DUAL Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Damien Oliver yesterday joined trainer David Hayes in the Australian racing Hall of Fame.
Oliver and Hayes were added to a list that already includes modern champions Darren Beadman, Gai Waterhouse and John Hawkes as well as the likes of Waterhouse's training father Tommy Smith and Hayes's illustrious father, Colin.
"It's a great thrill, a great honour. It's happened a little bit sooner than I thought it might," said Oliver, who has won Melbourne Cups on Doriemus (1995) and Media Puzzle (2002). "You look around the Hall of Fame and they're mostly older people. I think I'm relatively young, I suppose it's recognition for a lot of hard work. I've been riding a little bit over 20 years now."
Oliver left Perth as an apprentice to join the Victorian stable of trainer Lee Freedman, who has already been recognised as a Hall of Fame inductee.
"It was pretty tough leaving home as a 16-year-old and not really knowing anyone," he said. "The Freedmans gave me a great opportunity. I never really thought I'd achieve what I have. With more success the more I started to enjoy it."
When winning the 2002 Melbourne Cup, Oliver overcame the shock of losing his brother Jason in the days leading up to it as a result of a barrier trial fall. He also lost his father Ray in a race fall.
Oliver, who has won 78 group 1s, has fought back from a serious injury after a fall that threatened to end his career when damaging vertebrae. He said he planned to ride on for years to come but had no idea how long that would be.
"It's hard to look that far forward. As long as I'm enjoying it and the form's still good I'll continue to ride," Oliver said.
Champion gallopers Tranquil Star and Wenona Girl, trainer Bob Hoysted, jockey Frank Dempsey and associate Percy Miller were also inducted into the Hall of Fame yesterday and an official ceremony will take place on Monday night at the Australian Racehorse of the Year awards in Melbourne.
Hayes will saddle up Blue Diamond Stakes runner-up All American in this Saturday's
$1 million Golden Rose at Rosehill, for which a field of 14 accepted yesterday.
Corey Brown will ride All American, which will start from barrier four.
"The horse has been in Sydney for a week now and he has settled in well," said part-owner John Messara of Arrowfield Stud. "We are basically making a bold gamble by running him first-up in the Golden Rose. It is a $1m race and the alternative was to run him in a $100,000 race at Caulfield on Saturday instead in which David [Hayes] would already have runners."
The unbeaten Peter Snowden-trained Desuetude, for which owner Darley paid a $50,000 late entry fee, will jump from gate seven with Danny Nikolic to ride.
Meanwhile, Racing Victoria veterinarian Paul O'Callaghan inspected the Ross McDonald-trained superstar Weekend Hussler at Caulfield trackwork yesterday and reported the gelding to be sound and right to take his place in Saturday's Memsie Stakes at Caulfield.
Racing Victoria has received official notification from Biosecurity Australia that it will not allow Japanese horses entered for this year's feature races to travel directly to Australia due to quarantine issues associated with last year's equine influenza outbreak. West Australian star El Presidente is out of the Melbourne carnival after pulling up sore following a barrier trial.
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