Damien Oliver

Damien Oliver (born 22 June 1972) is an Australian retired thoroughbred racing jockey.

Damien Oliver was born on 22 June 1972 in Perth, Western Australia.

His father, Ray Oliver, was a jockey who died in Kalgoorlie from falling off his horse when Damien was three years old.

As a child, he attended Byford Primary School in Byford, Western Australia.

Oliver comes from a racing family; his father Ray Oliver had a successful career until his death in a race fall during the 1975 Kalgoorlie Cup in Western Australia.

Oliver's riding career started in 1988, and he completed his apprenticeship with his stepfather Lindsey Rudland and Lee Freedman.

His first win as an apprentice was in March 1988 on Mr. Gudbud, at Bunbury, Western Australia and his first feature race win was the AJC Warwick Stakes.

From 1989 (his first ride) to 2023 (his final ride) in the Melbourne Cup, Oliver was only been absent from three editions of the race, 2005 due to injury, 2017 due to suspension and 2022 due to his ride Durston being withdrawn from the race with injury.

He was also the regular rider of Lee Freedman's champion sprinter Schillaci (1991–95) and top filly Alinghi (2003–05).

Oliver has won the Melbourne Cup three times: 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).

It covered Oliver's relationships with his family and how he overcame the death of his brother Jason Oliver and won the 2002 Melbourne Cup two weeks later on Media Puzzle.

Unfortunately he suffered a series of injuries including a broken spine in March 2005, sustained in a fall at Moonee Valley.

He returned to riding after that back injury and rode the Japanese horse Pop Rock in the 2006 Melbourne Cup, which finished second to stablemate Delta Blues.

In the 2007 Melbourne Cup, he placed second to Efficient on English horse Purple Moon.

In the 2007 Golden Slipper, Oliver completed the grand slam of Australian racing by winning the two-year-old race on the John Hawkes trained Forensics.

In 2008, Oliver was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.

In August 2023 he announced that he would retire at the end of that year's spring carnival.

On 22 September 2010, Oliver pulled out of rides at a Sandown meeting, while helping police with their inquiries into a criminal investigation.

This ride was also his 100th Group 1 win.

The victory was trainer Gai Waterhouse's first victory in the Melbourne Cup.

In the lead-up to the 2023 Melbourne Spring Carnival, Damien announced his intention to retire at its completion.

His last race-day was at Ascot in Perth on 16 December 2023.

He had seven rides and won all of his last three races with Devine Belief, Magnificent Andy and Munhamek.

His final ride and win on Munhamek was in a race named after him, the Damien Oliver Gold Rush over 1400m.

In his career Oliver had ridden 3189 winners, including 129 in Group One races.

He holds the Australian record for the number of Group One victories.

In 2012, Oliver was accused of placing a $10,000 bet on a rival horse, Miss Octopussy, to beat a horse he was riding, Europa Point, in the same race at Moonee Valley Racecourse on 1 October 2010.

Europa Point finished sixth but stewards had no issue with the way Oliver rode his horse, saying there was no change from the usual racing pattern or any other reason to doubt the integrity of the ride.

It was subsequently revealed that he made an $11,000 profit with his bet.

In 2011, The Cup, a biopic starring Stephen Curry, was released.

The then alleged incident was not discovered until 2012, during an investigation into the racing industry.

He was subsequently dropped from the Lloyd Williams-owned Green Moon in the 2012 Cox Plate and 2012 Melbourne Cup although he did ride in the 2012 Cup Carnival, a move that reportedly annoyed some members of the public and racing industry.

He won the Victoria Derby and Emirates Stakes.

On 13 November 2012, Oliver was formally charged with the alleged offence.

On 20 November 2012 he was banned for eight months for the illegal bet and received an additional two months' suspension for using a mobile phone in the area of the jockeys room against the rules.

In 2013, Oliver won his third Melbourne Cup riding the favourite, Fiorente.

He was unable to ride in races until 13 September 2013.

On his return to race riding, Oliver immediately tasted success culminating in his Melbourne Cup winning ride.

There has been discussion on whether Oliver's sentence was adequate and the sentence for this offence has increased significantly since.

Had it occurred in 2013, he would have been suspended for two years for the same offence.