Damian Lane

Damian Lane (born 6 February 1994) is an Australian jockey based in Victoria.

Damian Lane
Lane after winning the 2023 Japanese Derby
Occupation	Jockey
Born	(1994-02-06) 6 February 1994 Bunbury, Western Australia
Nationality	Australian
Height	166 cm (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight	53 kg (117 lb)[1]

Lane was born in Bunbury in Western Australia to Michael and Vickey Lane, who were both horse trainers.[2] He grew up around horses,[2] and began his career in Western Australia in 2009, and later moved to Victoria. His first Group One winner was Trust In A Gust in the 2014 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield. As of mid-April 2023, he has ridden 1,335 winners, including 26 in Group One races.[3][4][5]

Lane spent three months in Japan from April to July 2019, riding 37 winners, including his first Japanese Grade 1 victory at the Victoria Mile with Normcore,[2] and spent another three months there between April and July 2020, riding 41 winners. In 2019 in the Melbourne spring racing carnival he rode the Japanese-trained horses Mer De Glace and Lys Gracieux in their respective Caulfield Cup and W. S. Cox Plate wins.[6]

Lane returned to Japan in 2022 where he marked his 100th Japanese race win on June 19 with Rain From Heaven.[7] In 2023, he won the Japanese Derby with Tastiera, making him the first jockey from the Southern Hemisphere to win a Japanese classic race.[8]