Hawkspur's start sparks a walk down memory lane Chris Waller with Cup hope Hawkspur after morning track work. Chris Waller's first memory of the Melbourne Cup is Jim Cassidy winning on Kiwi 30 years ago, and now Cassidy, the winner of 100 group 1 races, believes Hawkspur will give the trainer his best memory of the race. Cassidy, who brought up his group 1 ton on the Waller-trained Zoustar on Saturday, has been telling the trainer and the owners of Hawkspur since his Queensland Derby triumph in June, that the four-year-old would give him a third Melbourne Cup following on from Kiwi and Might And Power. Cassidy, who has ridden for the best trainers over 30 years, compared Waller to the Cups king, Bart Cummings. Spring in their steps: Jim Cassidy is chaired by trainer Chris Waller (left) and connections after winning aboard Zoustar. Chris reminds me of Bart, he listens to his horses and they listen to him. He gets inside their heads and that's why he gets the best out of them," Cassidy said. I know I'm going out there on a horse that is ready to run a big race and wouldn't swap it for any other horse in the race. 'The most confident I ever was was with Kiwi but this bloke isn't that far behind. I knew I was on the best stayer with Kiwi, with the right preparation. This bloke might not be the best stayer in this race but he can do things the others can't. I just need to get him in the right position in the straight and he will let go like nothing else can in the field. Hawkspur was unplaced in the Turnbull Stakes and Caulfield Cup since being in Melbourne, but Cassidy is happy with the gelding's performances. His runs in Melbourne have been good. Going into a Melbourne Cup you would like to be winning, but if you're not, you want it to be because you have been very unlucky or unlucky. He has certainly been unlucky in his last two [runs]. Waller, who had a poster of Kiwi on his bedroom wall when he was growing up in New Zealand, described having one of his childhood heroes in the saddle as "surreal." I remember Jimmy winning. It is the first Melbourne Cup I can really remember, mainly because Kiwi was only trained an hour away from us in New Zealand," Waller said. My parents knew the owners and it was exciting for everyone that a horse like Kiwi could win the Melbourne Cup. To have Jim Cassidy riding a horse for me in the Melbourne Cup is in some way a bit surreal even now for me. He has given me so much confidence about Hawkspur; even after the Caulfield Cup he was happy. Hawkspur was badly held up in the straight when fifth in the Turnbull Stakes and then never got a crack at them in the Caulfield Cup but hit the line full of running and placed seventh. Cassidy wasn't buying into any pre-race discussion about pace but it is likely Hawkspur will be closer than in the Caulfield Cup. "All these blokes who think they know how the race is going to be run are kidding themselves," Cassidy said. They are the same as me at the casino when I'm hoping the ball lands on my number [on the roulette wheel]. We will get out there and react to what happens on the track. I will have a clean mind and know I have a horse that if I get everything right, he will be the one they all have to beat. Waller is coming off a Derby day where he had two group 1 winners, in $18 million colt Zoustar and Red Tracer in the Myer Classic. He will have Hawkspur and Foreteller in the biggest race of the year. There was a lot of pressure on Saturday. They were both expected to win and there was so much depending on Zoustar," Waller said. It is better in the Cup because I'm not going there expecting anything. I'm just hoping. In such a big field you need everything to go right on the day. Hawkspur is ready to take his chance. We have ridden him for luck recently and got none, so we might go to make our luck on him. Foreteller has been a group 1 winner this spring and his run in the Cox Plate, which has become the best guide to the Cup, was as good as any. If he stays I think he will be in the finish.