Jockey Damien Oliver will ride Melbourne Cup favourite Americain today after being interviewed by stewards. Americain heads a strong international list of chances. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: The Australian
AS he prepared to ride Melbourne Cup favourite Americain, it has been revealed that Damien Oliver has been interviewed by stewards regarding an on-going investigation into betting.
Oliver was a notable absentee from yesterday's Cup parade through the streets of Melbourne and it has since emerged that a panel headed by Racing Victoria steward Rob Montgomery has recently spoken to Oliver regarding an alleged $10,000 bet on Miss Octopussy in a race at Moonee Valley two years ago in which he rode another horse.
Oliver rode the unplaced Europa Point but is alleged to have wagered on the winner, which started favourite at $2.30.
There is no inference that Oliver rode his horse in a negative manner. The stewards still have people they wish to speak to in relation to the investigation but hope to conclude it soon.
When contacted yesterday afternoon by text message, Oliver replied that he was not giving interviews but the jockey is likely to ride with some extra motivation given the seriousness of the allegations against him.
Americain, who lines up in his third Melbourne Cup today, was laid at $7 at the Call Of The Card and is the public elect at that quote. Driving his popularity is the Oliver factor.
Oliver was booked to replace French jockey Gerald Mosse 11 days ago. The booking sparked an influx of support for the 2010 Cup winner considered by many - including his owners - to have been set too great a task by Mosse in last year's renewal and more recently the Caulfield Cup, in which he finished fourth after racing wide.
It is 10 years since Oliver won his last Melbourne Cup on Media Puzzle, they day before he laid his brother Jason to rest after he was killed by head injuries received in a barrier trial.
Oliver is riding in great form, having won the Thousand Guineas on Commanding Jewel during the Caulfield Cup carnival and the Victoria Derby last Saturday on Fiveandahalfstar.
Until the weekend, when interviewed at Santa Anita where the Breeder's Cup meeting was conducted for Melbourne radio station RSN by Ron Flatter, Americain's French trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre admitted to not being aware of accusations levelled at Oliver in a newspaper report last month.
Meanwhile, five-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Lee Freedman, twice saddling up Makybe Diva, yesterday labelled fellow international raider Dunaden "as good a stayer as I've seen in the last 20 years".
Speaking at the Call Of The Card function at Crown Casino, Freedman said weight would not prevent the Qatari-owned stayer from winning consecutive Cups.
Freedman has a theory that for an international horse to win the famous race nowadays, they need to be coming off a personal best performance in Australia.
He cited Americain and Dunaden winning the Geelong Cup in the past two years as a fore-runner to their Flemington wins.
"Dunaden ran a personal best in the Caulfield Cup. That was his best win," Freedman said. "He got a penalty but I don't think the weight will stop him."
Freedman believes it is a mistake to come here and submit an overseas entry to making their debut on Australian soil in the $6.2 million handicap, as Mount Athos will be forced to do.
"To run here first-up in the Melbourne Cup is a low percentage play." he said.
Dunaden is pressing for favouritism at $8 on the second line of betting, which he shares with Mount Athos - who has not raced since August, where he completed a hat-trick of wins at Newbury in the Group III Geoffrey Freer Stakes.
A massive Cup-eve betting splurge on locally-trained gallopers yesterday shook the international grip on the race. Punters fired off a string of huge bets on the Sydney-trained Kelinni and Melbourne stayer Lights Of Heaven.
Bookies couldn't cope with the barrage of money thrown at the Chris Waller-trained Kelinni.
The biggest single result from the Call of the Card was a potential collect of $700,000 if the local stayer Niwot lands the prize in the $6.2m race.
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