When Jimmy Cassidy arrived from New Zealand in 1983 to win the Melbourne Cup on Kiwi, no one could have envisaged he would still be riding Group winners 30 years later.

The evergreen “Pumper”, as he is known, ranks among the best of any era we have seen on the Australian turf.

At 50 years of age he is now on the brink of that magical ton, 100 Group 1 wins, which will surely be achieved within a few weeks.

Cassidy is no stranger to adversity; he has seen plenty of ups and downs in a long riding career, yet has always risen to the occasion.

That was never more evident than at Rosehill on Saturday when winning the Ranvet Stakes on Foreteller, and the Canterbury Stakes on Pierro.

He has that magic touch, a big occasion jockey who has never ridden in better form.

The Inglis Sales ring was a buzz back in 2009 when the first foal of Makybe Diva, a colt by the English Derby winner Galileo, was offered for sale, later named Rockstardom.

After spirited bidding the colt was knocked down for $1.5 million, he has since returned his owners a mere $17,825, for one win and placed twice.

Strangely he was not the highest priced yearling of that year, Surrcosta by Encosta de Lago, from Surrealist, was sold for $2 million, he never won a race, all he returned was $4,150 for running one solitary placing.

The only yearling sold in the last two decades, for a seven figure sum, to return his purchase price was All Too Hard; he was sold as a yearling for $1.025 million, and has since earned $2.043 million in stakes.