The Damien Oliver (Linlithgow Stakes) 2024

The Damien Oliver was formerly known as the Linlithgow Stakes

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.

2023 The Damien Oliver winner Cause For Concern

2023 The Damien Oliver winner Cause For Concern. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

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 run over 1200m by sprinters.

Open to horses aged three-years-old and over, the race is an open handicap event offering $500,000 in total prize money as of 2022.

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 latest edition of The Damien Oliver race ran on Saturday November 2, 2024 as part of Flemington’s bumper VRC Derby Day card and was won in a big finish down the outside by the Ciaron Maher-trained Another Wil ($3.90) who beat home his better fancied stablemate Jimmysstar.  

2024 The Damien Oliver Results

The official The Damien Oliver 2024 Results & Finishing Order will be available below once the sprint takes place at Flemington on Saturday November 2, 2024.

2024 The Damien Oliver winner Another Wil

2024 The Damien Oliver winner Another Wil was impressive down the Flemington straight. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

  • 1st: #2 Another Wil
  • 2nd: #5 Jimmysstar
  • 3rd: #8 Steparty

It was an emotional 2024 The Damien Oliver result for the connections of Another Wil ($3.90) following the passing of managing-owner Colin McKenna earlier in the week with jockey Jamie Kah flashing up the inside late to claim the Group 2 on Derby Day in a Ciaron Maher-trained quinella as Jimmysstar ran second.

2024 The Damien Oliver Odds

The latest The Damien Oliver 2024 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.

Early market betting odds on the 2024 The Damien Oliver will be displayed below once available. Odds are subject to fluctuation. For current odds on all of our live markets, please visit ladbrokes.com.au.

The Damien Oliver Race Info

  • Former Race Names: Linlithgow Stakes, Salinger Stakes
  • Date: Saturday November 2, 2024
  • Track: Flemington Racecourse
  • Distance: 1200m
  • 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 1200m record 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 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.

2024 The Damien Oliver Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ insider The Damien Oliver 2024 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.

  • To Win: #5 Jimmysstar ($2.60 at time of publish) – BET NOW

There’s a case to be made for stablemate Another Wil to atone for the luckless Toorak run, but happy to stick with the in-form favourite for Maher with Jimmysstar chasing a hat-trick. The consistent Per Incanto five-year-old is up in grade with a Group 2 start now but comes back a little in weight after his Listed Weekend Hussler win by a big margin at Caulfield over the 1400m on October 12. Great record at this distance (5:2-2-0), should handle Flemington having placed her previously and Blake Shinn retains the ride. Can keep the victories coming.

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.

2024 The Damien Oliver Field

The official The Damien Oliver 2024 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 Damien Oliver 2024 final field features a smart line-up of horses headed in the markets by Ciaron Maher’s last start Weekend Hussler winner Jimmysstar.

2024 The Damien Oliver Nominations

The early The Damien Oliver 2024 Nominations are taken on the Monday of Derby Day week and will be updated below once confirmed by Racing Victoria.

  Last 10 Horse Sex Age Trainer Ballot Weight True Weight Penalty Hcp Rating
1 9x43230x1x TUVALU G 7 Lindsey Smith 1 59kg 59kg   112
2 516x0140x1 MIGHTY ULYSSES (GB) G 6 Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald 2 56.5kg 56.5kg   107
3 x11117x117 ANOTHER WIL G 5 Ciaron Maher 3 56kg 56kg   106
4 1412x9817x TAMERLANE G 7 James Cummings 4 56kg 56kg   106
5 214424×106 QUINTESSA (NZ) M 4 Mark Walker 5 53kg 53kg   104
6 33x640x069 LAWS OF INDICES (IRE) H 7 Phillip Stokes 6 55kg 55kg   104
7 1x12737x11 JIMMYSSTAR (NZ) G 5 Ciaron Maher 7 54.5kg 54.5kg   103
8 8132x30x50 RIPCORD G 4 Luke Fernie 8 53.5kg 53.5kg   101
9 x1000x3905 PHEARSON G 7 Brad Widdup 9 53.5kg 53.5kg   101
10 x20x766x10 CHRYSAOR G 4 Chris Waller 10 53kg 52.5kg   99
11 3x3x680x86 STEPARTY G 4 Paul Preusker 11 53kg 52kg   98
12 x262125325 NICOLINI VITO G 7 Ben, Will & JD Hayes 12 53kg 52kg   98
13 57398×4488 THE ASTROLOGIST G 8 Leon & Troy Corstens & Will Larkin 13 53kg 52kg   98
14 6054148×96 NOT AN OPTION G 7 Michael Moroney & Glen Thompson 14 53kg 51.5kg   97
15 26×1163243 WHO DARES G 5 Pat Carey & Harris Walker 15 53kg 50.5kg   95
16 x01x00x0x7 AGE OF KINGS (IRE) H 5 Chris Waller 16 53kg 50.5kg   95
17 2114227×19 RUNNING BY M 5 Ciaron Maher 17 53kg 48kg   94
18 x5357x00x8 COSMIC VEGA (IRE) G 7 Ciaron Maher 18 53kg 49.5kg   93
19 34x190x07x SNOW PATROL (NZ) G 4 Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) 19 53kg 48.5kg   91
20 2836817×00 ASTERO G 7 Matthew Smith 20 53kg 48.5kg   91
21 31x6x115x7 CHARM STONE M 4 Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) 21 53kg 46kg   90
22 x14x2x6x08 ZOOLOGY (GB) G 5 Ciaron Maher 22 53kg 47kg   88
23 x91887x599 WOLFY (NZ) G 4 Nick Ryan 23 53kg 38.5kg   71

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

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.

2024 The Damien Oliver Form Guide

A link to our insider The Damien Oliver 2024 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

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.

Past 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.

Year Winner 2nd 3rd Time
2024 Another Wil Jimmysstar Steparty 1:22.96
2023 Cause For Concern Bandersnatch Munhamek 1:22.35
2022 Old Flame Poland Ironclad 1:23.6
2021 Justacanta Kemalpasa Isaurian 1:10.0
2020 Kemalpasa Order Of Command Bold Star 1:10.4
2019 Kemalpasa Order Of Command Zoutori 1:10.0
2018 Osborne Bulls Bons Away Runson 1:09:8
2017 Rich Charm Missrock The Monstar 1:08.9
2016 Illustrious Lad Counterattack Southern Legend 1:08.3
2015 Eclair Choice Hot Snitzel Dothraki 1:09.3
2014 Deep Field Driefontein In Cahoots 1:11.0
2013 Fontelina Spirit Of Boom Rarefied 1:09.0
2012 Fontelina Spirit Of Boom Tiger Tees 1:08.8
2011 Sister Madly Rarefied Temple Of Boom 1:10.4
2010 Whitefriars Beaded Chasm 1:11.1
2009 Eagle Falls Turffontein Absolutelyfabulous 1:08.9
2008 Hot Danish Fighting Fund Sunburnt Land 1:10.1
2007 Swick Great is Great Typhoon Zed 1:08.9
2006 Dance Hero Shadoways Miss Andretti 1:08.6
2005 Glamour Puss Barely A Moment Cape Of Good Hope 1:08.9
2004 Takeover Target Recurring St Basil 1:08.2
2003 Ancient Song Into The Night Blessum 1:11.0
2002 Rubitano Intelligent Star Cosmic Strike 1:07.1
2001 Sudurka Hire Camena 1:08.4
2000 Easy Rocking Umrum Tilt The Scales 1:10.0

FAQ

Who won the 2024 The Damien Oliver?

The 2024 Damien Oliver was won by the Ciaron Maher-trained Another Wil at $3.90 with Jamie Kah riding.

When is The Damien Oliver 2024?

Saturday November 2, 2024

What is the prize money for The Damien Oliver 2024?

$500,000

Where is The Damien Oliver 2024?

Flemington Racecourse, 448 Epsom Rd, Flemington VIC 3031.