300th Stakes win on line for James Cummings in Civic Stakes at Royal Randwick

James Cummings will record his 300th stakes win if Tamerlane takes out the Civic Stakes on Saturday — a milestone the Godolphin trainer was unaware of.

Godolphin trainer James Cummings will record his 300th stakes win if Tamerlane takes out the Listed $200,000 Civic Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Cummings has only been training for 11 years, the last seven in charge of Godolphin where he has prepared the bulk of 288 Group or Listed winners.

He also trained 11 stakes winners in partnership with his legendary grandfather, the late Bart Cummings, between 2013-15.

The Godolphin maestro was unaware he was on the precipice of the personal milestone with Tamerlane at Royal Randwick.

“I didn’t know I was on 299 stakes wins,’’ Cummings said. “It would be nice to bring up the 300 and cap a good season for the stable.’’

Cummings has had another outstanding 2023-24 preparing 116 winners on all racetracks with boom two-year-old colt Broadsiding’s win in the JJ Atkins last week giving the trainer his seventh Group 1 win for the season with stable earnings over $26 million.

But Tamerlane, to be ridden by Sydney’s leading jockey James McDonald, needs to set a modern-day weight-carrying record to win the Civic Stakes.

The Godolphin sprinter is burdened with 59.5kg and no sprinter has carried his weight or more and won Randwick’s feature winter sprint since Gilt Pattern scored under 60kg in 1975.

If that wasn’t concerning enough, Tamerlane needs to turnaround his form after a struggling first-up effort when ninth in Coastwatch’s Luskin Star Stakes at the Scone stand-alone meeting last month.

Tamerlane wins at Randwick.

“I thought his Scone run was ok, it was a pass mark, he wasn’t dynamic,’’ Cummings said.

“Maybe I was asking a bit of him to go 1300m first-up at that level. In his previous preparations I have been able to get the horse to improve significantly second-up so I am really banking on that.

“I also like him going back to Randwick, the horse races well on this track and over 1400m.’’

Tamerlane, the $4.60 TAB Fixed Odds favourite, is also drawn to get the run of the race from his inside draw and is suited by a track surface in the soft range.

Cummings is represented in four races at the Randwick meeting and has the favourite in each including boom three-year-old Kerguelen in the James Squire Handicap (1300m).

Kerguelen, a son of the champion racehorse and sire Lonhro, dominates betting at $1.95 on the strength of his stunning debut effort when he romped home by nearly 10 lengths at Kembla Grange.

“This is the ultimate test for a stylish provincial maiden winner to rocket straight into Saturday grade,’’ Cummings said.

“It is a lot to ask of that horse. I’m well aware of the experience he is giving away to his rivals.

“I had intended to run him in a class 1 at Kembla a couple of weeks ago but the meeting was abandoned.

“By my estimation he has had a sufficient amount of time to get himself back together and reproduce at the races to the level that will be required of him to advance enough against these horses. He has really got to get up and do it again so the fact he has had a month between runs I feel is in his favour.’’

Cummings made mention of Kerguelen’s stablemate Setombe ($10) as a possible knockout chance.

“Setombe could challenge Kerguelen,’’ he said. “I wouldn’t put it past her to run a good race.’’

The Godolphin maestro also has impressive last start winners Contemporary and Fleetwood clashing in the Catanach’s Jewellers Handicap (1200m).

Fleetwood is the $3.10 favourite after successive wins at Warwick Farm and Randwick to start his winter campaign but the progressive three-year-old is only third emergency.

“If Fleetwood gets into this race he will give them a run for their money,’’ Cummings said.

“He is flying, that horse, but he is still on the outer as third emergency. If he doesn’t get a run it is not the end of the world.’’

Contemporary ($6) hasn’t raced since scor

Contemporary wins at Hawkesbury.

ing brilliantly first-up at the Hawkesbury stand-alone meeting nearly seven weeks ago.

Cummings said Contemporary has had a minor hoof issue which has prevented him from racing since Hawkesbury but the gelding impressed at the Warwick Farm barrier trials on Monday.

“Contemporary’s set to go again,’’ the trainer said.

Godolphin also has smart mare Dipsy Doodle ($2.70) at the top of betting for the TAB Handicap (1000m).

Dipsy Doodle has only raced twice this season, both Rosehill in February for a first-up third behind Our Kobison before her fifth to Shadows Of Love.

But two good barrier trials in recent weeks has given Cummings optimism the mare is ready to sprint well fresh.

“She will be up there not too far away, she should run well given how she is trialling,’’ he said.

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FORM jockey Jay Ford will ride at Flemington on Saturday for the first time since the heady days of champion sprinter Takeover Target nearly 20 years ago.

Ford, who rode a treble at Rosehill Gardens last Saturday, has three rides at Flemington including the Joe Pride-trained The Black Cloud in the closer, the VRC Country Race Day Sprint (1100m).

Jay Ford.

t’s the jockey’s first visit to Flemington since his Group 1 wins on Takeover Target in Lightning Stakes and Newmarket Handicap in 2006. In fact, he hasn’t ridden in Victoria since with the exception of one ride at Caulfield and Moonee Valley during 2018-19.

Ford, who has ridden more than 1300m winners during his career, also rides the Shane Nichols-trained Warparty in the Flemington opener, the Ken Cox Handicap (1420m) and Along The River for trainers Michael and Luke Cerchi in the Country Achiever Sprint (1100m).

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JOE Pride, trainer of Civic Stakes hopefuls Excelladus and Estadio Mestalla and Flemington hopeful The Black Cloud, is also a South Sydney Rabbitohs tragic and is predicting a big game from their NSW representative Latrell Mitchell in State Of Origin II at the MCG next Wednesday night.

“You can never count on it but I reckon Latrell is going to play enormous,’’ Pride said.

“Latrell has a lot of knockers out there but I don’t think people know why they knock him half the time.

“He’s a great player and I just want to see him play well. When he plays well for NSW, then they are hard to beat.’’

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CHAMPION jockey Tommy Berry goes to Royal Randwick on 99 wins for the 2023-24 season.

Only 14 jockeys have ridden 100 or more winners this season with Brisbane’s James Orman leading the national premiership on 155.5 wins.

Berry’s achievement is significant given he missed the first two months of the season through suspension.

Among Berry’s Randwick rides is the promising three-year-old colt Need Some Luck, a $4.40 chance in the James Squire Handicap (1300m).

The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Need Some Luck has won twice (and two seconds) from five starts and goes to Sydney Saturday class after a strong win under Berry at the Canterbury midweeks.

Need Some Luck is by Rubick out of Lovely Jubly which makes the colt a half-brother to former champion sprinter Chautauqua, who Berry rode to five Group 1 wins including three successive TJ Smith Stakes (2015-16-17).

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LOOKING BACK

5 years ago

Gaulois, trained by James Cummings, won his first stakes race when he finished strongly to defeat Firsthand in the Civic Stakes run that year at Rosehill Gardens. Gai Waterhouse finally won the race named in her honour when Ready To Prophet won the Gai Waterhouse Classic at Ipswich. The Steve Tregear-trained Bergerac scored a comfortable win over Sampson in the Ispwich Cup. Champion jockey Blake Shinn rode Man Booker to win the Eye Liner Stakes.

10 years ago

Trainer John O’Shea had only just taken over at Godolphin-Darley and had Generalife in brilliant form that winter. Generalife won the Civic Stakes comfortably form Benedetta then backed up later that month to win the Winter Stakes. Brave Ali, trained by Ton Gollan, led all the way to win the Ipswich Cup by a length from Noisy Ocean. Gollan trained the big-race double at Ipswich when Alma’s Fury won the Eye Liner Stakes. The Mick Price-trained Jazz Song won the Gai Waterhouse Classic.

20 years ago

Damigos, trained by Gerald Ryan, edged out Gabfest and Bradshaw to win the Civic Stakes. Neville McBurney, a master trainer of stayers, combined with champion jockey Larry Cassidy to win the Ipswich Cup with Portland Singa. McBurney also won the race with Henderson Bay two years earlier. Proudly Agro, ridden by emerging superstar jockey Zac Purton, won the Eye Liner Stakes.

Originally published as 300th Stakes win on line for James Cummings in Civic Stakes at Royal Randwick