79 Not Out For Cummings

Monday, 30 November -0001 00:00

More than 60 years ago, his family doctor told Bart Cummings the only way to ease the chronic asthma he suffered was to stay away from horses.

Cummings did the opposite and Australia's greatest living trainer celebrates his 79th birthday on Tuesday just a few weeks after leading in his 246th Group One winner.

He is firmly entrenched in Australian folklore as the man every once-a-year punter knows as the Cups King for his 11 wins in Australia's most famous race, the Melbourne Cup.

But he is anything but a once-a-year trainer and Wonderful World's Caulfield Guineas win last month served as a reminder.

Cummings did not have a runner in this year's Melbourne Cup but it's a sure bet he will be back to try for an even dozen, even if he says he isn't counting.

"I don't keep records," Cummings says.

"That may sound strange but I never look back, I only look ahead. You can't dwell on the past. Racing goes on and you have to go with it."

"Time flies when you are enjoying life like I do."

Although famous for his one-liners, Cummings also thinks carefully about what he says. He lives for horses and they do their best for him.

"They think, they are honest, they are genuine, they are very intelligent and they do not forget," he says.

"You get a few non-conformists occasionally but if you are good tempered and good natured, horses will respond in a similar manner.

"I worked out early that you have to aim for the top and then work down. I've tried to eliminate the speculative side of racing by trying to choose Group One winners as yearlings. If they don't make the grade there are plenty of other races around."

Cummings first Group One win was with Stormy Passage in the 1958 South Australian Derby.

He moved his family from Adelaide to Sydney in 1975 and shared the Randwick training tracks with his arch-rival, the late TJ Smith.

Cummings and TJ Smith, who holds the record of 279 Group One wins, were among the inaugural inductees to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2001 along with equine legend Phar Lap.