Larry Cassidy, frustrated by a dwindling number of rides, will quit Sydney racing to continue his career in Queensland.The 38-year-old claimed small field sizes combined with a lack of support from major stables are the reasons for his shock move.Cassidy, a three-time Sydney premiership winner, will kick off his Queensland career at Eagle Farm on January 24."I've gone from having 20 rides a week to six or seven and I can't keep doing it," Cassidy said."I'm not the only jockey. There are plenty w

Larry Cassidy, frustrated by a dwindling number of rides, will quit Sydney racing to continue his career in Queensland.

The 38-year-old claimed small field sizes combined with a lack of support from major stables are the reasons for his shock move.

Cassidy, a three-time Sydney premiership winner, will kick off his Queensland career at Eagle Farm on January 24.

"I've gone from having 20 rides a week to six or seven and I can't keep doing it," Cassidy said.

"I'm not the only jockey. There are plenty who are struggling to get rides and I'm going to a place where I've plenty of success in the past."

When apprenticed to Bruce Marsh in New Zealand, Cassidy and his master would head to Brisbane for the winter carnival.

"I've never been based in Queensland but I have been going there since the early 1990s with Bruce and have won plenty of big races there and I can't wait to get back up there," Cassidy said.

Among Cassidy's highlights in Queensland are two Group One Brisbane Cup wins courtesy of Portland Singa in 2005 and Yippyio in 2000.

His Brisbane haul also includes Queensland Derby triumphs with Dodge (1998) and Freemason (2000m) as well as a Queensland Oaks victory on Arctic Scent in 1996.

"My wife's parents live up there, so that's going to make the move a bit easier for us," Cassidy said.

"The racing is good up there too. They have big fields and that will hopefully mean plenty of rides."

Cassidy won his three Sydney premierships in the late 1990s when he was the number one rider for Crown Lodge trainer John Hawkes.

Among Cassidy's major Group One wins in Australia are the 1997 and 1999 Doncaster Handicaps on Secret Savings and Sunline respectively and the Epsom Handicap in 1993 on Golden Sword, Dodge in 1998 and 2005 on Desert War.

Cassidy's decision comes after three-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Glen Boss also quit the Sydney racing scene in similar circumstances last month.

Boss has shifted to Victoria where he has made an immediate impact.