Champion jockey Damien Oliver set to retire

Aug 29, 2023, 08:48 PM ET

Australian horse racing great Damien Oliver is set to retire after this year’s Spring Racing Carnival.

The 51-year-old jockey, who has ridden an astonishing 3,167 winners in his illustrious career, announced the news on social media on Wednesday morning. Oliver will hang up the silks following Perth’s summer carnival.

Arguably the country’s most well-known racing identity, Oliver is a winner of a record 128 Group 1 races, which includes three Melbourne Cups.

“After about 35 years of riding, I’ve decided that this is going to be my last spring carnival,” Oliver said. “I can’t keep going forever. I thought Melbourne Spring Carnival has always been so good to me. It’s kind of where I’d like to give it a real good crack, but then I’ll probably go on from there and finish up in Perth where it all started for me. So I’ll ride the Perth Carnival as well.

Media Puzzle with jockey Damien Oliver on board cruises to victory in the 2002 Melbourne Cup. Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images

“I achieved so much more than I ever expected to as a young kid leaving Perth. It’s a sport and a lifestyle that served me so well over a long period of time and I feel pretty lucky that it’s given me everything I’ve got and it’s taken a little bit away from me as well, a father and a brother, but it’s certainly been really good to me as well.”

Oliver’s most famous triumph was his win on Media Puzzle in the 2002 Melbourne Cup, where he saluted to the skies following the tragic passing of his brother Jason just days prior to the race that stops the nation.

“When you get inside the rail, it’s just you on the horse and you’re just concentrating on what you’re doing and that race just worked out perfect for me,” he said of that race.

“I didn’t realize at the time what sort of event and the emotions that it would stir, but I was so glad that I was able to do it and pull it off because it was a great legacy to my brother who was a huge inspiration to me and becoming a jockey and the success I’ve been.”

Oliver’s first Melbourne Cup win came on board Doriemus in 1995, 18 years prior to his most recent victory with Fiorente for Gai Waterhouse in 2013.

Oliver is also the winner of four Caulfled Cups and two Cox Plates, and has netted more than $256M million in prize money in one of the great racing careers.