HISTORY making jockey Michelle Payne was so ill after a race fall she struggled to recall the alphabet or remember how to pay a phone bill.
Payne’s brain injury “dulled” her personality and also changed her nature.
In a new book Life as I Know It, the 30-year-old jockey talks about the tragedy her family endured before 100-1 shot Prince of Penzance made her the first female to ride a Melbourne Cup winner last year.
Payne speaks of the punishment she has put her body through in search of success and how she briefly considered retirement after a spate of falls.
Payne was lucky not to be killed in 2004 when her mount collapsed 200m after crossing the finishing line at Sandown, spearing her head-first into the turf.
She suffered a fractured skull and damage to three regions of her brain, with a full recovery not guaranteed.
