Oliver served a ten-month ban for his now infamous act of betting on a rival horse and on a Friday at Geelong in September, got back on a horse in a race for the first time since last November. That horse was Lion of Belfort and it won with ease.
He couldn't have hoped for better support from a racing industry which had every right to shun him. His prodigious talent was welcomed back in the game and when Nash Rawiller erred on Fiorente when riding him in the Turnbull Stakes, Oliver was given the chance to jump a horse which would start Melbourne Cup favourite.
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Now, thanks to the meticulous preparation of trainer Gai Waterhouse, the enormous strength of the horse and the poise of the champion jockey, he has climbed the mountain again on a stallion he had never ridden before in a race.
"It’s nice to be back doing what I love. When you’re out there on that track and looking back at the crowd and see what it means, it’s just an amazing race and I couldn't be happier to win it again," he said after the victory.
"Nothing is a given in this game but I was determined to work hard when I came back and I’ve been very fortunate that someone like Gai got behind me and what a great honour to win her first Melbourne Cup for her.”
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"He is a special horse and I feel very fortunate to get upon him for the first time in a Melbourne Cup."
The victory comes 11 years after his emotional success aboard Media Puzzle and 18 years after his first Cup win on Doriemus.
"It's extraordinary, you just can’t imagine the emotion that goes through your body, it’s a really special feeling and I feel very fortunate," he said.
Oliver said his anticipation on riding Fiorente in the Melbourne Cup only grew when he got aboard the horse in trackwork.
"It was a bit like having a Christmas present and not being able to open it because I’ve been really excited about riding this horse and trying to keep a lid on it," he said.
"I missed the ride in the Cox Plate but I was working the horse a lot in work and he is really just a delight to ride, he is so quiet and relaxed and he is everything you want in a Melbourne Cup horse."
While the jockey has earned considerable praise for the ride, he said the powerful six-year- old stallion did the job for him.
"They went really hard early and I wanted to be closer but I was just going have to be forcing him to be there so I let the pace go and let him be happy," he said.
"He was a fair way back but before I knew it I was right on top of them on the turn because it all changed complexion pretty quickly.
"He joined them before I knew it on the turn and he was just too strong over the concluding stages."