Thirty years after his first Melbourne Cup win and three days after his 100th Group One triumph, Jim Cassidy is intent on playing yet another starring role at Flemington.

Cassidy rides the Chris Waller-trained Hawkspur in the $6.2 million Melbourne Cup on Tuesday after bringing up a century of Group One wins on Saturday aboard the stayer's stablemate Zoustar in the Coolmore Stud Stakes.

It's 30 years since a fresh-faced Cassidy came from last to win the Melbourne Cup on Kiwi and 16 years since his famous all-the-way win on champion Might And Power.

The jockey earmarked Hawkspur as a Melbourne Cup hope during a successful Queensland winter carnival campaign and insists he wouldn't swap the four-year-old for any other in Tuesday's race.

"I can do it. I can't do it if I'm sitting in jockeys' room," Cassidy said.

"I'm one of the 24 (jockeys in the race) so I'll back my horse's ability and back my ability. I've done that for 30 years so nothing is going to change."

Hawkspur started favourite but finished seventh in the Caulfield Cup and is somewhat of a forgotten horse going into the Melbourne Cup.

Cassidy hasn't lost faith in the Queensland Derby winner who will be stepping up to 3200m for the first time.

He admits there is a question mark over Hawkspur at the distance but believes he can handle it.

"I saw him early last week when I galloped Zoustar and he looks good," Cassidy said.

"He's hard fit and I think he's really ready to run the race of his life.

"He's untried at the trip. His sectionals in the Caulfield Cup were great and probably a furlong after the line he was still full of running so that gave me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow."