Damien Oliver knew he would have to produce a stellar ride to win the Winter Championship Final at Flemington on topweight Amovatio and the champion jockey did just that.
Amovatio
In a thrilling finish to one of the feature races on Finals Day on Saturday, Oliver settled Amovatio near the back of the field before driving the Chris Waller-trained gelding through a gap to defeat Mr Utopia by a short-half head.
Oliver’s win was the first leg of a double on the day and he said he probably couldn’t have ridden Amovatio any better.
But he still thought he had been beaten on the line by Mr Utopia who was ridden by premiership rival Dwayne Dunn.
“I knew we had to have a pretty good run to defy the weights from last start,” Oliver said.
“We got back on the inside but were able to save ground and get a good run through. Fortunately, he just put his head out at the right time.”
Amovatio won with 57.5kg last start at Flemington last start and rose to 60kg on Saturday.
Oliver said the horse’s weight rise played on his mind.
“I just didn’t know if we were going to be able to get there in time with the big weight but fortunately he did,” he said.
Oliver brought up his double on De Little Engine in the Banjo Paterson Series Final but it wasn’t enough to take the lead in the jockeys’ premiership.
Craig Williams did that courtesy of a treble of wins aboard Illustrious Lad, Jessy Belle and Falago in three of the first four races.
Dunn didn’t get on the scoreboard after starting the day one win ahead.
Williams now leads Oliver and Dunn by two with less than a month of the season remaining.
“It’s going to be tough competition but it’s good for racing at this time of year,” Oliver said.
“It’s not the end of the world if we don’t (win the premiership) but it’s certainly a nice reward after a long season for whoever will win it.”
