Oliver cleared of serious injury after barrier accident
Champion jockey Damien Oliver has been cleared of any neck fractures after being involved in an incident in the barriers at Warrnambool on Thursday.
The 126-time Group 1 winner was down on the Shipwreck Coast for four rides, all of which were owned by Victorian breeding giants Rosemont Stud.
By race four, Oliver had finished in the placings only once from his three rides, with Sconaero running third in a 1400m Maiden Plate.
He had a long wait until the last race of the day, where he was set to partner the well-fancied Ethekwini, but the Danny O’Brien-trained mare got down in the barriers, which forced her to be a late scratching.
Oliver was taken from the races on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance and sent to hospital for precautionary scans on his neck.
The Victorian Jockeys’ Association (VJA) confirmed on Friday morning that Oliver was cleared of any fractures.
“Good news from Warrnambool Hospital is that scans on Damien Oliver’s neck have returned clear of any fracture,” the VJA said.
Oliver was booked for a handful of rides at Moonee Valley on Friday evening, but he has opted to take the day off and rest his body before deciding if he will ride at Caulfield on Saturday.
The champion jockey is set to partner six horses across the meeting at Caulfield, including the James Cummings-trained two-year-old colt Renosu in the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes (1000m).
Oliver has been riding in a rich vein of form in 2022, having steered home eight winners since January 5 from just 40 starters.
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