Cranbourne on a Thursday afternoon before the Melbourne Cup and Michelle Payne has one ride. Just one. Barely enough to cover the petrol money on the most nondescript of afternoons.

Fashionably late for a pre-arranged interview, Payne doesn't want to sit down on a park bench under the shade to talk about Prince Of Penzance and being the only female rider in this year's Melbourne Cup. Where else will we do it?

"Come in the female jockeys room while I get my gear ready," she says. Excuse me? "There is no one else in there." No one else apart from a willing jockey room attendant.

You poke, you prod. You tease to get anything about what it means to be the only female rider in the Cup field this year among the fly-in and fly-out mega-rich saddle stars. And how it is different from six years ago when she became only the fourth ever female to ride in Australia's great race. Appropriately on a horse called Allez Wonder, for Bart Cummings no less.

Just a job. Like any other rider. No different. You get the impression she couldn't give a stuff, apart from a rare concession she wouldn't have minded a claim like an apprentice to tilt the scales back in her favour in the only sport where men and women compete on a level playing field.

Five days later at approximately the same time, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is on the phone, congratulating her on becoming the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup on rank outsider Prince Of Penzance.

His message? "He just said it's great for women," Payne shrugs.

And maybe this is the biggest stride forward for women's rights in the sporting arena. Full stop. The youngest of 10 children - with seven older brothers and sisters all forging careers in the saddle - there was only ever one option for Michelle. Father Paddy faced the challenge of raising the family after the death of his wife Mary in a car accident when Michelle was only six months old.

She promised her family she would retire at 28. A nasty fall leaving with her swelling on the brain had been the catalyst. Two years later, when she should have slipped into the sunset, the spotlight has never shone brighter.

Maybe a platform to change her tune?

"A lot of the time I'm way more dedicated than a lot of those guys are and you get less opportunities," Payne said. "I don't know ... it's just frustrating. I don't know whether it will help, but I certainly hope it does. I always thought if I won a Melbourne Cup I would retire.

"Right from as long as I can remember I was always going to be a jockey. I'm going to be in the game forever. It's what I love, it's my passion and it's an amazing industry. I was so happy to do the job for Darren, the owners and all the team ... but for female jockeys in particular."

Payne left little doubt about some of the challenges she had face when immediately after the race she said she was proud to prove people wrong in a "chauvinistic sport" while also telling the doubters to "get stuffed".

"To think that Darren Weir has given me a go and it's such a chauvinistic sport, I know some of the owners were keen to kick me off, and John Richards and Darren stuck strongly with me, and I put in all the effort I could and galloped him all I could because I thought he had what it takes to win the Melbourne Cup and I can't say how grateful I am to them," Payne told Channel Seven. "I want to say to everyone else, get stuffed, because women can do anything and we can beat the world."

The racetrack rumour mill suggested Prince Of Penzance's owners, who had stuck with Payne in 22 of the horse's 23 starts before Tuesday - she was suspended for the other - were about to buckle. They wanted another jockey for the Big One.

Payne, who only ever wanted to be a better rider than her sisters, showed them. Now she will embark on a dual licence when submissions are taken next year in Victoria, allowing jockeys to train a small team as well as riding. Moving the goalposts again.

"To be honest I had a feeling we were going to win the Melbourne Cup and I told Darren that and he laughed," Payne said. "He said he would be happy with a top 10 finish. It took a bit of pressure off. It hasn't really hit me, but I'm sure it will."