The Damien Oliver 2026 Betting Odds & Race Preview

The latest edition of The Damien Oliver race ran on Saturday, October 31, 2026 as part of Flemington’s bumper VRC Derby Day card and saw Joe Pride’s veteran nine-year-old Private Eye ($9) return to winning form with an impressive 1.5 length victory.

The Damien Oliver 2026 is a punter’s dream on Victoria Derby Day, delivering a deep and competitive 1400m Group 2 handicap where proven class meets genuine betting value. Named in honour of one of Australian racing’s greatest riders, the race regularly attracts a talented mix of seasoned sprinters, progressive milers, and horses peaking at the right time during the spring carnival. With handicap conditions helping to level the playing field, The Damien Oliver betting 2026 markets are often among the most open and intriguing of the entire Melbourne Cup Carnival, creating plenty of opportunities for punters to find a winner at attractive odds. Whether you’re chasing the latest The Damien Oliver odds 2026, tracking market movers, or looking for the next horse ready to explode on the big stage at Flemington, Ladbrokes has all the odds, betting updates, field information, and expert analysis for this exciting spring sprint feature.

2026 The Damien Oliver Results

The official The Damien Oliver 2026 Results & Finishing Order will be available below once the sprint takes place at Flemington on Saturday, October 31, 2026.

The 2026 The Damien Oliver results at Flemington saw evergreen Group 1 winner Private Eye ($9) turn back the clock with a brilliant victory in the Group 2 feature, further enhancing his reputation as one of Australia’s toughest and most consistent performers. The nine-year-old, trained by Joseph Pride and expertly ridden by James McDonald, settled comfortably before unleashing his trademark finish to defeat Cote Atlantique by 1½ lengths, with Zou Sensation a nose away in third. The performance took Private Eye’s career earnings beyond $12.4 million and immediately sparked Group 1 discussion, with connections likely to target the CF Orr Stakes (1400m) at Sandown Hillside later this month. Bookmakers were quick to respond, slashing the veteran’s CF Orr Stakes 2026 odds from $51 into $8 at Ladbrokes after his impressive Derby Day triumph.

2026 The Damien Oliver Race Replay

2026 The Damien Oliver Odds & Finishing Order

The latest The Damien Oliver 2026 betting markets and links to the Victoria Derby Day odds online will be provided below so stay tuned for the best markets on the hopeful sprinters down the Flemington straight this Melbourne Cup Carnival followed by the official finishing order after the event.

The Damien Oliver Tips

Top The Damien Oliver race tips include backing horses coming off a last start win over a similar distance, getting behind graduates of a race like the Caulfield Sprint and backing runners proven down the testing Flemington straight.

Favourites only have a mediocre recent strike rate in the race, so another good tip is to look at the horses with good lead-up form at $10 or over in the markets.

2026 The Damien Oliver Predictions & Best Bets

Our Ladbrokes’ insider The Damien Oliver 2026 betting tips and Flemington sprint racing selections will be provided below the week of the race so stay tuned for the horses to back and sack this VRC Derby Day.

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The Damien Oliver Tips & Predictions 2026: Best Bets

30 Oct • Darren Cole

We have The Damien Oliver tips and predictions for the Group 2 1400m race at Flemington on Saturday. The Damien Oliver odds have Warnie favoured to win, but it’s a very even betting market. PERSIAN SPIRIT (3) was too good for them last time out at Caulfield, and he is good enough to make it back-to-back wins on Saturday. He tends to run his best races at this time of the year, and there are some things in his favour. He gets a good barrier draw in barrier 3, and Craig Williams is one of the best jockeys in the business.…

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The Damien Oliver is a Group 2 race run on the Saturday prior to the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse on Victoria Derby Day. VRC Derby Day is the first of four meetings making up the Melbourne Cup Carnival held at the tail-end of the wider Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival in late October or early November each year and features three Group 1 features.

The highlights on the bumper race card are the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m), Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m), and Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m). There are also two Group 2 support acts on the program with the Wakeful Stakes (2000m) for fillies and The Damien Oliver.

Open to horses aged three-years-old and over, the race is an open handicap event offering $500,000 in total prize money.

It can serve as a lead-up to the following Saturday’s Group 1 VRC Sprint Classic (1200m) – now run as the Champions Sprint – over the same track and distance, a double last achieved by Glamour Puss (2005), while in 2015 Delectation improved on a lead-up fourth in the Salinger Stakes to win the VRC Classic a week later.

The Damien Oliver Race Info

• Former Race Names: Linlithgow Stakes, Salinger Stakes
• Date: Saturday, October 31, 2026
• Track: Flemington Racecourse
• Distance: 1400m
• Conditions: Handicap
• Status: Group 2
• Prize Money: $500,000
• First Run: 1868

The Damien Oliver Betting

The Damien Oliver odds are led by horses with a good record over the distance and those proven down the Flemington straight. Some gallopers are more suited to turning track like Moonee Valley, so betting favours those that have previous experience at Flemington Racecourse and those also proven in similar Group company over the season.

Upsets are not uncommon in the race and recent winners to salute at double figures in The Damien Oliver / Linlithgow Stakes betting markets include Éclair Choice ($18 in 2015) and Illustrious Lad ($12 in 2016).

Other recent upsets include the back-to-back victories of Fontelina ($17 in 2012 and $11 in 2013) and Kemalpasa ($11 in 2019). In 2020 Kemalpasa returned to become the race’s latest dual champion saluting at $4.60 in the markets.

There was another upset in the 2021 event with Justacanta narrowly winning at $17 just denying dual defending champ Kemalpasa a third consecutive win, while in 2023 Cause For Concern won the renamed race at The Damien Oliver odds of $12.

In 2024 Another Wil ($3.90) and Jimmysstar ($2.20F) started the top two in betting both trained by Ciaron Maher and ran the quinella but in reverse order of the market. 

The Damien Oliver Field

The Damien Oliver race field features a quality line-up of sprinters, although the top tier short-distance runners are often saved for the following Saturday’s Group 1 VRC Champions Sprint (1200m). Runners in the event may come off lead-up spring runs in a race like the Group 2 Caulfield Sprint (1000m) on Caulfield Cup Day or a start in the world’s richest turf race – the $20 million The Everest (1200m) at Randwick that produced the 2018 Salinger winner Osborne Bulls.

The Damien Oliver nominations close the Monday before the race runs that Saturday on Derby Day and the final acceptances and barriers are out on the Wednesday.

2026 The Damien Oliver Field

The official The Damien Oliver 2026 Final Field & Barriers are due for release on the Wednesday of race week and will be detailed in full below so stay tuned to see what sprinters make the starting line-up.

The official The Damien Oliver 2026 final field is now out featuring a capacity line-up of sprinters including Lindsay Park’s last start Group 3 Moonga Stakes winner War Machine drawn wide out and nine-year-old runner-up in that same key lead-up, Private Eye, to be ridden by James McDonald.

2026 The Damien Oliver Nominations

The early The Damien Oliver 2026 Nominations are taken on the Monday of Derby Day week and will be updated below once confirmed by Racing Victoria.

The Damien Oliver Form Guide

The Damien Oliver race form guide gives punters crucial information needed to place a well-informed wager like the track / distance records of the runners, their jockeys / trainers and lead-up performance.

The form has held up in tougher Group races later in the spring a number of times in recent years including in the Darley Classic – now run as the Champions Sprint – run seven days later. In 2013 Fontelina won the Salinger for the second year on the trot before a fourth to Buffering in the Darley Classic. Spirit Of Boom also ran second in both the 2012 and 2013 edition.

In 2012 Spirit Of Boom (2nd) went on to run third in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) in Perth two runs later and fourth in the same Ascot elite level on the back of his 2013 Salinger Stakes second placing. In 2015 the Salinger Stakes produced that year’s Daley Classic winner Delectation (4th).

The four out of the 2020 Salinger Stakes held Kemalpasa and Order Of Command ran first and second in the race for the second time before also running the quinella in the Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes on Zipping Classic Day. Order Of Command would also go on to run second in the next year’s Group 1 The Galaxy behind Eduardo in Sydney.

In 2022 the Linlithgow Stakes winner franked the form running third next start in the $1 million The Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange.

The form out of the 2024 The Damien Oliver has stacked up in a big way. Winner Another Wil backed it up with a strong second in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes next start, then returned in autumn to claim the CF Orr Stakes — serious credentials. Runner-up Jimmysstar has gone to another level since, landing both the Oakleigh Plate and All Aged Stakes at Group 1 level before a huge third in The Everest. Safe to say, that race has turned into a proper form reference.

2026 The Damien Oliver Form Guide

A link to our insider The Damien Oliver 2026 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Past Salinger Stakes / Linlithgow Stakes / The Damien Oliver Results

The Salinger Stakes / Linlithgow Stakes / The Damien Oliver race results over the past decade have been a mixed bag between favourites and double-figure winners scoring an upset.

The last favourite to salute was Rich Charm (2017), while the last back-to-back champ was Fontelina (2012-2013). Other notable recent Salinger Stakes / Linlithgow Stakes winners include Eagle Falls (2009), Hot Danish (2008), Dance Hero (2006), and Takeover Target (2004).

Phar Lap is one of the most famous past winners of this event back in 1930 during the Melbourne Cup Carnival. He won an event on all four days of that year’s Carnival including of course the iconic Melbourne Cup race.

Fastnet Rock (2004) was the last three-year-old Linlithgow Stakes winner.

Sister Madly (2011) was the last Linlithgow Stakes winning mare.

From 2023 the event has been known as The Damien Oliver.

Recent Salinger Stakes / Linlithgow Stakes / The Damie Oliver Past Winners

Recent winners of the race now known as The Damien Oliver along with the placegetters and winning times dating back to the year 2000 are detailed in the below table.