Australia’s greatest jockey Damien Oliver announces retirement after three Melbourne Cup wins – as he reveals how his family made him dump his original plan to quit the sport

Champion Australian jockey Damien Oliver has announced his retirement from the sport – and revealed how his family convinced him to drop his original plan to leave the sport without any fanfare.

Oliver, 51, has won three Melbourne Cups (Doriemus, 1995), (Media Puzzle, 2002) and (Fiorente, 2013) as well as four Caulfield Cups, two Cox Plates and a Golden Slipper, achieving a rare ‘Grand Slam’ in the sport of kings.

He will forever be remembered as one of the nation’s greatest ever riders.

Born in Perth, Oliver first started as an apprentice jockey in 1987, working for his stepfather Lindsey Rudland and renowned trainer Lee Freedman.

His final ride will be in Perth come December, which will be a full circle moment for the father of three.

The sport has often been tinged with sadness for Oliver – his father Ray died while competing in the 1975 Kalgoorlie Cup in Western Australia and brother Jason passed away at Belmont in October of 2002 when the horse he was riding broke both front legs and fell during a race trial.

Oliver, 51, began riding as an apprentice in 1987 and now has a staggering 128 Group 1 wins to his name

In emotional scenes, a grieving Oliver then returned to Melbourne and guided Media Puzzle to victory at Flemington in the race that stops a nation.

When quizzed on the best ever horse he has ridden, Oliver couldn’t limit his answer to one track star.

‘The sprinters who spring to mind are horses like Alinghi, Falvelon, Schillaci, Testa Rossa and Apache Cat,’ he told Racenet.

‘The mile-plus horses for me are Northerly, Doriemus, Fiorente, Paris Lane, Sky Heights and Media Puzzle is in the equation.

‘And when it comes to horses I wished I could have ridden, Winx and Black Caviar are my picks. I saw plenty of their backsides in races, they were remarkable horses.’

The father of three plans to stay in Melbourne and will ride for the final time in December

Oliver originally planned to quietly walk away from the sport leading into Christmas – but family and friends convinced him he deserved an appropriate send off and one final crack at the Spring Carnival.

‘I thought I just wanted to retire quietly with no fanfare and not having a long send-off because that’s not my sort of style,’ he said.

‘But I spoke to my family and friends and it would have been a bit of a selfish way to go out.’ 

He nominated Steven King as the one rival he loved competing against and confirmed post racing he will work for Entain – who operate Ladbrokes in Australia –  in a content and ambassadorial role.

His main regret is not racing overseas on a regular basis across his career – but acknowledged he wanted to raise his family in Melbourne.