LARRY'S VIEW - JUST THE START I WAS LOOKING FOR

By Larry Cassidy | Friday, August 24, 2012

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.

It certainly has been a good start to the season for me. In my entire career I have probably never had such a good start.

To sit at the top of the ladder with one of the leading strike rates, even if it is only three weeks into the new season, is gratifying as it has given me an early reward for all of the hard work and focus I have put on tackling this testing phase of my career.

The kick-along has been a welcome boost for me, particularly as it comes on the back of a season I would rather forget. I’ve certainly started off on the right foot. It’s just a matter of being able to maintain that so that I can get the good quality rides and keep the winners coming.

My weight is pretty good at the moment and I think is probably reflected in the results I’m getting.

When you are struggling with your weight I don’t think you can always give one hundred percent on a horse … not through want of trying, but through your mental and physical capacity at the time. A lot of jockeys find themselves in that same boat on a regular basis.

For me, when my weight is good, everything else seems to fall into place.

My plan was to try and start the season well and end it even better. Landing that treble was a big boost. Two of them came back at 10-1 so they were nowhere near main fancies. On paper I think they didn’t look like they should have been 10-1 chances, but I had the luck I needed on them and, on the day, I they were too good for the ones they beat.

It is well recognized fact that striving for success in the saddle, as is the case with many sportsmen, is a confidence game. There is no doubt that riding winners on a regular basis makes everything easier … from getting up in the morning to training.

Mentally I feel a lot better. With everything that went on last year I think it just drained me mentally and left me in a very ordinary frame of mind, but that is in the past now.

When you start riding a lot of winners sometimes it snowballs and you can get on to a roll. I’m hoping that will be the case.

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With the on-going success of apprentices in past weeks, it raises the question … are the Brisbane apprentice riding ranks as strong as they have ever been?

We all know the era when Michael Rodd and Zac Purton dominated the Brisbane riding ranks as apprentices and we are familiar with what they’ve continued to do as senior jockeys. Are we about to go through the same stage?

As a senior rider, I have plenty of opportunity to ride against and watch this current crop of youngsters, who include Anthony Allen, Kirk Matheson, Tegan Harrison, Maija Vance and Rosie Myers.

I believe owners and trainers are spoilt for choice at the moment as it has been quite a few years since a good group of apprentices have all been riding at the same time. Queensland is definitely on a par at the moment with the quality of apprentices going around in other states.

As a senior rider, some apprentices approach me for help and advice which I am always happy to give.

For example, the other day Tegan Harrison asked me to watch her ride a race and go through it with her afterwards and point out any mistakes that she might have made. This example shows how willing she is to learn to become a better rider, which is a great attribute. It’s no surprise she is doing so well.

At the moment this fantastic group of apprentices are heading in the right direction and if they continue to show the keenness and willingness to learn and improve every race day, and dedicate themselves to their chosen profession, then one day they will have the chance to reach the heights of champion apprentices of the past like Rodd and Purton.

Let’s not forget that, as well as a great group of apprentices, Brisbane also has great depth in the senior riding ranks which, as David Fowler rightly pointed out in a recent blog, adds true strength to metropolitan racing.

With the likes of Munce, Lloyd, Colless, Browne, Byrne just to name a few … oh, and I’ll add myself to that list … the current mix of seasoned, senior jockeys and rising apprentices make great cocktail for competitive racing.

Till next week

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