination, dedication and unity.
Hats off also to the trainer for giving Stevie the job of strapper for PoP. Reality is that not many people would give a person with a disability such a responsibility, but he did and boy did Stevie rise to the challenge.
I hope we see more of the Payne family in the winner's circle.