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Champion jockey Damien Oliver taken to hospital after scary incident

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·2-min read
Damien Oliver, pictured here after he was injured in a barrier incident in Victoria.
Damien Oliver was injured in a barrier incident in Victoria. Image: Getty/Racing.com

Champion jockey Damien Oliver was taken to hospital on Thursday afternoon in confronting scenes at Warranambool.

Oliver was aboard Ethekwini when the horse began to play up in the barriers and had to be backed out before the last race of the day.

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Ethekwini was scratched from the race and Oliver was attended to by medical staff.

The champion jockey, who has won the Melbourne Cup three times, was placed in an ambulance and taken to hospital for scans on his neck.

The exact nature of his injuries is unclear.

“After an incident in the barriers at Warrnambool, Damien Oliver is off to hospital for precautionary scans on his neck,” the Victorian Jockeys’ Association said.

Confronting vision has emerged of Oliver being strapped onto a stretcher and boarded into the ambulance at the side of the track.

Oliver, who almost-never rides at the western Victorian racing hub outside of the May carnival, was making a rare appearance at Warranambool on Thursday.

Damien Oliver, pictured here being taken to hospital for scans on his neck.
Damien Oliver was taken to hospital for scans on his neck. Image: Racing.com

Racing world sends well-wishes to Damien Oliver

The 49-year-old is one of Australia's most well-known and loved jockeys.

He won the Melbourne Cup for the first time back in 1995, saluting again in 2002 and 2013.

His victory aboard Media Puzzle in 2002 is one of the most memorable Melbourne Cup triumphs in history, coming just a week after the death of his brother Jason in a racing incident.

He has won the Scobie Breasley Medal for excellence in riding on Melbourne tracks 14 times.

Oliver was suspended for 11 race meetings after the 2021 Melbourne Cup for carless riding on Delphi.

The veteran jockey was found to have permitted Delphi to shift out when not sufficiently clear of Carif near the 600m mark in the great race.

Racing presenter Michael Felgate tweeted on Thursday: “Fingers crossed for Damien Oliver.

“After making a rare trip to the Bool he’s being loaded into ambulance headed to hospital for X-rays on his neck after a barrier incident.”

Racing fans took to social media to wish him well.

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