Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne says she hopes her victory on Prince Of Penzance in Tuesday’s race will inspire the next generation of riders.

Payne has overcome a bevy of injuries and a “chauvinistic” racing culture to win Australia’s most famous race.

After calling out the male-dominated sport immediately following her victory, Payne on Wednesday played down any disadvantages she may have had as a woman in horse racing.

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Trainer Darren Weir said Payne “cops a bit of slack” on that front, but the jockey said the impact of her victory in the future is more important than looking to the past.

“It is hard but I’m sure there’s so many aspects of life that women go through and I just hope it’s a reminder that if you work hard and you dream, things can happen,” she told News Breakfast.

“And I really want to say that out to all the young children and people growing up with dreams, you’ve got to believe in yourself and for some reason I always have had great belief in myself.

“I don’t know why but I always thought I was going to be a good jockey and one day win the Melbourne Cup.”

She said the other jockeys were thrilled to see her success after Tuesday’s race.

“All the other guys in the jockeys’ room, they were so happy for me because they obviously see how hard I work,” she said.

“We’re there every day and I stick up for myself, don’t worry, I let them know if I’m not happy. And I think we’ve got a good respect for each other.

“The other jockeys, they’re awesome. We were sitting around chatting and they were just so happy for me, which was just great because obviously everybody wants to win, but it’s so nice to be able to still share that moment with them after and talk about it and relive it.”

Retirement not far away for Payne

Payne admitted retirement may not be too far away.

The 30-year-old considered ending her career after a pair of falls in 2012, but was surprised her father, Paddy, was the one encouraging her to get back on the horse.

Paddy was one of the family members encouraging his daughter to walk away from the sport after a fall in 2004 left her with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

But he changed his tune after she suffered four fractured vertebrae and broken ribs in a fall at Donald in 2012, followed by another later in the year.

“He was like ‘don’t panic, you’ve got plenty of time to think about it. Just sit back, you don’t have to make a decision right now’,” she said.

“So I had a good think about it. I had two months off where I was recovering and I just felt that I wanted to go out on my own terms and I felt that there was more to come and I’m so glad that I did it right now.”

But after taking out the biggest race in Australia, she said retirement is not a long way off.

“I sort of laid in bed last night and I was thinking about it, and I don’t feel quite ready yet that it’s the time,” she said.

“I think that I will know and I will just live my life and see what happens and then if the time feels right that’s when I will hang up the boots.

“But I don’t think it will be too far away.”

Her father will be happy to hear it, having already said he expects her to stop racing some time in the next two years.

“I think she wants to train now,” he said.

“I think they can train and ride from next August. So she wants to have a go at that.”