Criquette Head heaps praise on Olivier Doleuze as rider retires

French-born riding star Olivier Doleuze has announced his retirement from the saddle at the end of 31 years and 30 Group 1 wins spanning the globe.

The son of trainer and former jockey George Doleuze, Olivier was first apprentice and then stable jockey to Criquette Head through the 1990s, before embarking on a hugely successful second phase to his career in Hong Kong from 2003 until earlier this year, when he was given leave by the HKJC to return home for family reasons.

Doleuze announced his retirement via Twitter, saying: “I have decided to retire today from racing. I want to thank all the people who have been involved in this amazing journey!”

Head led the tributes to Doleuze, who rode many of her best horses including Prix de Diane heroine Egyptband in 2000, as well as the 1994 Poule d’Essai des Poulains on Green Tune at the age of just 22.

“He came to me as an apprentice at the age of 14 and we made each other,” said Head. “He was a very positive person. He could go from the front and had a very good sense of pace, which is very important. We won many, many races like that. He was still young when he left and I knew I’d lost a good jockey.

“I had a lot of fun working with him and he was a very positive influence on the stable. He was never negative and in life that is very important, it made it easy for everyone.

The Prix de Diane was quite something because that year we had five very good fillies and we chose to run Egyptband, even though she had only won a couple of small races. People thought we were crazy.”

Doleuze moved to Hong Kong in 2003 and enjoyed 571 wins across 17 seasons as one of the territory’s best big-race jockeys, enjoying fruitful partnerships aboard champions such as Good Ba Ba and Rich Tapestry, with whom he enjoyed a breakthrough US success in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap for trainer Michael Chang.

His infectious personality made him a hit with owners and fans alike in the notoriously fickle Hong Kong jockeys colony, scoring what would be his final Group 1 success aboard the John Size-trained DB Pin in January.

Three of the best from ‘Oly’

Chief Contender, 1997 Prix du Cadran
France’s staying championship pitted two giants of the British scene against one another but it was Doleuze who came up trumps aboard the Peter Chapple-Hyam inmate Chief Contender, holding off Frankie Dettori on Celeric, with Persian Punch and Cash Asmussen back in third.

Egyptband, 2000 Prix de Diane
Volterra was sent off the heavy PMU favourite for the Diane but it was the lightly-raced Eypytband who came with a sweepin run to claim success, with the impish Doleuze steeling a glance through his legs at his toiling rivals crossing the line.

Good Ba Ba, 2007 Hong Kong Mile
One of the classiest international lineup assembled for the Sha Tin feature went to Doleuze and local hero Good Ba Ba, who held off Godolphin’s Creachadoir and star French filly Darjina in a thrilling drive to the line.

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