By Larissa Nicholson
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Racing is not a sexist sport, one of the British industry's high profile women says.
It is almost a year since Michelle Payne became the first woman to ride a Melbourne Cup winner and famously spoke out about the discrimination faced by women in racing.
But on the eve of this year's race, the UK's first female race-caller, Hayley Moore, said she had not noticed a problem.
Jockey and race caller Hayley Moore in town for the Melbourne Cup.Credit: Jason South
Moore, who is also a jockey, in 2011 won a competition for women who wanted to call races, culminating in her calling an event at her favourite track, Ascot.
She has gone on to forge a career as an analyst and commentator and continues to work at her family's stables, where she grew up with her brother Ryan Moore, who is considered one of the world's best jockeys.
An amateur jockey herself, Moore said she was pleased to see Payne win the Melbourne Cup last year, but disappointed with her comments afterwards.
After winning the race on Prince of Penzance, Payne said racing was a chauvinistic sport and the anti-women elements could "get stuffed, because they think women aren't strong enough but we can beat the world."
Calling it as she sees it: Moore miked up at Ascot.Credit: Getty Images
But Moore said she had not seen any sexism in racing – if jockeys were good enough, they got a ride.
"I completely disagree [with Payne]," she said. "I think that if you're good enough and proven enough, you will get the opportunities," she said.
Moore in action at Newbury, England in 2012.Credit: Getty Images
"Maybe she's come up against situations personally, for herself, but as a whole voice for women, I thought 'unnecessary'.
"I thought, 'can't you reflect on the positive, instead of looking at the negative, the sexism that, in my opinion, doesn't exist because if you're good enough, you'll be used'."
Michelle Payne after winning the Melbourne Cup.Credit: Getty Images
I think the cream of the crop will always probably be men, because they always probably will have that little bit more strength
Hayley Moore, racing commentator and analyst
Moore said she did not expect female jockeys to reach equal representation in the top tier of riders.
"I think the cream of the crop will always probably be men, because they always probably will have that little bit more strength," she said.
Moore said women were very successful against men in Olympic equestrian eventing,
maybe because there was a strong focus on building up a relationship with one horse, a stark comparison to the world of flat racing where jockeys rode different horses all the time.
Moore is in Melbourne for the Spring Carnival and is working for a racing website focusing on the form of the international horses.
Her brother Ryan will ride Bondi Beach on the big day and Moore got her own taste of the Melbourne Cup in 2009, when she was strapper and track rider for third-place getter Mourilyan.
She has not done much race-calling since her competition win, but hopes to do it again in the future.
Learning the craft, she was grateful for the encouragement of Australia's only female race caller, Victoria Shaw.
Moore said she was keen to do well in the competition to prove it was not impossible for a woman to call a race, although she said did they did face some difficulties men did not.
"Maybe we just don't sound as good as males, particularly when you're reaching the final couple of hundred metres of a race," she said.
"You do find yourself genuinely getting excited, so your voice does go slightly high pitched and then it's not as enjoyable to listen to."