Cassidy eyes a return to saddle

Hall of Fame jockey Jim Cassidy has been considering a return to the saddle for a couple of months but surviving a head-on car accident has given him ‘‘a second life’’.

The 56-year-old had bleeding on his brain following the accident last Saturday, when his SUV was hit head-on by another car going at around 90kmh.

He says it has cleared his thinking about a racing return.

‘‘Some people find god, I might have found racing again,’’ Cassidy said.

‘I tell [you] one thing about the crash, it is worse than any race fall. I saw [Cassidy’s wife] Vick and my kids as it was happening and thought ‘this is it. I’m gone’.

‘‘When you go through something like that you have to reassess and riding is a part of my life. I miss it.

‘‘You spend five days in hospital you do a lot of thinking. What you want to do.

‘‘If I get the all-clear from doctors, I could be back but I know I have to do it right.’’

Cassidy has already spoken with John Singleton about riding again and will consult Vicki and his mother about going back to race riding. He feels he would still be very competitive.

‘‘My weight is good, I’m 56kg, but I would need to get race-fit. I still think there is a space for me in that jockeys’ room.’’

He is confident that Singleton would support him.

‘‘He is still dirty on me for retiring in the first place,’’ Cassidy said, ‘‘The first thing is to let my body heal.

‘‘I’m looking to go out fishing with Singo next week and have a good talk about it and mum and Vick as well but it is something that I want to do again.

‘‘If everyone is happy for me to do it I could be back before the end of the year.’’

Cassidy rode 104 Group I winners in his career, including Melbourne Cup success on Kiwi and Might And Power, two Caulfield Cups, a Cox Plate and a Golden Slipper on Ha Ha.

He has been on the talking circuit since his retirement in 2015 and will honoured an engagement for kids with cancer in Newcastle yesterday.

‘‘I have only been in a car on the way home from hospital but nothing will stop me going up there to do this function,’’ Cassidy said.

‘‘It is a sell-out, so I won’t let them down.’’