Bart Cummings
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James Bartholomew Cummings (14 November 1927 – 30 August 2015), also known by his initials J. B. Cummings, was one of the most successful Australian
racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
trainers. He was known as the Cups King, referring to the
Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...
, as he won 'the race that stops a nation' a record twelve times. During his lifetime, Cummings was considered an Australian cultural icon and an Australian National Living Treasure. His status as a racing icon in the 20th century was generally considered equivalent to that of Etienne L. de Mestre in the 19th century.


Early life

Cummings was born in 1927, in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of the accomplished trainer Jim Cummings, who trained the great stayer Comic Court to a win in the 1950 Melbourne Cup. Bart started his career working for his father as a strapper—despite being
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to horses and hay. Cummings had an older brother, Pat, and said of his father: "I had the best of teachers. My dad had a lot of experience behind him and I picked up from him by watching, listening, and keeping my mouth shut".


Training career

Cummings received his trainer licence in 1953, and set up stables at Glenelg in South Australia. His first significant win came in 1958, when he won the
South Australian Derby The South Australian Derby is a South Australian Jockey Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, at set weights, run over a distance of 2,500 metres at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide, Australia during the SAJC Autumn Carniv ...
, his first Group 1 win. Cummings had a record total of 89 runners in the Melbourne Cup starting in 1958 with Asian Court who finished twelfth. His next entrant was Trellios who fronted up in 1959 and finished fifth. In 1960, Sometime finished in sixth place. It wasn't until 1965 that, with three runners in the Melbourne Cup, Cummings finished first with
Light Fingers Light Fingers (1961−1988) was a New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse who won the Melbourne Cup in 1965. In 2017 Light Fingers was inducted to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Background The lightly built chestnut was by the highly succes ...
and second with Ziema, with his other runner, The Dip, finished eighteenth. Cummings won his first Trainer's Premiership in the 1965–1966 season. Not only did he achieve his first Melbourne Cup victory that year, but he also won the
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, Caulfield,
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,
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,
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and Queen's cups. In 1968, Cummings opened
stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
s, now called Saintly Lodge, at Flemington in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, home of the
Flemington Racecourse Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is the world's richest handicap and the world's richest 3200-metre horse race. The race ...
. Later that year, he won the Trainer's Premiership the first of five. In 1969, the favourite for the Melbourne Cup was Cummings' horse Big Philou, which had already won the
Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under Handicap (horse racing), handicap conditions. This is for all horses aged three years old and older. It takes place over a distance of 2400 met ...
. However, the horse was drugged illicitly with a large dose of
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the morning of the race and was unable to compete. In 1974, he became the first trainer in the British Commonwealth to train horses who won $1 million in prize money. In 1975, Cummings moved his operations to a new facility near
Randwick Racecourse Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney r ...
in Sydney, called 'Leilani Lodge'. Cummings trained and co-owned
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with his wife Valmae, horse breeder Lloyd Foyster and his wife Jacqueline, and Ron and Hildegard Websdale. As well as his 1977 and 1980
Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under Handicap (horse racing), handicap conditions. This is for all horses aged three years old and older. It takes place over a distance of 2400 met ...
wins, he won two VRC Australian Cups (1978 and 1980), the 1978 AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the
Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...
in the same year. In the late 1980s, Cummings spent millions of
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purchasing racehorses, much of the money spent on behalf of a tax minimisation syndicate. Unfortunately, like many other trainers Cummings was hit hard by the
recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...
of the early 1990s. With help from Reg Inglis' organisation, however, he avoided bankruptcy and continued training. Cummings had training facilities at Randwick (NSW) and Flemington(Vic) but in 2014 the Flemington stables closed and all horses and training moved to Randwick. Cummings had gone into virtual retirement at Princes his property at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Bart's grandson and partner, James made the decision for financial reasons. Cummings' final Melbourne Cup winner was Viewed in the 2008 race, when the horse beat Bauer in a photo finish. This was his 12th Melbourne Cup victory, on the 50th anniversary of the day when he entered his first Cup runner. Cummings achieved 246 Group 1 victories and more than 776 stakes victories. In addition to his 12 Melbourne Cups, he won the
Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under Handicap (horse racing), handicap conditions. This is for all horses aged three years old and older. It takes place over a distance of 2400 met ...
seven times, the
Golden Slipper Stakes The Golden Slipper Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses run over 1,200 metres on turf at set weights conditions, held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier two ...
four times, the
Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racin ...
five times, the VRC Oaks nine times and the
Newmarket Handicap The Newmarket Handicap is a Victoria Racing Club Group One, Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race over a distance of 1200 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on Super Saturday in March during the VRC Autumn Racing Carn ...
eight times. He also won the Australian Cup thirteen times.


Honours

* 1974 ABC Sportsman of the Year *
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
Made a Member of the
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
for his services to the racing industry. * 1991 11 December 1991, Cummings was inducted into the
Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...
. * 1997 Named in National Trusts 100 Australian Living Legends (chosen by a national vote) * 2000 Awarded a Centennial Medal and carried the Olympic Torch * 2001 An inaugural inductee into the
Australian Racing Hall of Fame The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horse racing, horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000. The numbers i ...
. * 2004 First licensed person to be made Lifetime member of Victoria Racing Club * 2007
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placed his image on a postage stamp as part of its ''Australian Legends'' series. * 2008 Racing NSW announced a new horse racing award to be known as The Bart Cummings Medal which will be awarded for 'consistent, outstanding performances amongst jockeys and trainers at New South Wales metropolitan race meetings through the racing season.


Melbourne Cup winners

In 1965, 1966, 1974, 1975, and 1991, Cummings trained both the first- and second-placed horses in the Melbourne Cup. In all, Cummings won twelve Melbourne Cups with eleven horses: *
Light Fingers Light Fingers (1961−1988) was a New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse who won the Melbourne Cup in 1965. In 2017 Light Fingers was inducted to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Background The lightly built chestnut was by the highly succes ...
(
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
) *
Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
(
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
) * Red Handed (
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
) *
Think Big Think Big was an interventionist state economic strategy of the Third National Government of New Zealand, promoted by the Prime Minister Robert Muldoon (1975–1984) and his National government in the early 1980s. The Think Big schemes saw t ...
(
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
&
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
) * Gold and Black (
1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
) * Hyperno (
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
) *
Kingston Rule Kingston Rule was an American-bred racehorse who raced in Australia, where he won the 1990 Melbourne Cup in a record time of 3:16:3. This time still stands as the record today. Bred and raced by Victoria's David H. Hains, who had bred Kingst ...
(
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
) * Let's Elope (
1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
) *
Saintly Saintly (21 September 1992 – 16 December 2016) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1997. A giant chestnut gelding by Sky Chase out of All Grace (by Sir Tristram), he was bred by his tra ...
(
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
) *
Rogan Josh Rogan josh ( English: /ˌroʊɡən ˈdʒɑʃ/);Rogan Josh
Oxford English Dictionary
), also spell ...
(
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
) * Viewed (
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
) In February 2016, the Victoria Racing Club unveiled a precinct in honour of Cummings at Flemington Racecourse to be named Saintly Place. The chairman said,
We’re extremely pleased that Bart endorsed this initiative, which importantly is in general admission and accessible to all,...Bart has generously bequeathed a collection of his trophies for public display at Flemington, and in time Saintly Place will become a permanent trackside museum dedicated to the Cups King. The large collection includes Saintly’s Melbourne Cup and Bart’s 12 Melbourne Cup trainer’s trophies, as well as Caulfield Cups and Cox Plates.


Personal life and death

Born in the Adelaide suburb of Glenelg, he attended the Marist Brothers' Sacred Heart College in Adelaide in the beachside suburb of Somerton Park. He left school at 14. Cummings met Valmae "Val" (died 12 January 2017) at a church social in Adelaide, and they married in 1954. Like his parents, Cummings was a practising Catholic, and their faith played an important role in their lives. He had five children: daughters Sharon (now Robinson), Anne-Marie (now Casey), and Margaret and sons John (deceased 2011) and Anthony. His son Anthony and grandson James (who Bart made a partner in 2011) are also trainers, while second grandson Edward was a stable foreman with Anthony but has now been approved to train in partnership with Anthony. Cummings authored a book, ''Bart: My Life'', which was published in 2009. Cummings died on 30 August 2015 in Prince's Farm in Castlereagh, NSW, two days after he and wife Valmae celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. He was 87. His family accepted an offer by the
premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...
,
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, of a
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
, which took place on 7 September at
St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians, locally known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, is a Catholic basilica and the seat of the Archdiocese of Sydney. The cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Vi ...
, on College Street, and was televised on Sky Thoroughbred Central, 7Two,
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and
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Australia from 10AM AEST.


Will dispute

On 28 October 2016, a dispute over Cummings' will was heard in the
New South Wales Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...
. The dispute was between Anthony and his sister Margaret, who wanted the $30 million estate to be settled as per Cummings' will. They also took the executor of the estate, accountant Aaron Ross Randell, to court, contesting their father's final will. In a separate action, sisters Sharon and Anne-Marie were contesting the division of the estate. The judge Supreme Court Justice Francois Kunc ordered that the parties find someone who could act as an
intermediary An intermediary, also known as a middleman or go-between, is defined differently by context. In law or diplomacy, an intermediary is a third-party beneficiary, third party who offers intermediation services between two parties. In trade or barte ...
in
mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...
between the parties. He expected mediation to occur in December/January, and the matter was to return to court in February 2017. Mediation was under the control of eminent former appeal court judge Keith Mason, QC, with the first meeting was scheduled for 30 November. The mediation over two days failed to resolve the dispute, and Judge Philip Hallen ordered that the parties submit any further evidence by 30 January. A hearing was scheduled for 24 February when a date for a hearing was to be set. With the death of Bart's wife in early January 2017, the family "...will put aside all ill-will as the mourn the loss of their mother". No further stories regarding the estate have appeared in the media, and the matter may have been settled privately.


Secret family controversy

In November 2016, two sisters in Adelaide, Kimberley and Julia Mander, went public with a claim that Cummings was the father of their father, Peter Mander, from a relationship with their grandmother, Patricia Kilmartin. They allege that the couple were in a relationship for over a year and Patricia fell pregnant in mid-1951. The relationship ended, and Lloyd Mander married Patricia and raised Peter as his son. They have engaged a lawyer and have asked for DNA tests for to confirm their story. They have stated that they are not interested in a financial claim on Cummings' estate. Cummings' daughter Sharon Robinson has said that she is happy to give a DNA sample and to meet the girls who would be her nieces if Bart Cummings is proved to be their grandfather.


References


External links

*
Trainer Profile: Bart Cummings
at Horse Directory Australia
Australian Racing Museum and Hall of Fame
*
Touching tribute To Melbourne Cup King Bart Cummings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Bart 1927 births 2015 deaths Horse trainers from Melbourne Australian horse trainers Australian racehorse trainers Australian racehorse owners and breeders Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame inductees Australian people of Irish descent Australian Roman Catholics People educated at Sacred Heart College (Adelaide)