November 18, 2009 – 8:00 pm
A lot of comments about my recent Huffington Post piece on the avalanche of media coverage at the Melbourne Cup Carnival versus the minimalist approach exercised by American newspapers at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita.
This article by Tony Arrold ran in The Australian on Monday. Arrold, who is the newspaper’s Sydney racing writer, brings up several points, and he got me thinking:
Damien Oliver has raced all over the world – Europe, Asia, and even out of the way places such as Mauritius. Should Ollie give it a go in the States?
October 1, 2009 – 12:00 am
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPH BY ERIC O’KEEFE
THE THOROUGHBRED / WINTER 2009
CURRAGH CRONIES: Jimmy Feane (left) and Stan Cosgrove (centre) of Moyglare Stud join Cup-winning trainer Dermot Weld atop the gallops at Ireland’s most famous racecourse.
Have you ever walked into a paddock with a lead rope in your hand only to find out that you were about to be given a lesson in catching the wind? With twists and feints and an occasional burst of speed, a playful horse can turn a 10-second drill into a bullfight, and the only thing that gets gored is your pride.
This is a preview of PRINT: “Voices of The Cup”
. Read the full post »
September 30, 2009 – 12:00 am
Director Simon Wincer and the hero of The Cup, two-time Melboune Cup winner Damien Oliver.
TOWN MOOR is no ordinary racecourse. To label it as such is like calling the Tour de France “a strenuous country ride” or Buckingham Palace “the home of a London family”. Town Moor is to thoroughbred racing what the barren plains of Marathon are to long distance runners: heroic, historic, defining.
This is a preview of PRINT: Read the First Chapter of The Cup by Eric O’Keefe
. Read the full post »
By eok
|
Tagged Carl Nafzger, Dermot Weld, Doncaster, Edward VII, English St. Leger, Go And Go, Ireland, Media Puzzle, Melbourne Cup, Michael Kinane, Nick Zito, Town Moor
|
August 7, 2009 – 12:00 am
chris de kretser and daryl timms
Melbourne Herald Sun
August 7, 2009
The man who wrote the book and film script for The Cup, the heart-warming story of Damien Oliver’s win on Media Puzzle, is an American who had never seen a Melbourne Cup and only heard about it second-hand from friends.
Texan sports novelist Eric O’Keefe says he was told about the 2002 Cup, one of the greatest in modern times, by friends who witnessed Oliver’s emotional ride days after the death of his brother Jason.
This is a preview of PRINT: “An Ollie-wood Saga”
. Read the full post »
August 7, 2009 – 12:00 am
Director Simon Wincer discusses his upcoming film The Cup about Damien Oliver's epic victory in the 2002 Melbourne Cup at the launch of the book of the same name at Flemington Racecourse on August 6.
BY STEVE BUTLER / THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
AUGUST 7, 2009
This is a preview of PRINT: “Cup Tribute in Oliver’s Film Glory”
. Read the full post »
August 7, 2009 – 12:00 am
Champion jockey Damien Oliver took centre stage at the launch of The Cup.
BY MATT STEWART / MELBOURNE HERALD SUN
August 7, 2009
Damien Oliver put himself in his late brother’s shoes in the days before the 2002 Melbourne Cup, prompting the decision that led to the most heartbreaking, heartwarming and famous gesture in racing history.
Oliver immediately flew to Perth after learning of older brother Jason’s death in a track fall at Belmont.
This is a preview of PRINT: “Ollie’s Finest Moment in Words”
. Read the full post »
August 6, 2009 – 12:00 pm
The Committee Room at Flemington Racecourse was the site for the debut of The Cup.
MEDIA RELEASE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
UPLIFTING STORY OF TRIUMPH OVER TRAGEDY
FOR AUSTRALIA’S CHAMPION JOCKEY, DAMIEN OLIVER
Today at Flemington Damien Oliver took centre stage to launch the new book The Cup, the remarkable story of the 2002 Melbourne Cup and his emotional win on Media Puzzle.
Struggling to hold back tears, Damien recapped the 2002 Cup and how he came to make one the toughest decisions he has faced – whether or not he would ride following the tragic death of his brother Jason in a track fall just days earlier.
This is a preview of PRINT: The Cup Launch
. Read the full post »
August 6, 2009 – 12:00 am
Slattery Media's Alison Hurbert-Burns welcomes guests to the launch of the company's newest title, The Cup.
BY MARK RYAN / BLOODSTOCK.COM.AU
August 6, 2009
A new book The Cup, the story of Damien Oliver’s emotional 2002 Melbourne Cup triumph aboard Media Puzzle just days after the tragic death of his jockey brother Jason in a fall at Belmont in Perth, was released at Flemington racecourse on Thursday.
American journalist Eric O’Keefe, who wrote the book, said in a taped interview from the US that he was attracted to writing about the race because it was “the best story I’ve encountered”.
This is a preview of ONLINE: “Book on Oliver, Media Puzzle Win is Out”
. Read the full post »
BY ADRIAN DUNN / MELBOURNE HERALD SUN
July 31, 2009
Few, if any, sporting moments have captured the hearts of a country more comprehensively than Damien Oliver winning the 2002 Melbourne Cup on Irish stayer Media Puzzle.
A week after his brother Jason died after a barrier-trial accident, Oliver produced his greatest ride, one he would dedicate to his late brother.
It was a triumph of many kinds. For Irish genius Dermot Weld, it was his second Melbourne Cup in nine years.
For Media Puzzle, it was overcoming a broken pelvis that had threatened his existence, let alone an emerging career.
This is a preview of PRINT: “Heart-Stopper When Ollie Won the Cup”
. Read the full post »
