NEVER GIVE UP
As a little girl, Michelle Payne (Teresa Palmer) dreams of the impossible: winning the Melbourne Cup — horse-racing’s toughest two-mile race. The youngest of 10 children, Michelle is raised by single father Paddy (Sam Neill).
She leaves school at 15 to become a jockey and after early failures she finds her feet, but a family tragedy, followed by her own near fatal horse fall all but ends the dream. But with the love of her dad and her brother Stevie, Michelle will not give up. Against all the medical advice, and the protests of her siblings, she rides on, and meets the Prince of Penzance. Together they overcome impossible odds for a shot at the dream: a ride in the 2015 Melbourne Cup, at odds of 100 to 1. The rest is history.
Ride Like A Girl is the incredible true story of Michelle Payne.
“Rachel Griffiths directs this handsome biopic about Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne with a steady hand – and one eye on the finish line.” –Â Daily Telegraph
“I should first go straight to the judge’s box and say whether or not it’s a winner. It is, largely because Griffiths makes it less about the racetrack and more about family, friends, gender bias in sport and elsewhere.” – The Australian
