How Damien Oliver went from betting ban to Gai's No.1 man

TRAINER Gai Waterhouse has revealed it was she who sounded out Damien Oliver, after his 10-month betting ban, to ride Melbourne Cup favourite.

Fiorente (second from left) is caught wide in the Cox Plate but produces a gutsy run to finish third to Shamus Award (right). Pi

SO WHO made the first move when it came to the unlikely union between trainer Gai Waterhouse and jockey Damien Oliver?

"I was the one who contacted Damien,'' Waterhouse told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

Waterhouse has emerged as a surprise backer of Oliver since last month's return from a 10-month suspension for betting on races.

The trainer even went outside her stable to book Oliver for the red-hot Melbourne Cup ride on favourite Fiorente.

Oliver said he never expected Waterhouse to show him support at such an early stage of his comeback.

"I saw Gai at the yearling sales in Melbourne, we had a good chat, but there was no talk about riding for her. I didn't really think we'd be teaming up,'' Oliver said.

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"I was very thankful for the opportunities, she showed a lot of guts to support me, and threw me on some good rides early. Those winners made people sit up and take notice, and she gave me the confidence to get on the good horses at the start of my comeback.''

Damien Oliver leads out Melbourne Cup favourite Fiorente with Gai Waterhouse at her Flemington stables. Picture: Jay Town

Waterhouse revealed she had such a healthy respect for Oliver, and tried luring him to Sydney five years ago.

"I asked him to be my stable jockey in Sydney,'' Waterhouse said.

"At the time it wasn't quite right for him to move.

"But I've had a good association with him. He's ridden plenty of horses for me over the years. He came back and he was very keen and very determined, and he happened to be at Flemington and was able to ride my horses in work. Anybody who rides work for me definitely has a better chance of getting rides (from me).

"I've got a good association with all my jockeys. I've got a good association with Nash (Rawiller), and Nash was there this morning riding several of my horses. I ask him his opinion of my horses, and he's very much still part of the team.

"And (No. 1 jockey) Tommy Berry is part of the team and down at Werribee riding for me this morning.

"(As for Oliver), he's a Group 1 jockey, and that's what you need to have - you need to surround yourself with the best of the best.''

Fiorente (second from left) is caught wide in the Cox Plate but produces a gutsy run to finish third to Shamus Award (right). Pi

Waterhouse said Oliver was always bound to be an instant success, despite his beefy stint on the sidelines.

Should Waterhouse and Oliver combine to win the Cup with Fiorente - last year's runner-up - there will be no shortage of feel-good headlines.

Waterhouse has tried for years to win the Cup, and finished second on three occasions. Oliver is a Hall of Fame jockey trying to make the most of his second coming in the saddle.

Fiorente will be given a quiet week, said Waterhouse, and ``would shoot the breeze, just trot and canter, and go to the beach''.

The new $5 Cup favourite was caught wide for the first half of the Cox Plate, but came through the weight-for-age showdown in tip-top order.