Getting a horse racing event named in honor, and then winning that race in an exhilarating manner, is a dream come true for every jockey out there, looking to make a dent in their field. However, what encompasses dreams is winning your final race before retirement at the same event, thus proving to be an inexorable juggernaut. In the exact similar manner, this legendary Australian jockey has laid siege for his swansong as well as bid adieu to his beautiful sport.

Damien Oliver has reigned the equestrian arenas for several decades. The Australian Racing Hall of Famer now concludes his illustrious career, ceremoniously and in a way befitting of his stature, getting a fairytale ending at the Damien Oliver Gold Rush 2023.

Damien Oliver’s Fairy Tale Retirement

Undoubtedly a GOAT in the Australian racing arena, Damien Oliver now experiences a well-deserved fairy-tale end to his career. Bidding farewell to Oliver, World Horse Racing tweeted, “Retirement done right. Damien Oliver rides off into sunset having won his final three, races including his last-the G3 Damien Oliver Gold Rush-aboard Munhamek”.

After three consecutive victories at Ascot earlier, the final farewell triumph at Gold Rush capped off an incredible day and career for Oliver. The 51-year-old burst through the rival in the final 50m to claim the $1.5 million Gold Rush named after him. Speaking after the race, Oliver expressed, “I couldn’t think of a better way to finish”. It truly was a perfect way to seamlessly end a dream jockeying career, the likes and wins of which others could only scarcely fathom.

Damien Oliver’s stellar horse racing career

Born in a racing family, horse riding was in his DNA. He started off his career in 1988 and went on to become one of the all-time best jockeys in the world. His first major victory came at the 1995 Melbourne Cup and then went on to win this prestigious cup two times again in 2002 and 2013. He additionally had two runner-up finishes in the Melbourne Cup, one straight after injury in 2006 and the other in 2007.

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Oliver has managed to win an astonishing 129 Group 1 races in his career, with an even stellar win percentage of 16%. His other notable victories include the four Caulfield Cups, two Cox Plates, and one Blue Diamond Stakes. Such were the achievements of the 2014 Darley Australian Cup winner, leaving behind his metaphorical hoofprints on all and sundry. Oliver will surely be missed on the horse racing tracks.

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