Chief Stipe Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Oliver explains 'bittersweet' return Andrew Eddy@fastisheddy12:23pm Damien Oliver has announced his retirement. Picture: Entain Damien Oliver said he was enjoying his post-racing lifestyle, but figured the chance to ride one more time against the world’s best on Saudi Cup night later this month was “too good to refuse”. After Racing.com broke the news on Friday morning that Oliver was back at the Flemington jump-outs to prepare for a one-off comeback in Saudi Arabia, the champion jockey spoke to Entain about his “bittersweet” decision to ride over a two-day international jockey’s series on February 23 and 24. “It’s kind of an offer too good to refuse, although it’s kind of bittersweet having such a great finish to my career in Perth,” Oliver said. “I wasn’t planning to do something like this but something like this does not come along too often so I thought I might as well have a crack as a one-off. “It’s just a one-off. There are no plans of a comeback. “I’m quite content the way things are going at the moment, I’ve been quite happy doing my work at Ladbrokes. I’ve been quite busy and enjoying sleeping in and eating and drinking what I like. “I’ve slipped into the new lifestyle quite well.” Related Articles Ollie set for one-off return 2 February, 2024 JOCKEYS What was Ollie's best ride? 12 December, 2023 JOCKEYS Ollie: In his own words 31 August, 2023 JOCKEYS Oliver, who rode a handful of horses at the Flemington jump-outs on Friday, said he was 58 kilograms and so on track to be fit and ready for the two-day jockey’s challenge. “Probably a little rough around the edges but I’ve got a few weeks to tighten up,” he said. Oliver said that as he had not been on a horse since Munhamek’s dramatic farewell, he needed a trackwork session or two. “It would be close to two or three months since I’ve been on one, so I thinks it’s important to have a bit of touch still so I will ride a few horses between now and then,” he said WATCH: Damien Oliver chat about his return to riding Back to NewsHubBrowse related articles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Oliver said he was enjoying his post-racing lifestyle, but figured the chance to ride one more time against the world’s best on Saudi Cup night later this month was “too good to refuse”. After Racing.com broke the news on Friday morning that Oliver was back at the Flemington jump-outs to prepare for a one-off comeback in Saudi Arabia, the champion jockey spoke to Entain about his “bittersweet” decision to ride over a two-day international jockey’s series on February 23 and 24. “It’s kind of an offer too good to refuse, although it’s kind of bittersweet having such a great finish to my career in Perth,” Oliver said. “I wasn’t planning to do something like this but something like this does not come along too often so I thought I might as well have a crack as a one-off. “It’s just a one-off. There are no plans of a comeback. “I’m quite content the way things are going at the moment, I’ve been quite happy doing my work at Ladbrokes. I’ve been quite busy and enjoying sleeping in and eating and drinking what I like. “I’ve slipped into the new lifestyle quite well.” Related Articles Ollie set for one-off return 2 February, 2024 JOCKEYS What was Ollie's best ride? 12 December, 2023 JOCKEYS Ollie: In his own words 31 August, 2023 JOCKEYS Oliver, who rode a handful of horses at the Flemington jump-outs on Friday, said he was 58 kilograms and so on track to be fit and ready for the two-day jockey’s challenge. “Probably a little rough around the edges but I’ve got a few weeks to tighten up,” he said. Oliver said that as he had not been on a horse since Munhamek’s dramatic farewell, he needed a trackwork session or two. “It would be close to two or three months since I’ve been on one, so I thinks it’s important to have a bit of touch still so I will ride a few horses between now and then,” he said WATCH: Damien Oliver chat about his return to riding
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