Champion jockey Damien Oliver making a shock comeback to the saddle

Damien Oliver rode trackwork for Danny O’Brien at Flemington on Friday for the first time since he hung up the saddle — and the GOAT is now making a shock comeback to race riding.

Damien Oliver.

Legendary jockey Damien Oliver is poised to make a riding comeback at the Saudi Cup Carnival.

The three-time Melbourne Cup-winner, widely regarded as Australia’s greatest ever jockey, retired in swashbuckling style last November in Perth riding the last three winners on the Ascot card.

Oliver, 51, who rode trackwork for Danny O’Brien at Flemington on Friday for the first time since he hung up the saddle, has kept fit to compete in the International Jockeys Challenge in Saudi Arabia.

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Champion jockey Damien Oliver with some of his trophies.

Oliver confirmed to Racenet on Friday that he was keeping fit to potentially ride in Saudi Arabia.

The 129-time Group 1 winner is slated to ride in at least four races at Riyadh, two on dirt and two on turf, with a potential to pick up a couple of more mounts during the February 23-24 carnival.

Retirement done right 👏🏻

Damien Oliver rides off into the sunset having won his final three races, including his last - the G3 Damien Oliver Gold Rush - aboard MUNHAMEK @nryanracing 👇pic.twitter.com/gsLEyGnnTR

— World Horse Racing (@WHR) December 16, 2023

Oliver told Ladbrokes: “Something out of the blue, the last few weeks, I got an offer to go ride at the Saudi Cup meeting, the International Jockeys Series there.”

“It was an offer too good to refuse, although bitter sweet having such a great finish to my career in Perth I wasn’t really planning on doing something like this but an opportunity like this doesn’t come along very often so I thought I might as well have a crack, as a one off,” he said.

Oliver affirmed the decision to ride again was “just a one off”.

“No plans of a comeback, I’m quite content with the way things are going at the moment… enjoying sleeping in and eating and drinking what I like, I’ve actually slipped into the new lifestyle quite well,” Oliver said.

Oliver, who boasts extensive international experience in Asia and Europe, has ridden in the Middle East once before, finishing 10th in the 1996 Dubai World Cup aboard Australian raider, Danewin.

READ | One more spring carnival: Damien Oliver to hang up his saddle

Oliver’s former sparring partner Glen Boss, and now colleague at bookmaking giant Entain, operators of Ladbrokes and Neds, rode at the 2021 Saudi Cup Carnival after he retired.

Originally published as Champion jockey Damien Oliver making a shock comeback to the saddle