- Oliver’s father and brother both died in a fall
- The retiring star suffered a broken spine in 2005
- Oliver will ride his last Melbourne Cup next week
Australian racing great Damien Oliver has told why he refused to quit the sport after a horror fall left both his brother and father dead and left him with two broken vertebrae.
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 possibly the country’s greatest ever rider, but the journey to the top was grueling.
The 51-year-old’s father, Ray, also had a successful riding career, but was killed during a race in Western Australia in 1975 when Oliver was just a toddler.
Oliver suffered a second tragedy in 2002 when his brother Jason also died in a racing crash in Western Australia.
Damien Oliver has spoken about the loss of his father and brother to the sport he loves
Oliver’s brother Jason (pictured left with Oliver) tragically died in a racing accident in Western Australia in 2002
The tragic accident occurred just days before the 2002 Melbourne Cup, which Oliver astonishingly won on Irish stayer Media Puzzle.
In one of the most memorable moments in Australian sporting history, Oliver blew a kiss to his late brother after crossing the line.
“You just can’t script that kind of thing,” Oliver said Nine’s The Heart of Racing podcast of the incredible victory.
“It was a sad time for me first and foremost, losing your brother, and that’s my main memory of it, especially the sadness of losing my brother instead of winning the Cup.
‘That was a tribute to him and I’m happy that I was able to make it happen, especially when I look back on it now. At the time it was sad to lose him in the week leading up to the cup.”
In 2005, Oliver faced death himself when he fell from his horse in Moonee Valley, suffered a broken spine and was left out of the saddle for a long time.
“If you look at the parallels, my father was murdered in his early thirties, and my brother was murdered in his early thirties. “I had a really bad fall at Moonee Valley and broke my back at the same age, so all in my early 30s,” he told the podcast.
‘You couldn’t imagine that something like this could happen.
Oliver blew a kiss to his brother Jason after winning the 2002 Melbourne Cup in one of Aussie racing’s most iconic images
Oliver’s father Ray also built a successful career as a jockey, but was killed in a racing fall when the champion jockey was just a toddler
‘You know it’s a dangerous sport when you start it. There aren’t many sports where an ambulance follows them around the track.
“But there are great rewards, and there is also great camaraderie among the jockeys, and you know the risks when you go into it.
“Lucky, touch wood, I got through it okay.”
Next week Oliver, who retires in December, will get the chance to win a fourth Melbourne Cup when he rides with Alenquer in the iconic race that holds a nation back.