Damien Oliver cops suspension, misses Group 1 ride
CHAMPION JOCKEY Damien Oliver will miss a Group 1 ride this Friday night after receiving a careless riding suspension at Caulfield last Saturday.
Oliver was charged by stewards after he allowed his mount Disposition to shift in, causing interference to Lucky Hussler at the 1200-metre mark in the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.
Oliver claimed that Lucky Hussler was over-racing, which contributed to the incident, and while contending he was unable to ease back out because Damien Lane’s ride Gregers was exerting pressure on his outside, leaving him no room to shift out.
Oliver added that shifting out would have placed his and Lane’s safety in danger.
“I’ve been riding a long time and turning out onto his [Lane’s] heels is not a smart move to be making,” Oliver said.
“If Glen Boss’s horse [Lucky Hussler] was not over-racing, we’re probably not here.”
Stewards took note of Oliver’s guilty plea and good record, deciding that an eight-meeting suspension was sufficient. That means Oliver will miss Friday night’s Moir Stakes meeting, but he is available to ride the following day in the Turnbull Stakes.
What makes this story more interesting, however, is that just a few weeks ago fellow jockey Glen Boss was labeling Damien Oliver as a “protected species”, in terms of Oliver not getting suspended by Victorian stewards.
The irony is that Boss will now take over Oliver’s Group 1 Moir Stakes ride aboard the unbeaten Petis Filous.
Boss will ride the Ciaron Maher-trained filly at 51kg for the $450,000 feature race at Moonee Valley this Friday night. We are expecting bookmakers to have Petis Filous at around $5 in the market.
The Moir Stakes has been won by some of Australia’s best sprinters. In recent history, the 1200-metre race has twice been won by champion sprinter Black Caviar [2010/2011] and quality Queenslander Buffering [2012/2014].