Michelle Payne received a welcome 24th birthday present on Tuesday when she was engaged to ride 2007 Cox Plate winner El Segundo in Saturday's Group One Turnbull Stakes at Flemington.Trainer Colin Little had to look for a replacement rider for the eight-year-old following the 20-meeting suspension of jockey Luke Nolen on Monday for careless riding at the Sandown meeting last Wednesday which led to the fall of fellow rider Noel Callow.Little said several riders had thrown their hats into the ring

Michelle Payne received a welcome 24th birthday present on Tuesday when she was engaged to ride 2007 Cox Plate winner El Segundo in Saturday's Group One Turnbull Stakes at Flemington.

Trainer Colin Little had to look for a replacement rider for the eight-year-old following the 20-meeting suspension of jockey Luke Nolen on Monday for careless riding at the Sandown meeting last Wednesday which led to the fall of fellow rider Noel Callow.

Little said several riders had thrown their hats into the ring for the El Segundo mount over the weekend in anticipation of Nolen's unavailability, but he decided to stick with Payne.

"She actually won his maiden on him at his second run in a race and she's always helping me out by riding a bit of work for me so really it wasn't a terribly hard decision and it's her birthday today," Little said.

Payne landed her first metropolitan winner since returning from a working holiday in England during the winter aboard O'tobefamous at Caulfield last Sunday.

El Segundo has had three starts so far this campaign for one placing when third to Mic Mac when resuming in the Listed Aurie's Star Hcp (1200m) at Flemington on August 8.

The Pins gelding has since run sixth to Mic Mac in the Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield and fifth to Whobegotyou in the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley.

"He's sound but he doesn't seem to race well over 2000 metres at Flemington," Little said, referring to his sixth to Devil Moon in the 2007 Turnbull the start before his Cox Plate victory at Moonee Valley.

But Little added that El Segundo was disadvantaged by a leader-biased track when he ran on for fourth to Desert War in the 2006 Mackinnon Stakes at his only other attempt at 2000m at Flemington.

"The horse is alright, it's no secret that he hasn't been right at his top but we have one run left and then three weeks to the Cox Plate," Little said.

"We hope to have him at 100 per cent in three-and-a-half weeks time."

El Segundo is equal fourth pick at $9 in the Cox Plate with TAB Sportsbet fixed odds.