Damian Lane, Premiership Winner: But What Does The Future Hold?

WHILE DAMIAN LANE was sunning himself on a well-deserved break in the warm climes of Port Douglas in Australia’s tropical far north this week he had time to reflect on a rollercoaster few months at the end of a year-long grind it took to win his first Melbourne Jockeys’ Premiership. 

There’s plenty for Lane to think back on fondly, even more for the 30-year-old to look forward to, and some recent events that put everything in perspective. 

Last week Lane sealed his bucket-list achievement of a first Melbourne ‘metropolitan’ title, putting him on a list of such luminaries as Damien Oliver, Roy Higgins, Harry White and Scobie Breasley. Finishing top three in the standings also extended Lane’s eligibility to apply for short-term licences in the Japan Racing Association (JRA) through July 2026. 

“It is great to qualify for Japan, but it means a lot more than that: having that premiership on my CV is very meaningful, it is there forever, some of the greats have won it,” Lane told Idol Horse. 

In Australia the season runs from August 1 to July 31 the following year, and Lane rode 88 winners to finish 13 wins clear of Blake Shinn. 

Lane said it was only that he was restricted from applying for JRA short-term licences for much of the last year, because of careless riding and whip infringements under the strict ‘demerit system for foreign riders in Japan, that had allowed him to focus on competing at home. 

“The window of opportunity to win the Premiership was there because I was not able to compete in Japan,” he said. “It was a disappointing end to my stint last year in Tokyo, but it resulted in the opportunity to work towards something else I wanted to achieve. I had never made winning a premiership a primary focus and priority.” 

Lane has earned a reputation as a Group 1 jet-setter, particularly on Japanese horses abroad. He has won feature races in Hong Kong, Dubai, Saudi Arabia as well as in his homeland, while also excelling in his many short term stints in Japan over the last five years. 

He said the consistency required to win a premiership presented him with a different challenge though, at least compared to the fly-in, fly-out missions and short stays in Japan he has become known for.  

“The biggest challenge is keeping yourself physically and mentally at your best all year round,” he said. “When you can take holidays and working holidays, those trips overseas can keep your mind fresh and give your body a reprieve. But having to turn up and be at your best week-in, week-out for a whole season is not easy.”

Despite Lane’s year-long commitment to the cause in Melbourne, he still managed a Group 1 double in Sydney when he won the TJ Smith on Chain Of Lightning and the George Ryder on Veight during the Australian autumn. He said that being in Melbourne more often meant “maintaining a good rapport with trainers and owners was much more difficult.” 

“I find when you are riding through periods like the Spring Carnival, you are riding two or three months straight through an intense, high pressure period and sometimes owners and trainers can get a bit sour on you when something hasn’t gone right,” he explained. “But when you can have a few weeks away, by the time you get back they have moved on to being sour on another jockey. You are back in favour and you haven’t even had to do anything to rectify the relationship.

“To win a premiership you have to stay at your top and keep everybody happy all-year round, you can’t afford to slip up because you don’t get opportunities to disappear and just join in when the time suits. You have to maintain that healthy relationship all-year round and it is like anything, you see somebody all of the time, sometimes they can wear a little bit thin on you.” 

Japanese connections have certainly not fallen out of love with Lane – he was the second fastest ever to reach 100 winners in the JRA, behind only Joao Moreira – and his strike rate to get to 147 winners remains at an exceptionally high 23.7%. 

The feeling is mutual too: Lane clearly loves Japanese culture, the country’s people and its racing, so it is natural that the question is commonly asked by connections, commentators and fans alike – would he consider making a move to Japan and join Christophe Lemaire and Mirco Demuro as the third foreigner riding full-time on the lucrative circuit? 

In recent times Lane has spoken more openly about the possibility. Firstly, he understands the challenge – he would have to pass the knowledge test that Moreira famously failed in 2018 – and then he would have to consider what is best for his family. 

Lane and his wife Bonnie are expecting their first child, a boy, in late October, which means he isn’t likely to apply for a short-term stint this year despite being eligible, and he is hoping to be back mid-2025 for the run of feature races through May and June. 

So, what are the chances of a full-time move? 

“Obviously it is a very difficult process to obtain a full-time JRA licence but it is something that I talk about with my wife quite often and it is something that we could consider in the future,” he said, adding that “it definitely won’t be this year” that he takes the challenging exam and language test. 

“My wife and I both love Japan but we also have a boy on the way and that makes things a little bit tricky,” he said. “Let’s see how things go over the next year or two, we have to consider how hard it would be to move away from family and what life would be like with him over there and what is best for our family. That is all under consideration.” 

Putting things into perspective for Lane and many others in the close-knit racing industry was when the jockey’s former boss and close friend Matthew Ellerton suffered a life-threatening stroke while on holiday in Bali early last month. 

Members of the Melbourne racing community soon set-up a ‘gofundme’ page to assist Ellerton’s family get the trainer back to Australia for treatment. 

“I was apprenticed to Matty and his co-trainer at the time Simon Zahra when I moved to Melbourne,” Lane said. “I was just 17 and I moved into his apartment with him and his wife Leah, I didn’t have a driver’s licence so I went to work and back with them everyday, and we have always stayed close. I have ridden for him ever since and for the best part of ten years now I have been his number one rider so we have a very strong relationship. 

“He is recovering well, he still has a long road ahead of him. Mentally he is really good but just physically the rehab is going to take a little while. But so far he is doing all the right things and things look positive.” 

On the near horizon is Lane’s first visit to Hokkaido and a spot in the World All-Star Jockeys, which now carries the carrot of eligibility for short-term licences for the jockeys who finish top five.

That new rule is redundant for Lane given his latest achievement – and maybe he will be in Japan and riding for the home team one day  – but he is excited to build on his already impressive JRA record regardless. 

 “Coming to Japan and riding is always great,” he said. “I haven’t competed in the World All-Star Jockeys before and I haven’t ridden in Sapporo, so it’s a new experience for me and I am looking forward to it.”