Oliver Takes Melbourne Cup Ride On Red Verdon

Three-time Melbourne Cup-winning rider Damien Oliver has taken the mount on UK stayer Red Verdon.

Oliver will replace Irish jockey Oisin Murphy on the Ed Dunlop-trained Red Verdon.

Murphy lost the Melbourne Cup ride when he was suspended for 15 day on a careless riding charge in the Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley last Friday night.

Oliver has won the Melbourne Cup on Doriemus (1995), Media Puzzle (2002) and Fiorente (2013).

Dunlop's travelling head lad Robin Trevor-Jones confirmed Oliver’s booking over the weekend.

"He's keen for the ride. I just told him to ride him exactly how he rode Fiorente,” said Trevor-Jones.

Zac Purton rode Red Verdon when he made his Australian debut in the Caulfield Cup on October 20.

Trevor-Jones was not alone in blaming the slow tempo for Red Verdon’s disappointing Caulfield Cup showing.

He finished 11th but the form because of the slow pace can be questioned after Ventura Storm, tenth in the Caulfield Cup, came out to win the Moonee Valley Gold Cup on Saturday.

"It's one that got away," Trevor-Jones said of his Caulfield Cup performance.

"Our bloke jumped a bit slow and that put us in trouble straight away.

“We felt there was going to be a lot of pace. The rest is history as they just trotted."