FATHER AND SON WILL SADDLE UP FIVE STARTERS IN THE BIG RACE
HE’S 81 years old (82 in November), he has won 12 Melbourne Cups, he has won a total 254 Group One races, his latest Group One win was last Saturday, he is the latest trainer to win the Melbourne Cup and he is known as the ‘Cups King’ to all the racing industry – he is Bart Cummings.
On Saturday, the legendary trainer will saddle up three runners in the $2.5million BMW Caulfield Cup – his son Anthony will saddle up two.
There has been no other trainer win as many Caulfield Cups as Bart has. His tally stands at six. He hasn’t won one since 1991when Let’s Elope was victorious. Steven King, who rides the current favourite on Saturday, enjoyed his last success in the same year riding for Bart.The honor roll of Bart’s Caulfield Cup winners includes some of racing’s finest. Galilee (1966) is in the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame, just like his famous trainer, who has been inducted as a Legend. Big Philou (1969), Leilani (1974), Ming Dynasty (1977 & 1980) and Let’s Elope (1991) is Bart’s complete list – or is it incomplete?
Allez Wonder, Viewed and Roman Emperor will carry the hopes of a seventh win, by a legend of Australian racing, in the toughest 2400m handicap race in the world.
Allez Wonder provided Bart with Group One win number 254 just last Saturday by winning the David Jones Toorak Handicap. Viewed gave Bart a remarkable 12th Melbourne Cup victory last Spring and Roman Emperor won the AJC Derby over the Caulfield Cup distance of 2400 metres in April at Randwick.
Bart has a strong armoury on Saturday.
Bart’s boy, Anthony, is not living in the shadow of his famous Dad anymore.
Red Lord and Zavite are the two horses Anthony will saddle up in an attempt to put Bart’s next Caulfield Cup win on hold.
Red Lord has won over 2800 metres (November 2007) but most recently sprung into Caulfield Cup calculations by winning the Naturalism Stakes at Caulfield on 19 September. This win meant he was exempt from being balloted in the Caulfield Cup.
Zavite also has credentials of his own including winning the 2008 Adelaide Cup (3200m) at Morphettville in March. En-route to winning the Adelaide Cup, Zavite won the Launceston Cup (2400m) in February and the Australia Day Cup (2400m) at Randwick in January this year.
Anthony too has a strong armoury on Saturday.
If the Cummings name is to be inscribed on the BMW Caulfield Cup trophy on Saturday, will it be Bart or Anthony holding it aloft?
The Final Field for Saturday’s $2.5 million BMW Caulfield Cup is;
|
No |
Horse |
Trainer |
Jockey |
Weight |
|||
|
1 |
VIEWED |
BART CUMMINGS |
BRAD RAWILLER |
57KG |
|||
|
2 |
KIRKLEES (IRE) |
SAEED BIN SUROOR |
KERRIN MCEVOY |
56KG |
|||
|
3 |
C’EST LA GUERRE (NZ) |
JOHN SADLER |
STEVEN ARNOLD |
55.5KG |
|||
|
4 |
CIMA DE TRIOMPHE (IRE) |
LUCA CUMANI |
DAMIEN OLIVER |
55.5KG |
|||
|
5 |
FIUMICINO (NZ) |
TEAM HAWKES |
DWAYNE DUNN |
55.5KG |
|||
|
6 |
MASTER O’REILLY (NZ) |
DANNY O’BRIEN |
VLAD DURIC |
55KG |
|||
|
7 |
ROMAN EMPEROR (NZ) |
BART CUMMINGS |
HUGH BOWMAN |
54KG |
|||
|
8 |
SARRERA |
MICHAEL MORONEY |
NICHOLAS HALL |
54KG |
|||
|
9 |
PREDATORY PRICER |
PAUL MURRAY |
STEVEN KING |
53.5KG |
|||
|
10 |
RED RULER (NZ) |
JOHN SARGENT |
DANNY NIKOLIC |
53.5KG |
|||
|
11 |
ZAVITE (NZ) |
ANTHONY CUMMINGS |
MARK ZAHRA |
53KG |
|||
|
12 |
HARRIS TWEED (NZ) |
MURRAY & BJORN BAKER |
CRAIG NEWITT |
52.5KG |
|||
|
13 |
LIGHT VISION (NZ) |
ROBERT SMERDON |
LUKE NOLEN |
52.5KG |
|||
|
14 |
DAFFODIL (NZ) |
KEVIN GRAY |
CHRIS MUNCE |
51.5KG |
|||
|
15 |
READY TO LIFT |
GERALD RYAN |
GLEN BOSS |
51.5KG |
|||
|
16 |
RED LORD |
ANTHONY CUMMINGS |
GLYN SCHOFIELD |
51.5KG |
|||
|
17 |
VIGOR |
DANNY O’BRIEN |
COREY BROWN |
51KG |
|||
|
18 |
ALLEZ WONDER |
BART CUMMINGS |
MICHELLE PAYNE |
50KG |
|||
|
19 (E1) |
BAUGHURST |
BILL & SYMON WILDE |
52.5KG |
||||
|
20 (E2)
|
SHOCKING |
MARK KAVANAGH |
51KG |
||||
|
21 (E3)
|
NEWPORT |
PAUL PERRY |
PETER WELLS |
52.5KG |
|||
|
22 (E4)
|
MISS DARCEY |
ANTHONY CUMMINGS |
50KG |
||||
