Jim Cassidy (jockey)

Jim Cassidy (born 21 January 1963), often referred to as "Jimmy" is a retired New Zealand jockey who has been inducted in both the Australian Racing Hall of Fame and the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame.

Jim Cassidy
Occupation	Jockey
Born	(1963-01-21) 21 January 1963 Wellington, New Zealand
Major racing wins
Melbourne Cup (1983, 1997) WS Cox Plate (1998) Caulfield Cup (1997, 2000) Golden Slipper Stakes (2001)
Honours
Australian Racing Hall of Fame (2012) New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame (2014)
Significant horses
Might and Power, Kiwi, Rough Habit,

Jimmy's career and life

Jim Cassidy was one of seven children of Arthur "Blue" and Francie Cassidy of Wellington, New Zealand. His older brother Ricki was an apprentice jockey to Trevor McKee and his younger brother, Larry, went on to be a Sydney Premiership winning jockey.[1]

Jim Cassidy initially rode in New Zealand with Pat Campbell in the Hawkes Bay,[2] having over 500 winners in his country of birth. However it was in Australia that he achieved his greatest successes.

Cassidy rode Kiwi from last into the straight to win the 1983 Melbourne Cup.[3] He won his second Melbourne Cup in 1997 aboard Might and Power whom he also rode to victory in the following year's Cox Plate.

Cassidy has won the Australian Derby three times; in 1990, 1993 and in 2009.

Cassidy is the third jockey to win 100 group one races. Cassidy's 100th win was aboard Zoustar in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on Saturday 2 November 2013.[4]

Jim Cassidy's daughter, Nicole, married Brisbane and Hong Kong champion jockey, Zac Purton.[5]

Jim Cassidy released his autobiography titled "Pumper" through Macmillan Books in October 2016.[6]

Notable wins

The following are some of the races Jimmy won in New Zealand and Australia.

Year	Race	Horse	Trainer(s)
1980[7]	Stewards Handicap, Riccarton	Killjoy	J.N.J Healey, Richmond
1981	Brisbane Cup	Four Crowns
1981[8]	Wellesley Stakes, Trentham	Bisette	Trevor McKee
1981	Avondale Cup	Alice	Mrs J Hercock, Hastings
1983[9]	Wellington Cup	Kiwi	Snow Lupton, Waverley
1983	Melbourne Cup	Kiwi	Snow Lupton, Waverley
1983	New Zealand 1000 Guineas	Burletta	F P Campbell, Hastings
1983	Levin Classic	Burletta	F P Campbell, Hastings
1984	Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes	Vin D'Armour	J R Lynds, Woodville
1983/84	Canterbury Gold Cup	Commissionaire	Noel D Eales, Awapuni
1983/84	Great Northern Breeders Oaks	Silver Elm	Noel D Eales, Awapuni
1983/84	Matamata Breeders Stakes	Vin D'Armour	J R Lynds, Woodville
1983/84	Eulogy Stakes	Burletta	F P Campbell, Hastings
1983/84	Gold Trail Stakes	Burletta	F P Campbell, Hastings
1984	Cambridge Stud International Stakes	Commissionaire	Noel D Eales, Awapuni
1990	Australian Derby	Dr Grace	Dr G Chapman
1991	Doomben Cup	Rough Habit	John Wheeler
1992	Doomben Cup	Rough Habit	John Wheeler
1992	All Aged Stakes	Rough Habit	John Wheeler
1992	AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	Rough Habit	John Wheeler
1993	All Aged Stakes	Rough Habit	John Wheeler
1993	Australian Derby	Innocent King	K A Jordan
1993	Doomben Cup	Rough Habit	John Wheeler
1994	Caulfield Stakes	Rough Habit	John Wheeler
1997	Caulfield Cup	Might and Power	Jack Denham
1997	Melbourne Cup	Might and Power	Jack Denham
1998	W.S. Cox Plate	Might and Power	Jack Denham
1998	Caulfield Stakes	Might and Power	Jack Denham
2000	Caulfield Cup	Diatribe	G M Hanlon
2001	Golden Slipper Stakes	Ha Ha	Gai Waterhouse
2009	George Ryder Stakes	Vision and Power	Joseph Pride
2009	Australian Derby	Roman Emperor	Bart Cummings
2013	Coolmore Stud Stakes	Zoustar	Chris Waller
2013	Golden Rose Stakes	Zoustar	Chris Waller
2015	All Aged Stakes	Dissident [10]	Peter Moody

Larry Cassidy

Larry V Cassidy, who is seven years younger than Jim, is also an accomplished jockey.

He also started his career in New Zealand. Larry rode Festal to a dead-heat win with Mr Tiz and Lance O’Sullivan in the 1989 Telegraph Handicap at Trentham Racecourse. He went on to ride Morar to victory in the same race in 1992. He also won the 1989 New Zealand 2000 Guineas on Finnegan Fox and 1999 New Zealand Oaks on Let's Sgor.

Larry moved to Australia to ride and won three Sydney premierships but now predominantly rides at the Queensland Racecourses such as Doomben, Eagle Farm and the Sunshine Coast. Larry rated his best wins as:

• the VRC Derby on Arena, trained by John Hawkes, in 1998.
• his first Singapore Derby on Smart Bet, in 2002.
• the Doncaster Handicap on Secret Savings, trained by Gai Waterhouse, in 1997.
• the Doncaster Handicap on Sunline.[11]

Larry's resume also includes a win on the champion, Winx, in the Sunshine Coast Guineas on 16 May 2015. This was to be the first win of a 33 race unbeaten sequence for Winx, although the horse was ridden by Hugh Bowman and James McDonald (once) from then on.

See also

• Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand
• Thoroughbred racing in Australia
• Lance O'Sullivan
• Shane Dye

References

1. https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/superracing/larry-cassidy-45-hoping-to-defy-the-odds-and-overcome-yet-another-injury-to-ride-again/news-story/b067e5ed7d96cf531392be826d167612
2. https://www.bloodstock.com.au/news/story.php?id=15005
3. "Kiwi wins the 1983 Melbourne Cup". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 2 November 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
4. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-02/cassidy-takes-out-100th-group-one-on-zoustar/5065880
5. https://www.bing.com/search?q=zac+purtons+wife+nicole+&form=EDNTHN&mkt=en-nz&httpsmsn=1&msnews=1&plvar=0&refig=9f71ac951b994e40c1b1736baef4d14e
6. https://jimcassidy.com.au/product/pumper-jim-cassidy-biography/
7. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Annual 1981 (Tenth edition). Costello, John, Editor. Moa Publications, Auckland, New Zealand.
8. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Annual 1982 (Eleventh edition). Costello, John, Editor. Moa Publications, Auckland, New Zealand.
9. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Annual 1984 (Thirteenth edition). Costello, John, Editor. Moa Publications, Auckland, New Zealand.
10. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/racing/dissident-goes-out-on-top-in-the-all-aged-stakes-20150418-1mnyl9.html
11. https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/superracing/larry-cassidy-45-hoping-to-defy-the-odds-and-overcome-yet-another-injury-to-ride-again/news-story/b067e5ed7d96cf531392be826d167612

Further reading

• Cassidy, Jim (with Webster, Andrew) (2016). The Pumper. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia. ISBN 9781743540114.