When the Cummings name is uttered in Australia and around the world, there is one day and one race that comes to mind – the first Tuesday in November and the Melbourne Cup.
When Comic Court won the 1950 Melbourne Cup, strapped by the young Bart Cummings for his father Jim, it was the start of a dynasty.
James and Edward Cummings walk off Flemington together after trackwork during the Melbourne Cup week. Credit:Darrian Traynor
Bart would go on to win 12 Melbourne Cups in his remarkable training career, and the family tradition is continued into the 21st century by his son Anthony and his grandsons Edward and James.
Racing is the family business and it has been the boys’ life since school.
“The teachers used to ask us for tips,” said Edward, who will represent the Cummings clan in the Melbourne Cup with Duais on Tuesday.
“I can remember kids coming up to me at school and vehemently telling me why Bart’s horses couldn’t win the Cup. It didn’t matter to me if the horses would win or not, but I was feeling the pressure of the Cup back then.
“They would take a set against Bart’s horses and therefore because we were related to him, they would take a set against us.”
It was an experience that formed a bond between Edward and his brother, Godolphin head trainer James, who decided not to push on to Tuesday after Alegron disappointed at Flemington on Saturday.
“He was not going well enough to run in the Cup,” James said of Alegron. “You don’t want to be making up the numbers.
“I’ll be there watching and cheering for my brother. It makes it easier now because you just want to see another Cummings win this race.”
In a sign of the times, father Anthony will be in Sydney because the business dictates that he stays in Sydney, where Caesars Palace will run in the Big Dance.
“I would love to be there, but I have a $2 million race to win here,” Anthony said. “It could be a big day for the family because Edward’s horse [Duais] has a great chance in the Cup.”
The Cummings boys are often seen together and if the conversation is not about racing, it’s probably about golf or their families.
“We do things our own way but we talk about things,” James offered. “It is good to have someone you trust around.”
But there are always the lessons from Bart in the background, especially when it comes to the Melbourne Cup and training racehorses.
The Cummings family are hardened to criticism, but single-minded in their focus.
“Bart just taught us all not to worry about anything anyone else thinks. To just go ahead and do what you think is best for the horse,” Edward said.
“The reason why Bart was so good in my opinion was that he might have been feeling the most amount of pressure in the world, but he would never let it show. It wouldn’t affect the way he would run his business or how he looked after his horses. If anything what pressure would do is steel his focus to greater heights.”
Bart had his rules – the horses had to run 10,000 metres to be ready for the Melbourne Cup, they needed to run on Derby day – but Edward has broken them with Duais, doing things his own way and doing what he thinks his best for his horse.
Duais has had only 8400m in her four runs leading into the Cup and her last run was a midfield in the Caulfield Cup.
“Bart never trained when there wasn’t a Mackinnon Stakes on Derby day – he would have changed,” Edward said. “Do what’s best for your horse. That’s what I have done to have Duais ready to run her best race on Tuesday. She didn’t need another run after the Caulfield Cup.”
It has driven tough decisions for Edward, the first being to miss the Sydney Cup with Duais after she won the Tancred Stakes easily in autumn.
“She was a $1.80 favourite for the Sydney Cup, but I didn’t want to risk her on a heavy track over two miles,” Edward said. “I have no doubt about her running the trip out, but it was the right thing to do for the horse.
“She has won group 1s in three states all at 2000m and beyond, and she is ready for the challenge on Tuesday. I’m not going to lie I thought I could win the Caulfield Cup with her, but it didn’t happen.
“I just had to put that in the past and move on because you couldn’t win the Melbourne Cup if you didn’t do that.”
Edward assessed what he needed to do to win the Melbourne Cup and felt he needed to switch back to champion jockey Hugh Bowman, who won the Queensland Oaks on Duais, instead of Josh Parr.
“It was a hard decision but we thought a change was necessary and we had to make that call,“he said.
“You just have to do what you think is best for the horse and that’s what Bart would always do.”
