Sometimes this question is easily answered as in cases where either a horse has an exceptional record regardless of who steers it, or a jockey posts exceptional results on a lot of different horses.
A prime example of the latter instance, where a jockey wins repeatedly on a variety of horses, is well represented by the record of Damien Oliver.
Damien Oliver, born 22 June 1972 near Perth, has the racing record, prize money statistics and recognition acquired over the course of a career that has featured consistent high performance for more than 20 years.
Oliver is one of the few jockeys that can claim ownership of the grand slam of Australian horse racing by winning the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and adding the Golden slipper stakes in 2007. In fact, he would need only one more Golden Slipper Stakes victory in order to lay claim to two career grand slams.
His record to date includes over 90 group 1 wins, almost 1000 victories and close to $94 million in prize money. At a stage in life where many hoops have chosen to hang up the boots, Oliver's 2010/11 season has already produced 54 wins, and it's not entirely inconceivable that he could equal or surpass the 115 wins he posted in 2008/09.
He has ridden and produced all over Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Ireland and Hong Kong. His skills on Australian turf feature almost 200 wins at Mooney Valley, 122 at Flemington and 129 at Caulfield. Since 2002, he has ridden five winners in one day on no fewer than six occasions and four winners in one day ten times. He has had two-win days on so many occasions that it hardly bears mention.
One measure of the jockey's reputation is represented by how he is regarded by the trainers for whom he rides. Oliver obviously fulfills this criteria by having won almost 200 races for Lee Freedman, over 60 for Mick Price, 30 for Peter Moody and 23 for Tony Mc Evoy.
Another that tips the balance in favor of the jockey as to which is the more important cog in the wheel is the number of victories obtained on any particular horse. Oliver's near 1000 wins have been distributed over a wide range of thoroughbreds. Only one, Alinghi, has accounted for ten.
Finally, awards and recognitions granted by peers and others knowledgeable in the field of horse racing bear a great deal of weight in the analysis. Oliver has been on the receiving end of no less than six Scobie Breasley medals. He was also inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2008, one of fewer than 30 jockeys granted that distinction in the entire history of Australian horse racing.
Other noteworthy achievements include winning the apprentice Jockey Championship in 1988/89 with 66 wins, and taking home six Melbourne Senior Jockey Championship trophies.
No story about Damien Oliver would be complete without some mention of the adversity his career has sustained. Both his father Ray and his older brother Jason were jockeys who lost their lives to the sport.
Father Ray Oliver was killed in a fall in 1975 at Kalgoorlie when Damien was just three years old.
Brother Jason was killed at Belmont Park in 2002, dying scant days ahead of Damien's scheduled 2002 run on Media Puzzle in the Melbourne Cup, a race he went on to win, providing a drama that touched the hearts of punters worldwide.
About the Author:
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