Veteran jockey Larry Cassidy rode his 2500th winner last week and has declared he is set to ride at least another 500.
Cassidy rode a double on Ryan’s Rogue and Pay Zone Princess at Ipswich on Friday to bring up the milestone.
He will be hoping to add to his tally with four rides at Doomben on Wednesday.
“It was good to reach a milestone like that but I am confident there are a lot more to come,” Cassidy said.
The younger brother of top jockey Jim Cassidy, Larry Cassidy has carved out a great career in his own right after coming to Australia with his then-master Bruce Marsh as a teenager.
He is a multiple Sydney and Brisbane premiership winner.
For several years in the 1990s he was the No.1 rider for the powerful Crown Lodge stable headed by John Hawkes.
Among Cassidy’s major Group One wins in Australia include the big Sydney miles – the Doncaster Handicap on Secret Savings and Sunline and the Epsom Handicap on Golden Sword, Dodge and Desert War.
Cassidy moved to Brisbane in 2008 and was an instant success before a run of injuries.
“I have got over all of my problems and most importantly I have got my weight under control. I plan to make a real go of it in Brisbane this season.”
Meanwhile, at the other end of the experience scale apprentice Bridget Grylls hopes to extend her Brisbane stay by at least several months.
Grylls has taken Brisbane racing by storm and is third on the jockeys’ premiership after six weeks of the season.
She is on loan to trainer Barry Lockwood at Eagle Farm and is due to return to New Zealand at the end of the month.
“I have to speak with my master back home. But I am keen to stay and some of the big trainers have been using me. It is too good a chance to miss,” Grylls said.
