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By Bill Casey

They tell you Damien Oliver is the best jockey in Australia. Even the Sydneysiderssay that. I doubt it.

For mine Darren Beadman is the best jockey and I'll tell you why. He rides more winners.

Everywhere and anywhere.

He didn't ride a winner at Rosehill on Saturday and the black day was a shock to everyone.

Usually he rides winners with ease in Melbourne and Sydney and Damien Oliver doesn't do that.

It's rare that Oliver rides a winner in Sydney. In fact he by no means dominates ameeting when he comes here. Beadman is just as prominent in Melbourne as he is in Sydney.

He is every bit as good in Melbourne as he is in Sydney.

It was patently obvious at the Randwick races on Boxing Day that Beadman gives hismounts an huge advantage while Oliver, in Melbourne, is a good rider but has to have thecattle under him.

Beadman rides a winner around about every four and half rides.

He is second only to the prolific NSW country jockey Gerald Ryan in the National Premiership.

This title is assessed on the actual number of winners a jockey rides anywhere.

Beadman of course rides most of his winners in the Sydney Metropolitan area while Ryanrides almost all of his at undistinguished country racecourses.

Oliver doesn't feature in the first 10 jocks in the National premiership.

Oliver was riding on his favourite track at Caulfield last Thursday.

But he did not manage a winner and was beaten on the heavily backed Atin who started favourite.

Oliver was unlucky. But punters still lost their money.

I feel the reason Oliver is given such a good press throughout Australia is that hehas the knack of being colourful and newsworthy.

His win on Media Puzzle in the Melbourne Cup after his brother had been killed a coupleweeks earlier in a barrier trial accident was undoubtedly the human interest news storyin sport for the year 2002.

The fact that Media Puzzle was simply too good under the Cup conditions for his rivalswas completely overlooked.

Oliver did it. Oliver won the Cup. Not Media Puzzle.

Beadman is an entirely different personality.

He is of course a big story himself in that he is so vitally interested in his church.

But I feel that Darren has come to terms with his Church interest and now places itin a workable perspective with racing.

He is particularly good with young horses.

There is an old saying that you want a champion jockey on a juvenile and may as welluse a claiming apprentice on an old stayer.

This is because the juvenile needs to place his confidence in the senior jockey andthe old horse knows what he is doing anyhow.

At Randwick last Thursday Beadman was beaten on three-year-old Alive 'N' Well in thefirst race but then won on five-year-old Thorns and lightly raced three-year-old Umarisin the next two.

He learned so much from his ride of Alive 'N' Well that he was a 7kg better rider laterin the day.

Beadman's influence on Umaris who had raced only once beforehand, was impressive.

The filly had missed a place at Kembla on December 7 but Beadman allowed her to settledown and run her own race until the home turn at Randwick.

Once in the straight Umaris settled perfectly under Beadman's soft hands and went tothe post at a terrific rate.

Beadman failed in the next but brought up his hat trick when Irish Crusader won.

Once again, Beadman was willing to compromise with the obvious track bias.

His mount had 57.5 and there was a stretch of turf about eight out from the rails whichwas far better going than any other part of the Randwick straight.

I believe this was because it is sewn with Kikuya grass.

Beadman was forced to skirt this while Irish Crusader's great rival Cabin Fever dominatedthe proceedings.

But the advantage that Corey Brown had on Cabin Fever was negated by Beadman holdingthe inside and covering less actual ground.

It is hard to place Beadman in the same class as men who dominated riding ranks forprevious generations.

George Moore was certainly head and shoulders above his rivals at his time while DarbyMunro was the best of a great bunch in the thirties and middle forties.

Beadman has Chris Munce and Corey Brown as his main competitors.

There is no doubt that Munce is a better rider for Gai Waterhouse than any other trainer.

He seems to have an unbreakable confidence in the ability of Waterhouse to produce a fit horse.

He may be right too.

Munce was willing to scout out five or six wide to get the better going on the greymare Marchioness in the Theo Green Handicap at Randwick.

It was one of his two winners for the day but established there and then that the trackhe had picked was the best on that horrible wet day.

Munce tried it on most of his mounts but it did not work as well for other trainersas it did for the Waterhouse horses.

Only two favourites won that day. Munce was on one of them. Naturally enough it wasalso for Waterhouse.

We might be well serviced only backing horses ridden by Beadman and Munce at Randwick.

Particularly leaning towards those ridden by Beadman and trained by John Hawkes orthose ridden by Munce and trained by Gai Waterhouse.

Probably Corey Brown is better at Rosehill or Warwick Farm.

But these facts do point to another bias and that is towards Beadman in Sydney.

Oliver simply doesn't matter that much in Melbourne.

While he rides for Lee Freedman, an outstanding trainer, he simply doesn't mean a coupleof lengths in favour of his mount.

Beadman does.

He may not be another George Moore but he is a steady, competent jockey and you cannotsay as much about anyone else.

He will do me until a better jockey comes along.

And that won't be Damien Oliver by any means.

Ends

KEYWORD: CASEY SPORT