Legendary jockey Damian Oliver will call time on one of the most successful careers Australian racing has ever seen.
The 51-year-old achieved remarkable success in the saddle, a journey that dates back to 1988. Oliver won a record 128 Group One wins and boasts more than 3150 total winners.
Some of Oliver’s greatest achievements include winning three Melbourne Cups on Doriemus (1995), Media Puzzle (2002), and Fiorente (2013); the Caulfield Cup on Mannerism (1992), Paris Lane (1994), Doriemus (1995), and Sky Heights (1999); the Cox Plate on Dane Ripper (1997) and Northerly (2001); and the Blue Diamond Stakes on Alinghi (2004).
Damien Oliver has won Racing Victoria’s Scobie Breasley Medal fourteen times (1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020).
In 2014, he won the inaugural Roy Higgins Medal as the winner of the Victorian jockeys’ premiership. Oliver won the 2014/15 Melbourne Jockeys’ Premiership after riding 60 race winners. It was Oliver’s 10th win of the award, trailing only Roy Higgins and Bill Duncan who have won the award 11 times.
Oliver’s swan-song will span across the forthcoming Melbourne Spring Carnival, culminating in one last hurrah where it all began in Perth as he rides their carnival in December.
In an interview published by Racenet in Australia and asked about the best horse he has ridden, Oliver replied:
“I can’t name just one, it’s impossible because I’ve ridden so many good ones,” Oliver said.
“The sprinters who spring to mind are horses like Alinghi, Falvelon, Schillaci, Testa Rossa and Apache Cat.
“The mile-plus horses for me are Northerly, Doriemus, Fiorente, Paris Lane, Sky Heights and Media Puzzle is in there.
“Winx and Black Caviar were the horses I wished I could have ridden. I saw plenty of their backsides in races.
“They were remarkable horses and they were expertly handled by both their trainers.”
