Hayes' tweet vindication after supporting Damien Oliver's return

DESPITE a social media backlash at welcoming Damien Oliver back to racing with open arms, David Hayes has no regrets at supporting the fallen jockey.

THE tweet seemed innocent enough but the savage reactions to his comment left the trainer bewildered.

"One morning during winter, I tweeted how good it was to see Damien Oliver back riding trackwork at Lindsay Park,'' David Hayes recalled.

"We copped a lot of criticism on social media for that. There was some very nasty things said in reply. It really surprised me there was so much resentment out there.

"I thought people would be more forgiving. Damien made a regrettable mistake, it was a bad error of judgment, but he has done the time and won't do it again.

"Damien has been and still is a champion of our sport - let's all move on.''

Oliver, 41, was at Lindsay Park after completing an eight-month disqualification for betting on a rival runner in a race in which he rode. The champion jockey still had two months of his suspension to serve and he was riding trackwork to prepare for his mid-September return to race riding.

But Hayes welcomed Oliver back into the fold as have most in racing.

Just over a month into his comeback, Oliver has already ridden 12 winners - it is like he has never been away.

Jockey Damien Oliver during trackwork at Caulfield. Picture: Colleen Petch

With the same steely determination he has shown repeatedly during his celebrated riding career - remember how he overcame the loss of his brother Jason in a race fall and days late rode Media Puzzle to a famous Melbourne Cup win in 2002 - Oliver has set about proving the critics wrong.

"I think Damien is going better than ever,'' Hayes said. "He has not just come back, he has come back a better rider.

"He wasn't riding anywhere near as well as this before he went out. At his age, it has surprised me a little. I knew he would always come back but perhaps not this quickly.

"I guess when he was out for so long, it reminded him of how much he really loved riding. Sometimes you can take things for granted. But Damien's professionalism has gone to a another level since he has been back.''

Some jockeys like Jim Cassidy seem to be able to return to race riding after a long break and pick up where they left off, others say it takes them weeks, sometimes months, to get their "eye' in again.

Oliver has certainly given himself every chance to make a successful return to the saddle. He has never been fitter, rides trackwork most mornings and travels across Victoria to ride at race meetings but even he is a little surprised at how quickly he has got back into the groove.

Trish Oliver and son Luke applaud after Damien Oliver wins on Divine Calling last month. Picture: Colleen Petch

"I suppose you never really know what is going to happen after a long break like I had,'' Oliver said. "But I just tried to prepare myself the best I could. I worked really hard, and I'm still working really hard, and I was fortunate to have some good support at the start.

"I guess that gave others the confidence to put me on as well. I've been getting some great opportunities and just trying to make the most of them. Things are going along really well.''

Hayes and Oliver have a good rapport and the two champions of their field team up with Jet Away in the Group 1 $2.5 million BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield tomorrow.

In a sense, both Hall of Famers are starting out again. Hayes is looking for that breakthrough major race win since he made the move to his new $20 million Lindsay Park training complex at Euroa about two years ago.

Oliver is also striving for his first Group 1 win since his comeback. There are parallels with Hayes's current position and that of Lee Freedman exactly a decade ago.

Freedman had moved his training base to Markdel on the Mornington Peninsula and his first big-race winner out of that complex was Mummify in the 2003 Caulfield Cup.

"I know the Group 1 wins will come and I'm anxious to get one, of course,'' Hayes said. "But if I could get my first Group 1 out of the farm (Lindsay Park) in a major like the Caulfield Cup, it doesn't get much better than that.

"When I first started training in 1990, I needed a Group 1 winner to get me going and my first was a major, the Cox Plate with Better Loosen Up. If Jet Away can win the Caulfield Cup, it would be a milestone Group 1 for me because I haven't won one since I've restructured.

"We are second on the Melbourne trainers premiership, and on second placings we are well clear, so we are going okay. We are getting some momentum going now.''

David Hayes' Caulfield Cup hope Jetaway heads out for a gallop at Lindsay Park in Euroa. Picture: Colleen Petch.

Hayes has won two Caulfield Cups with Fraar (1993) and Tawqeet (2006) while Oliver is already a four-time winner with Mannerism (1992), Paris Lane (1994), Doriemus (1995) and Sky Heights (1999). Oliver just needs one more win to equal the longstanding Caulfield Cup riding of the legendary Scobie Breasley.

"Yeah, it would be wonderful if I could equal Scobie's record,'' Oliver said. He gives himself a real chance, too, after being impressed with former English stayer Jet Away during trackwork last week.

" I galloped him at Seymour last Friday and he gave me the feel of a good horse,'' Oliver said. "He has come through his Turnbull Stakes run in good order. The 2400m second-up isn't ideal and he has had a couple of setbacks but you would probably be a little more concerned if he was a locally-bred horse.

"Jet Away is a really nice horse but they don't give away Caulfield Cups - they are pretty hard to win. There is a lot of depth in the race but I'm happy to be riding him.''

Hayes also said Jet Away has improved significantly since his close seventh in the Turnbull Stakes and he likens the seven-year-old to former outstanding stayer At Talaq.

"If he could win a Caulfield Cup, I would be encouraging connections to do what we did with At Talaq,'' Hayes said.

"At Talaq ran second in a Caulfield Cup then won the Mackinnon Stakes and the Melbourne Cup in 1986.

"Jet Away has a ferocious appetite and reminds me a lot of At Talaq. I'm not worried about his fitness, he is ready for the Caulfield Cup. I think he will be right there in the Caulfield Cup tomorrow.''

This could be the start of a new beginning for David Hayes ... and Damien Oliver.