Three-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Damien Oliver, one of the greatest jockeys in the history of Australian racing, has announced that he will bring the curtain down on his illustrious career at the end of the year.
Oliver, 51, holds the Australian record for G1 wins at 128 among a career total of 3,167. He has also won the Melbourne jockeys’ premiership ten times.
Dubbed ‘the GOAT’ and described as an “absolute icon” Oliver is looking forward to riding at Melbourne’s Spring Carnival one last time before seeing out his career in his home state in December.
Speaking to former jockey Glen Boss on the latter’s Ladbrokes broadcast, the jockey said: "After about 35 years of riding, I've decided that this is going to be my last spring carnival.
“I can't keep going forever,” Oliver went on. “The Melbourne Spring Carnival has always been so good to me. I still feel like I have a bit left in the tank to have one last crack at a spring and then finishing up in Perth sounded right to me, where it all started.
“I will go through the spring and then finish up at the end of the Perth racing carnival in December.”
Oliver began riding in his home state of Western Australia before he took a chance as a 16-year-old and moved to Victoria to further his career.
Having won his first G1 on Submariner in 1990 at Caulfield in the Show Day Cup (now Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes) is now immortalised as one of Australia’s greatest-ever jockeys and is one of only eight to win all of the country’s ‘big four’ races: Melbourne Cup (Doriemus 1995, Media Puzzle 2002 and Fiorente 2013), Caulfield Cup (Mannerism 1992, Paris Lane 1994, Doriemus 1995, Sky Heights 1999), Cox Plate (Dane Ripper 1997, Northerly 2001) and Golden Slipper Stakes (Forensics in 2003).
Oliver’s career-defining moment came in 2002 when winning aboard Dermot Weld-trained Media Puzzle in the Melbourne Cup following the tragic passing of his older brother Jason, who was killed in a riding accident in the week leading up to the race. Oliver wore his brother’s breeches in the race, after which he broke down and cried; the race inspired the making of the 2011 film The Cup.
“Those circumstances you wouldn’t wish upon anyone, but I am glad I was able to pull that Melbourne Cup off in memory of my brother,” Oliver said. “He was such a big influence on my career and it is a great legacy for him.”
After more than three decades in the saddle, Oliver is looking forward to life after racing and pursuing another career path in the new year. “It is a big part of your life, I have done it for 35 years,” he said.
“As a young kid, coming from a racing family, I never thought I would have the success I did. When I look back, I have to pinch myself.
“It is a way of life and it will be a change for me. I am looking forward to what is ahead in the new year.
“I have got some opportunities that have already come up for me and I am excited about what lies ahead.”
VRC chairman Neil Wilson congratulated Oliver on a fantastic career and said the club is looking forward to giving him a fitting final send off at Flemington.
“Damien has had an incredible career in racing and is one of the most successful jockeys at Flemington,” said Wilson. “He has proved time and time again that he is one of the greatest riders to have ever graced the sport.
“His resilience, athletic prowess and tactical brilliance allowed him to stay at the top of his game over a career that spanned more than five decades, a phenomenal achievement in any elite sport.
“We congratulate Damien on a remarkable career and wish him, his wife Trish and their children all the very best in their next chapter.”
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