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Patrick Payne has known Kevin Myers all his life and it’s an enduring friendship that continues to flourish on both the personal and professional fronts.

A former top-class jockey with a Cox Plate win aboard Northerly on his CV, Payne shares his Taranaki roots with the Myers family.

“My old man (Pat) knew Kevin’s father Bill,” Payne said. “I was born in Hawera and we moved over here when I was five.

“Kevin would always come over and stay with us at Ballarat on his way to Oakbank and sometimes he would leave a horse or two. He’s been a friend of the family for a long time.”

Payne is now based at Plumpton, 40km west of Melbourne, after taking out his trainer’s licence in 2008 and two years later he won the Gr.2 Adelaide Cup and the JJ Houlahan Hurdle with Capecover and Titch respectively.

The pair were sent to him by Myers and that has become a successful trend with Payne saddling Krase to win last month’s Australian Steeplechase while Sea King claimed Sunday’s Kevin Lafferty Hurdle.

“I’ve got to thank Kevin for sending Sea King over and I only got him the week before so it’s all credit to him really,” Payne said.

The partnership was commended by champion jumps jockey Steve Pateman, who rode Sea King.

“It was proper hard work,” he said. “But my bloke’s probably more conditioned to it than the others, being a Kiwi.

“It’s been a huge training effort from (former trainer) Kevin Myers and Patrick Payne.”

Sea King’s next aim will be the $A200,000 Grand National Hurdle at Sandown on July 13.

Payne also has the former Myers-trained pair of Fieldmaster, runner-up in the Australian Hurdles, and the multiple winner Angelology among his team.

The 39-year-old has enjoyed an outstanding jumping season with the New Zealand-bred Chaparro winning the Warrnambool Grand Annual and Lord Of The Song claimed the Great Eastern.

“You’ve got to enjoy the good days because there are plenty of ordinary ones,” Payne said.