Larry Cassidy’s the first to admit he enjoyed a charmed run as a professional jockey for the first three decades of his long career. Sure there were several race falls with associated injuries but in the overall scheme of things he’d been one of the lucky ones. Nine years ago lady luck decided to turn her back on the respected jockey, and little has gone right since. Larry has battled three serious health issues since 2015 two of them injury related, the other the result of plain wear and tear. From the viewpoint of pain his current affliction hasn’t been in the same league as the other two, but the simple mechanics of the injury make it impossible for the veteran horseman to maintain control over a 500 kilogram racehorse.
In July of 2023 Larry required surgery for a chronic back issue but recovered quickly and was back in the saddle in just two months. He’d had only a handful of race rides when a trackwork incident triggered a recurrence of the problem. Extensive treatment and a further rest period sidelined him for another two months. By the time he returned in November of last year, Larry was entitled to think his horror stretch had run its course. He was sadly mistaken. The expat New Zealander resumed with two unplaced rides at Doomben after which he was quickly back into his regular trackwork routine. He and Michael Rodd had just galloped two young horses together on the Eagle Farm B Grass when Larry’s mount ducked to the left so abruptly the jockey was left airborne. “To this day nobody knows exactly what happened,” says Larry. “The attendant standing at the gap ahead of us couldn’t shed any light on the mystery and Michael Rodd said I’d been alongside him one second and gone the next.
“I’m not even sure how I broke my left index finger, but it was to be the beginning of a nightmare twelve months. The surgeon told me I was a hair’s breadth off losing the finger. Apart from the break it was also dislocated. A bone graft was required in the initial surgery after which three screws and a plate were inserted. Almost five months later the hardware was removed and scar tissue problems were dealt with. After all that I settled into the grind of months of physiotherapy. The improvement was agonisingly slow and I just couldn’t get anywhere near full flexion. I kept at it hoping for a miracle, but I’ve known for months it was a hopeless cause. After all this time I can still only bend the finger halfway.”
This was to be Larry's 2847th and final win at Caloundra in September 2023 - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Following long layoffs with meniscal tearing to the knees and chronic back issues over the last nine years, Larry has been a much better patient than he used to be. This time it was different. He’s fifty four years old and still had a thing or two to add to his bucket list. He hadn’t completely given up on reaching the astonishing milestone of 3000 career wins. Currently on 2847 he knew the task was monumental but not impossible if he could remain injury free for a couple of years. He was apprehensive as he walked into the surgeon’s rooms in mid November for his PIA (Permanent Injury Assessment). He was crushed when the doctor told him to give it another three months of physiotherapy.
Happy Days! After Sunline's emphatic win in the 1999 Doncaster - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
“That was the final straw,” said Larry. “I knew I couldn’t get my head around another three months of physio, frustration and boredom. I felt pretty shattered when I walked out of the room knowing my riding days were over, but I also realised it was time to face the facts and start planning my future. It took me many weeks to finally pluck up the courage to post my retirement announcement on Facebook. As my wife Michelle typed the message I noticed the tears were starting to roll down her cheeks and that was the end of me. Next thing we were crying together as the brutal reality set in. It was the end of the only life I’d ever known, and the only life we’d known together as man and wife. It was a tough few moments, but I think there was a sense of relief when Michelle hit the “send” button.”
Despite the seemingly endless health and injury issues of recent years Larry Cassidy remains grateful for the exciting journey he’s been afforded by the racing game in two countries. He had his first race ride at Trentham in 1984 and his last on Irish Songs at Doomben in November 2023. As mentioned earlier he has accumulated a mind boggling 2847 career wins including 40 Gr 1’s in Australasia plus a couple of “away” triumphs - Singapore Derbies on Smart Bet in 2002 and Lead To Victory in 2003. That super impressive CV is complemented by three jockey’s premierships in the ferociously competitive Sydney arena in 1997/1998, 1998/1999 and 1999/2000. He also dead-heated with the late Stathi Katsidis for Brisbane premiership honours in 2009/2010.
In dissecting Larry’s distinguished career we threw a few random categories at him over the weekend. He answered each one with conviction.
MAJOR WIN OF MOST PERSONAL SATISFACTION.
“That would have to be my first Australian Gr 1 on Coronation Day in the 1992 George Main Stakes. Jimmy had been here for around seven years and was already well established. He actually kicked up for me to ride Coronation Day when he couldn’t make the weight. It was a golden opportunity and thank God everything went right. Jimmy rode his old favourite Rough Habit in the race and I actually pushed him out of the way coming up the rise. I never found out if he was doing me a favour or not. No doubt that win got me going in Sydney. I’ll never forget Coronation Day or his trainer Max Lees.”
MOST IMPRESSIVE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF ANY WINNER RIDDEN.
“Beyond doubt the performance by Winx in the 2015 Sunshine Coast Guineas. We were near last of 18 runners in the middle stages and 15 lengths from the leaders on the hometurn. I knew I had them covered as soon as I came to the outside. I’d never had a horse do what she did that day. It was astonishing. I never rode her again, but the memory will last forever.”
The budding superstar Winx was fairly flying on the line in the 2015 Sunshine Coast Guineas - courtesy Trackside Photography.
EASIEST WINNING RIDE IN A MAJOR RACE.
“Linesman’s win in the 1997 Sydney Cup. He’d won the Chairman’s Hcp in a canter and dropped 4.5 kgs in the Cup. Not only did he destroy them over the 2 miles, but I predicted how he’d do it. I said he’d be 6 or 8 in front on the turn, and that they wouldn’t get near him. He won by 6 and was just warming up on the line.”
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY.
“Perhaps it was Linesman again in the Melbourne Cup of the same year. He’d run second in the Metropolitan and second in the Moonee Valley Cup but was footsore on Melbourne Cup day and probably shouldn’t have run. He was unhappy from the moment he jumped out of the gates which was not him. He usually loved to race and would give you a great feel. He came around the turn on level terms with Might And Power and finished up fifth only 1.2 lengths from that horse. He wanted to go but didn’t stretch out at any stage in the straight. I’m sure the real Linesman would have given Might And Power a hell of a fright. The horse won the Summer Cup some weeks later and then I rode him in Jezabeel’s Auckland Cup. He finished out of a place and was retired soon after. He was a wonderful, free running stayer.
Linesman was almost 6 lengths clear of his nearest rival at the finish of the 1997 Sydney Cup. Larry thought the horse was unbeatable. The grin tells the story - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
BIGGEST SHOCK TO WIN A GR 1 RACE.
“That’s an easy one, it was Teranaba trained by Anthony Cummings at odds of $51.00 in the 2006 Spring Champion Stakes. It was my first ride on him, but brother Jimmy had won a maiden on him a few runs before and didn’t mind the horse at all. He told me not to treat him like a bolter and ride him positively. He never won another race but there he is, in the record books as a Gr 1 winner. You never know.
TROUBLE FREE RUNS IN GR 1 RACES.
“There are two standouts in my career and both were Crown Lodge horses. Firstly, there was Arena’s win in the 1998 Victoria Derby. We decided to ride him stone cold and hope for luck. He was near last down the back and I recall going around one horse at the 800m before ducking back to the fence. We got a beautiful run through in the straight and then I had to switch around only one horse, the leader Mossman. Arena charged to the line to beat Sky Heights comfortably. The second horse turned the tables in the AJC Derby the following autumn.
I’ll also never forget Dodge’s win in the 1998 Queensland Derby. He wasn’t a genuine stayer and John Hawkes told me to ride him accordingly. He instructed me to let him get back and hope for a passage through in the straight. You couldn’t believe the run he got in a twenty horse field. He got an amazing run between horses over the last 200m to get up and win the Derby. I won two Derbies that year with freak runs. Dodge finished up winning the Epsom a few months later. A lovely little horse.”
Courtesy of a dream run Arena was dominant in the 1998 Victoria Derby - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Jack and Sue Ingham lead their Derby winner back to scale - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS.
“There are two. I was shattered when a brilliant filly called Unworldly had to be euthanised after suffering a catastrophic injury in a track gallop at Warwick Farm in 2000. I rode her in the gallop and managed to jump off as she slowed down. It was heartbreaking to see her in such a distressed state. I’d won the Furious, Tea Rose and Flight Stakes treble on Unworldly and I have no doubt she was the best three year old filly in Australia.
Disappointment number two was to throw the GR 1 Castlemaine Stakes away on Lease in 1998. I only needed to come around one more horse at the 200m but elected to go between a couple. I got crowded and lost momentum when the gap closed up. Mossman beat me less than a neck and I felt sick. A certainty beaten, and a tremendous disappointment.
The ill fated Unworldly showed her class with a brilliant Flight Stakes win in 2000 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
BIGGEST TRAINER’S SPRAY OVER FOUR DECADES.
“Same race the 1998 Castlemaine Stakes on Lease. I was on the receiving end of many John Hawkes sprays, but never one like the one at Eagle Farm. I disagreed on many occasions, but I deserved this one. The horse should have won by a space.”
MEMORIES OF SUNLINE.
“How lucky I was to have eleven race rides on one of the greatest mares to race in this part of the world. I won six races on Sunline for two Gr 1 wins, the 1998 Flight Stakes and the 1999 Doncaster. How were they going to beat her in that Doncaster with only 52 kgs. What can you say about that freak mare. She was fast, tough, versatile and massively talented. I’ve often been asked to compare Sunline and Winx. Let’s put them in an imaginary two horse race at Moonee Valley, a track they both loved. Sunline leads and does all the donkey work. Winx just cruises along in her slipstream and gets going at the school. I honestly think Winx would have gunned her down. It’s all in the imagination. We’ll never know but I’ll tell you one thing, I’m enormously proud to have won on both mares. I’ll be dining out on that one for a long time to come.”
The great Sunline was airborne at the finish of the 1999 Doncaster - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
And so a stellar riding career comes to a close, sadly not on Larry’s terms but a conclusion he’ll accept as time goes by. One thing is very certain. The gifted jockey goes out with absolutely nothing to prove as a jockey, and with the respect and admiration of a myriad of owners and trainers in two countries. He’s been accessible to race clubs and administrators throughout his long career, and unfailingly media friendly. There hasn’t been a single occasion when he hasn’t happily given me the time for a brief chat or an in-depth interview. As a native of “windy Wellington” in NZ he’s never completely adjusted to the Australian humidity, and I remember days at Sydney summer race meetings when he was doing it decidedly tougher than some of his Aussie counterparts. I can still see him sweating heavily, walking out of the jockey’s room to the Sky camera with a towel in hand. He never once failed to appear.
There’s the obvious speculation about his likely future direction. He’s never hinted at the likelihood of a training career, but on more than one occasion has made reference to a possible future as a stipendiary steward. He wouldn’t be the first prominent ex jockey to take his place on the other side of the inner sanctum desk. Andy Tindall was perhaps the most high profile former Queensland jockey to take on a steward’s role, while legendary rider Jack Purtell spent years on the Victorian stewards’ panel. If experience and plain old intelligence count for anything, you’d have to think Larry Cassidy would make a seamless transition.
Larry Cassidy during his premiership winning days in Sydney - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
In all my years of researching the background of Australian jockeys, I’ve never encountered a rider with a more organised record of his or her career statistics than Larry Cassidy. From the time of his first race ride on a former jumper at Trentham in 1984 to the last on Irish Songs at Doomben in November 2023, Larry faithfully recorded details of the occasion - date, name of horse, track, trainer and of course finishing position. To the delight of many journalists in subsequent years the jockey has unwaveringly stuck to the task. In more recent years Michelle has assisted with the menial chore of keeping the “Cassidy chronicles” right up to date.
The time is now right to draw a line under the details of Irish Song’s unplaced effort at Doomben more than a year ago. The time is right to close the book on a magnificent career. Forty years of race riding totally devoid of a disqualification. There were many suspensions, most of them for simply trying too hard to win. Nice problem for any jockey to have. For now Larry and Michelle will be busy contemplating the future, at the same time keeping a close watch on the careers of two special kids. Dr. Luke Cassidy (27), on the brink of a very promising medical career is currently earning his stripes in Sydney’s West Mead Emergency Ward. Daughter Jade (21) has a deep interest in the arts but is currently working as a co-ordinator for a wonderful organisation called Guide Dogs Queensland.
For now, Larry’s famous book will probably join dozens of family photo albums in an easy to reach cupboard, but you can bet it will get an airing whenever a twinge of nostalgia overtakes the high achieving jockey. Contained within the covers of that book is irrefutable proof of one heck of a race riding career. Well played Larry Cassidy.
(Banner image - One ride for one spectacular win on Winx in the 2015 Sunshine Coast Guineas - courtesy Trackside Photography.)