LARRY'S VIEW - PROVINCIAL CARNIVALS HAVE AN IMPORTANT PLACE IN THE RACING CALENDAR

By Larry Cassidy | Friday, June 24, 2011

Larry Cassidy currently has forty-two Group 1 successes behind his name. He is a multiple Premiership winning jockey having taken out three titles in Sydney and one in Brisbane. Larry’s View, the personal blog of this top class rider will appear on horseracingonly.com.au every Friday, workload permitting.

The season will be winding down soon. Although there is no actual break between racing seasons (the calendar just flicks over from July 31 to August 1 and the show goes on) there is always time for a brief moment of reflection.

I do look back at each season and evaluate what has happened.

This year I think I’ve been reasonably successful. I’ve won some big races and I’m happy the way the season has gone.

I set myself a goal at the start of each season. It’s approximately to ride a hundred winners. I’m a little off that this year. I think I’m sitting at about seventy something … that’s including winners from everywhere.

I haven’t had a lot of time off, just a couple of suspensions, but I didn’t ride at many provincials on a regular basis.

Prior to about six months ago I was riding 53kg Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday and I just found it too hard.

So I made that adjustment. It’s probably cost me a couple of winners along the way, but at the end of the day I feel better for it.

There’s a Board meeting coming up soon. I think the weights are going up to 54kg. Hopefully that comes about, which certainly will make things a lot easier, although you still can’t let yourself go otherwise you’ll struggle to ride 54 then.

Income-wise, I’m equal with my previous three years, so I’m happy in that regard.

Another goal was I wanted to win the Premiership. As it’s turned out, it looks like I’m going to run a clear second, but I'm happy with that.

I did start getting close. I think I came from sixteen or so behind to within about seven, but then I got suspended and now it’s definitely out of my reach again, which may allow me to take a couple of weeks off before the end of the season.

I picked up another suspension on Wednesday. I will use this time to take my family away again in the school holidays. Unfortunately it does mean I will miss the Caloundra Cup Meeting.

I love Coloundra. It is one of my favourite provincial tracks … except for the fact that it’s always wet. That’s a massive downside. It is always bloody wet.

I’ve won three Cups at Coloundra. In fact there is a bit of a sequence in those wins.

I won on Procyan in 1991 (riding at 51.5kg as a 21 year-old). In 2001, ten years later, I repeated that success on Henderson Bay. Here we are another ten years on and the chance to complete the sequence has slipped through my fingers because of my latest suspension!

For the record, my other win in the Caloundra Cup came aboard Portland Singa in 2004. I actually did the Ipswich Cup / Coloundra Cup double on Portland Singa that year.

Henderson Bay also achieved that particular Provincial Cup double but I wasn’t on him in the Ipswich Cup. Zac Purton, who was still an apprentice then, had the ride that day.

As a matter of interest Portland Singa took me on quite a ride.

I was her regular rider and we went on to win the Brisbane Cup in 2005. In the second half of that year we ran second in the Group 2 Hill Stakes (just a length behind Desert War), sixth in the Group 2 Turnbull (only three lengths behind Makybe Diva) and eighth in the Caulfield Cup (four-and-a-half lengths behind Railings).

On November 1 Portland Singa finished sixth behind Makybe Diva in the 2005 Melbourne (just four lengths back), a run trainer Neville McBurney says gave
him a more treasured memory than any of Portland Singa’s wins. (She became the second best staying mare in the country - a very underrated mare!)

The message is that winners of Provincial Cups should not be underestimated.

All my Coloundra Cup wins have been on horses from New Zealand.

Incidentally, since 1985 no less than sixteen New Zealand bred horses have won the Coloundra Cup.

The Coloundra Cup is not the only provincial carnival that has been kind to me. I’ve had a lot of luck on Provincial tracks.

I’ve won three Grafton Cups. That is two less than Larry Olsen who holds the riding record with five wins in the race. Larry won on Cross Swords, Jardel, Wave King, Shuzohra and, of course, Kensei.

That was in 1987, just four months prior to the Les Bridge trained runner taking out the Melbourne Cup.

Again, take note. Some good horses run at the provincials.

At one stage I’d only had two rides at Grafton and I’d won two Grafton Cups.

Then I was going for my third win in the Cup, which was only my third ride on the track, but … no, we didn’t pull it off.

My second Grafton Cup winner was a horse from New Zealand. He was 50-1. I went on to ride him in the Melbourne Cup too, but he finished last there.

My Grafton Cup winners were Stirring, Rural Prince and Praise Indeed.

I’ve also won a couple of Wyong Cups. I won on Sea Captain for Gai Waterhouse in 1995 and then again on Carael Boy for Bob Milligan in 2005 (there’s that ten year cycle again!).

I’ve won a Newcastle Cup. I’ve won an Eye Liner (on Pittance) and the list continues. Some of my other notable Provincial wins:
1993 - Rockhampton and Townsville Cups (Fulmar)
1995 - Kembla Grange Mercury Classic (Ravada)
1995, 1998, 2000 - Gosford Belle of the Turf (Macrosa, St Pamela Anne, Avilde)
1996 - Wagga Cup (Nobelotto)
1996, 1997 - Scone Breeders Classic (Tripping, Timeless Winds)
1998, 2000 - Hawkesbury Guineas (Noise, Hire)
1998, 2008 - Gosford Guineas (Pursuits, Cent Per Cent)
Newcastle
1998, 1999 - Coca-Cola Classic (Medal, Opperattes)
1998, 2001 Newmarket (Bezeal Bay, Crawl)
1998 Spring Stakes (Dracula)
2001 - Caloundra Glasshouse (Pembleton)
2011 Toowoomba Cup (Humma)

… so, yeah, as you can see provincial tracks have been kind to me so it is really unfortunate I will be missing from the final big provincial meeting of the carnival.

Provincial Carnivals are an added bonus to any main carnival.

You only have to look at a day like Ipswich Cup day. It’s like their Melbourne Cup and the same applies at most of the provincial carnivals.

Scone is a big carnival too. They all get behind it. The same at Gosford and Wyong. It has a real community feeling about it. It is a different atmosphere and that adds very much to the occasion.

Coloundra will be no different next week.

First though, there is the little matter of the final Group 1 race of the season to get through.

I’m riding Zingaling. I've previously won the Tatts Tiara on Tripping, so let’s hope history repeats itself once more!

Larry

More articles