3 minute read
If the betting markets have got it right champion jockey Damien Oliver can move two wins closer to equalling George Moore’s record for the most Group One wins in Australian racing history at Morphettville on Saturday.
Oliver’s current tally of 111 Group 1 wins* has him in second position, eight wins behind the record 119 wins legendary Moore compiled before he retired in 1971.
Moore’s number is determined by races that were awarded G1 status when Australian racing adopted the Group and Listed pattern system in 1971.
Australia currently runs 73 G1 races annually, some 25 more than when Moore retired after winning the Victoria Derby on Classic Mission in 1971. The number will grow again in the near future when new features such as the Everest, All Star Mile and Golden Eagle become eligible for pattern recognition.
The Melbourne Cup is recognised as about the only major of his era that Moore didn’t win but he also won a host of other races that have since been upgraded to G1 status and would push his tally to close to 150.
While some notable races have been downgraded to Group 2 over the last 40 years – staying events such as the Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth Cups and some lesser 2YO events - many more current G1 races did not exist when Moore retired.
However Oliver could also be credited with many more majors, having won the Moir Stakes four times and Coolmore Stud Stakes three times as well as the Turnbull Stakes, Memsie Stakes, Surround Stakes, Canterbury Stakes and Warwick (Winx) Stakes before they were upgraded to G1 events.
Oliver – who will be 47 in June - has maintained an incredible G1 strike rate over the last 20 years, winning at least two majors every season since 2000 with just one exception. In 2005-06 he was sidelined for more than 12 months due to spinal injuries suffered in a race fall.
So far this season he has maintained that record by winning the Makybe Diva Stakes (Grunt) and Winterbottom Stakes (Vodoo Lad) but as he approaches 50 the question of his retirement from the saddle will become an increasingly debated topic.
The suspicion is that as long as he has the incentive of Moore’s record in his sights he will be keen to continue riding.
Oliver is yet to win 20 of the 73 races on the current G1 list but they don’t include this weekend’s G1 double at Morphettville where he rides the favourites Spright in the $600,000 TAB (Robert Sangster) Classic and Princess Jenni in the $500,000 Schweppes Australasian Oaks.
Oliver boasts multiple wins in both races, having won the Sangster Classic twice on Alinghi in 2005 and Secret Agenda in 2017 and the Oaks three times on Mannerism (1991), Episode (1999) and Tully Thunder (2002).
Last start Caulfield winner Princess Jenni was assured of Oaks favouritism after she drew a favourable barrier (3) on Tuesday.
However Oliver will need to produce an exceptional ride to win the TAB Stakes on Spright for Hawkesbury trainer Garry Frazer after the luckless mare drew the outside gate 15 in the big field.
The wide draw continues the wretched luck that has plagued Spright in G1 races. The honest mare deserves to win her first major after finishing second in the G1 William Reid Stakes and third in the G1 Moir Stakes when better luck in running might have seen her win both races.
She has also finished close up without things going her way in this season’s G1 Manikato Stakes (4th) and G1 Oakleigh Plate (5th), form that makes her a deserving favourite against her own sex in Adelaide on Saturday.
Australia's Leading Group One Jockeys
Wins Jockey Last G1 Winner
119 George Moore Final Tally
111 Damien Oliver Voodoo Lad – 2018 Winterbottom Stakes
108 Roy Higgins Final Tally
97 Jim Cassidy Final Tally
90 Shane Dye Final Tally
88 Mick Dittman Final Tally
86 Darren Beadman Final Tally
86 Hugh Bowman Winx – 2019 Queen Elizabeth Stakes
84 Neville Sellwood Final Tally
82 Glen Boss Brutal – 2019 Doncaster Mile
* Source: Australian Racing Records (http://www.australianracingrecords.com.au)