One of Victorian racing’s most famous families was in mourning on Monday after the death of Bernadette Payne.
She was the second-eldest sister of Melbourne Cup winner Michelle and one of 10 children raised by single father Paddy Payne snr after the family lost their mother, Mary, in a 1986 car accident.
Like her siblings, Bernadette grew up around horses, becoming a jockey before retiring in 2009.
Maree, Cathy and Bernadette Payne at Flemington.Credit: Neil Newitt
She rode her first winner at Nhill in 1993 and notched up 188 winners for different stables during her time in the saddle. She was 51 years of age.
Michelle Payne won the 2015 Melbourne Cup aboard Prince of Penzance.Credit: Eddie Jim
“It is with deep sadness that we confirm that Bernadette has passed away,” the Payne family said in a statement on Monday night.
“She had a very difficult and challenging time in recent years, and we find solace in the hope that she is now at peace.
“She was loved by many throughout her life. We ask that our family’s privacy is respected at this time. Thank you.”
Bernadette is the second of the Payne children to pass away, following the death of eldest sister Brigid in 2007 from a heart attack six months after a bad track work fall. She was 36 at the time.
In a 2015 interview, Michelle Payne, who became the first woman to ride a Melbourne Cup winner on Prince Of Penzance in 2015, paid tribute to her second-eldest sister and her siblings for helping raise her as an infant after their mother’s death.
The then 11-year-old Bernadette was given the job of looking after baby Michelle.
“She used to get up in the middle of the night and feed me, then fall asleep in school,” Michelle says.
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