Damien Oliver

Damien Oliver (born 22 June 1972 in Perth, Western Australia) is a Thoroughbred horse racing jockey.

Oliver comes from a racing family; his father Ray Oliver rode with success until meeting his death in a race fall at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The younger of two sons, Damien has reached greater heights than his brother Jason Oliver who was killed in a fall at Belmont Park Racecourse, Western Australia when a young horse he was riding broke both front legs and fell during a race trial.^[1] The horse was found to have been administered phenylbutazone prior to the trial and this was thought to be a contributing factor in the accident.

Damien returned to riding in 2006 after serious back injuries sustained in a fall at Moonee Valley, and rode the Japanese horse Pop Rock in the 2006 Melbourne Cup, which finished second to stablemate Delta Blues.^[2] In the 2007 Melbourne Cup, he placed second to Efficient on English horse Purple Moon.

Oliver has won the Melbourne Cup on Doriemus (1995) Media Puzzle (2002),^[3] the Caulfield Cup on Mannerism (1992), Paris Lane (1994), Doriemus (1995), and Sky Heights (1999), and the Cox Plate on Dane Ripper (1997) and Northerly (2001). He was also the regular rider of Lee Freedman's champion sprinter Schillaci (1991–95) and top filly Alinghi (2003–05). In the 2007 Golden Slipper, Damien completed the grand slam of Australian racing by winning the 2 year old race on the John Hawkes trained Forensics.

Damien Oliver has won the Racing Victoria Limited Scobie Breasley Medal four times and shared the medal on two occasions.

On 22 September 2010, Oliver pulled out of rides at a Sandown meeting, while helping police with their inquiries into a criminal investigation.^[4]

In 2011, The Cup, a biopic starring Stephen Curry, was released. It covered his relationships with his family and the 2002 Melbourne Cup win on Media Puzzle.

References

1. ^ "Jockey Jason Oliver dies", theage.com, 30 October 2002, http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/10/29/1035683411652.html 
2. ^ Made in Japan: double win a fairytale finish
3. ^ 2002 Melbourne Cup result
4. ^ Dowsley, Anthony; Dunn, Adrian; Hobbs, Kerri-Ann (22 September 2010), "Star jockey Damien Oliver questioned by police", Herald Sun, http://www.news.com.au/national/star-jockey-damian-oliver-investigated-by-police/story-e6frfkvr-1225927606558 

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Name	Oliver, Damien
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Date of birth	22 June 1972
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