Damien Oliver with the Willowy Oaks Trophy. © Racing Photos
By Edward Sadler
With plenty of uncertainty about how the Spring Carnival would play out in the lead-up, jockey Damien Oliver had no preconceived ideas as to how racing’s peak season would unfold for him.
He has been one of the drawcards at the carnival for more than 30 years but, in a year where there were doubts over his interstate rivals being able to head south and where a few of his regular local colleagues were suspended, the champion rider didn’t set any goals for what he could achieve at the time of year he’s often shone so brightly.
“I’m not really a goal setter; I just try and work hard and get on the best possible horses I can get on and then try and execute as well as I can,” Oliver said.
“I’m not one for setting myself goals because it’s not always in your control in racing.
“I don’t like to build up my expectations, I just work hard and then see how it unfolds from there.”
As it turned out, Oliver’s execution was top class, particularly during the Melbourne Cup Carnival last week at Flemington.
He rode five winners across three days, including three at the highest level, before missing Stakes Day through suspension and was acknowledged by the Victoria Racing Club as the most successful rider of all time at the Melbourne Cup Carnival with 26 Group 1 dating back to 1992.
Oliver credits plenty of his recent success to his association with Godolphin, led by trainer James Cummings, and explains the significance of the team environment that makes the Blue Army such a potent force.
“He’s got a great team behind him here in Melbourne,” Oliver said of Cummings and the people who work with him.
“I suppose he does in Sydney, I’m only familiar with the Melbourne team, more so with Reg Fleming and Sean Keogh, and even the ground staff and riders that they have in Melbourne, they’ve just got a great team and they work in together really well and obviously they have really nice horses there as well.
“I think James, he puts a lot of faith into the team he’s had in Melbourne and also with COVID, he hasn’t been able to get down here.
“The feedback we’re able to provide him I think really has given him a lot of confidence.”
One of Oliver’s most satisfying wins at Flemington last week was for Godolphin aboard Willowy in the VRC Oaks.
It was Oliver’s third-successive win in the 2500-metre classic for the fillies and his seventh in the race overall, while it also took him to 126 G1 wins, equaling the Australian record held by George Moore.
“Three Oaks in a row felt pretty good, and also to equal George Moore’s record, that was a big thrill,” Oliver said.
“To break Bobbie Lewis’ Group 1 record for Cup week as well, that was good.”
As good as those records are, the three-time Melbourne Cup-winning rider admits that they’re not what drives him to achieve success on the track.
“The records don’t motivate me, it’s probably more just the thrill of the competition and the big week itself and the whole group of jockeys you’re riding against, that probably motivates me as much as anything and just to be successful during that week,” Oliver said.
Nevertheless, racing fans will most likely have to wait until 2022 for Oliver to break Moore’s G1 record as he confirmed it’s unlikely he’ll be heading back to his native Western Australia for the upcoming Summer Carnival in Perth.
Oliver also drew plenty of praise for his efforts to guide Colette and Superstorm to their wins in the Empire Rose Stakes and Cantala Stakes respectively, but the 49-year-old said he isn’t one to congratulate himself on his achievements.
“I’m not one for giving myself much of a pat on the back,” he said.
“They were all pretty similar type rides, duck and weave kind of rides. You’ve got to have the horse to do that.
“It’s good when the narrow margins go your way because sometimes the narrow margins go against you.
“It can make a big difference on how your week turns out.”
Another highlight for Oliver this spring was his Caulfield Guineas win on star Godolphin colt Anamoe, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll get to jump back on the Cox Plate runner up come the autumn.
“It would be nice to,” he said. “I’m not sure if they’ve worked out which way he’s going to go yet, whether it’s Melbourne or Sydney.
“It was great to win the Caulfield Guineas on him, it’s a stallion-making race and that’s what Godolphin are all about, getting those big stallions, and he’s been a really promising horse.
“He’s had a great career so far, being, I think, one of the top two-year olds and I think now he’s certainly the top three-year old with his form for this Spring Carnival.
“He’s really hit his straps, as we thought he would, as he became three and got over a little bit further ground.”
This article first appeared on Racing.com and is reprinted here with their kind permission. To find out more about Racing Victoria’s Off the Track program, visit rv.racing.com/the-horse/off-the-track.
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