FINAL FAREWELL TO OLLIE

THERE’S little doubt the main focus for Australian horse racing will be champion jockey Damien Oliver’s final ride on Munhamek in the Damien Oliver Gold Rush at Ascot on Saturday.

After a long retirement tour, the 51-year-old will draw the curtain down on a career where he has rightfully earned the acronym The Goat for being The Greatest Of All Time at 8.32pm.

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Oliver can boast 129 Group 1s, including 128 in Australia which is the most of all time. He also won three Melbourne Cups. He won 3186 races in his 35 year career.

Oliver is ending his career in his hometown of Perth in front of friends and family.

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Perth Racing is expecting a crowd of 8000 to witness what even the star jockey termed “the longest farewell.”

The Damien Oliver Gold Rush is a Group 3 race worth $1.5 million over 1400 metres.

Munhamek’s trainer former jockey Nick Ryan said it was a great privilege to have given Oliver his final ride and it would be a dream come true if he could win.

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Ryan said Munhamek had been set for the race and had had little luck in his two runs this campaign.s

Munhamek is a $9 chance but has to overcome barrier 17.