Melbourne Cup heroine fined for Twitter talk

– Australian racing celebrity Michelle Payne was fined A$300 by stewards at Flemington racecourse on Saturday for comments on social media that expressed concerns about the firmness of the track.

While the Melbourne Cup-winning jockey and successful trainer was delighted with her filly Sweet Rockette’s fast-closing fourth

Melbourne

place behind Smart Melody in the Listed Cap D’Antibes Stakes, she’d earlier tweeted that the threeyear-old could be scratched if the track was too firm.

Payne tweeted: “Likely to scratch Sweet Rockette if the track looks too firm. And cop another fine for looking after my horse and owners. Absolute bull **** !”

Speaking on Racing.com prerace, Payne said she was sympathetic about the predicament of Flemington track manager Liam O’Keeffe but believed tracks should be presented with sufficient give for feature race days.

Forecast rain missed Flemington on Saturday morning, which saw the track rated a “Good 3” prior to the running of the first race.

“I feel for Liam O’Keeffe the track manager because he’s under a lot of pressure,” Payne said. “The rain was predicted but it didn’t come.

“Speaking to him before walking the track, he said it would be lovely if he had a policy in place where he watered whether it was going to rain or not just to cover himself. –