MV On Track 2018

30 ON TRACK MAGAZINE T he late American comedian, actor and writer WC Fields once said: “Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.” You sense if Might and Power could have a bet on a person, he would put the bank on Jim Cassidy. Two years ago, Cassidy attended a promotional shoot at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to promote the approaching Spring Carnival. The Sydney-based retired jockey had spent much of his career in Melbourne but always at a racetrack. He had never been to the MCG before. As he looked around and took in the enormity of the famous ground, Might and Power was led out onto its hallowed turf. Pumper’s eyes lit up. It was like being in a crowded bar and spying an old friend from across the room that he hadn’t seen for years. As Cassidy approached, the strapper handling Might and Power warned him. “Be careful that he doesn’t bite you,” she said. “He doesn’t really like men”. And with that, Might and Power walked directly towards Cassidy, who gently stuck out his hand. “He sniffed my hand and then put his head on my chest,” Cassidy recalls. “It made me cry. I thought, ‘How does he remember me?’ We did a lot of special things together. He brought me back to life”. Cassidy will never forget Might and Power just like most of us will never forget what the pair achieved in the 1998 W.S. Cox Plate, which was held 20 years ago this October. It’s always been a special race, of course, won by many of the equine greats. But this one was something different altogether. Yes, Might and Power was already a legend, having led from start to finish in the 1997 Caulfield and Melbourne Cups — both times with Cassidy on board. That legend had been enhanced by the fact that Cassidy had only just returned from a three-year suspension — which had been reduced to 21 months — for his alleged involvement in the infamous “jockey tapes scandal”. WHEN THE EARTH STARTED TO RUMBLE By Andrew Webster