As a little girl, Michelle Payne (Theresa 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 a single father (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 brother, Stevie, Michelle will not give up.