Champion jockey to hang up the saddle after glittering 35 year career

Champion jockey Damien Oliver has announced he will hang up the saddle in December after the Perth racing carnival.

The 51-year-old is one of the country’s most celebrated jockeys, and will finish up where it all began in his home state of Western Australia.

He is expected to headline the upcoming spring carnival in Melbourne where he will aim to add to his tally of three Melbourne Cups, four Caulfield Cups and two Cox Plates.

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The 2008 Australian Racing Hall of Fame inductee initially wanted to “retire quietly with no fanfare” but changed his mind after speaking with friends and family.

“I spoke to my family and friends and it would have been a bit of a selfish way to go out,” Oliver told Racenet.

“Over the last couple of years I’ve been thinking about retirement, maybe more prompted by the media than anything else.”

In a glittering career spanning 35 years and over 3100 winners, Oliver has collected a record 128 Group 1 victories.

“I’ll miss the camaraderie in the jockey room. Those are things I won’t be able to replace,” Oliver said.

Oliver rated star sprinters Apache Cat and Testa Rossa amongst the best horses he has ridden as well as Cox Plate winner Northerly and Melbourne Cup victors Fiorente and Media Puzzle.