All Australians should rejoice and celebrate the Melbourne Cup-winning performance of Michelle Payne and her family, Gai Waterhouse said.
Herself a Cup winner, Waterhouse said Payne, her younger brother Stevie and all her family should be very proud. The family were hard working and their "story is a beautiful one". 
"Forget she's a woman. She's worked damn hard and I've watched her along the way and she's proven that hard work and application paid off by winning a race like the Melbourne Cup," Waterhouse said.
"And don't worry, I watched Michelle ride that horse [Prince Of Penzance] at Moonee Valley and she did nothing wrong in it because I had a runner who finished behind her and I was watching closely.
"It's a beautiful Australian story - this hard-working family, with Michelle winning the race and standing so close to her brother Stevie after they had won a Melbourne Cup. It's just a wonderful day and I'm so pleased for them."
In front of 101,000 people, Michelle Payne told the adoring crowd that she had gone to sleep on Melbourne Cup eve dreaming she was being interviewed by Sam Hyland on a pony after winning the Cup on Prince Of Penzance.
"And what today means - you can dream and dreams come true," Payne said.
The performance on the $101 chance, Prince Of Penzance, gave bookmakers, especially corporate bookmakers, across Australia a "skinner".
Maree Payne, Michelle's older sister, flew into Australia ostensibly to watch her husband, Brett Prebble, ride Bondi Beach in Australia's most important handicap.
"I was watching Brett in the early part and when his mount Bondi Beach looked like it wouldn't be in the finish I started to take an interest in Excess Knowledge when the horse, ridden by Kerrin McEvoy who's married to my sister Cathy, started to look like a challenger.
"But then suddenly I thought, no, here comes Michelle. I looked closer and we're all yelling and I can see with a hundred metres to go, my little sister was going to win a Melbourne Cup. And good on her. She's worked so hard for so long."