If Damien Oliver is to salute in his last Group 1 ride on the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained Zoumon in the $1.5 million Northerly Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, he will have to help his mount negotiate any disadvantage associated with a wide barrier draw (barrier fifteen out of sixteen) … and, of course, find a way to nullify the aspirations of the clear ruling favourite Zaaki, a fifteen-time winner … no less … with over $10 million banked in prize-money.
Not that Oliver hasn’t encountered, faced and overcome this type of challenge before … and, certainly, if you could have the best in your corner to tackle this type of assignment, chances are Damien Oliver would be on the list to get the call.
Oliver’s one-hundred and twenty-nine Group 1 winners include three Melbourne Cup successes aboard Doriemus (1995), Media Puzzle (2002) and Fiorente (2013) … his final Melbourne Cup winner being trained by Gai Waterhouse whose stable Oliver pairs up again with on Saturday for one last throw at the Group 1 stumps.
For Oliver, who is Perth born and raised, a final Group 1 victory in his home-town would add a glorious exclamation mark to a career which has encompassed so much … the good, bad, sad, and tragic… since he rode his first winner in Bunbury in 1988.
It would certainly not the biggest win of his career but, given the context of a Group 1 farewell, it would be right up there in the memory bank in future if the result did go his way.