Godolphin will have ‘underdog’ mentality for spring after Anamoe’s retirement

Chris Waller often spoke about the hangover after training the great mare Winx, and James Cummings has urged global racing giant Godolphin to adopt an “underdog” mentality as they plan for life after the Australia’s best horse, Anamoe.

On the same day Godolphin’s picturesque Agnes Banks property, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, welcomed the Melbourne Cup on its trophy tour, Cummings, Sheikh Mohammed’s Australian head trainer, opened up about the void left by Anamoe’s retirement.

The nine-time group 1 winner, who is poised to end Waller’s seven-year stranglehold on Australian Horse of the Year honours with Winx, Verry Elleegant and Nature Strip, will serve his first book of mares at stud this spring as Cummings plots a new batch of racetrack stars.

“We’ve got to be approaching the spring carnival like the underdogs,” Cummings said. “We’ve lost our flag bearer and we’re immensely proud of his record. It’s not like we’ve lost him, he’s safely retired to stud.

“[But] we’ve got to knuckle down in this upcoming season and give every horse their best opportunity. There’s going to be a huge hole with the retirement of Anamoe.

“We’re very grateful to have trained 56 stakes winners this season so far. That’s a very high number for us.”

The 2023 Melbourne Cup trophy at the Agnes Banks property of Godolphin Australia.

Cummings, the grandson of 12-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Bart, is still trying to secure his first win in the race that stops the nation, and tempered expectations of it being this year when nominating Alegron as a horse which would need to justify a spot in the race.

But Cummings is open to Godolphin nominating potential imports from Europe to be trained locally for the two-mile test.

“I’d love them to, but the good offers also [mean we’ve] got to get the balance right,” he said. “It’s a matter for the way the operation is run to determine whether those horses do get on the plane and come here.”

Cummings nominated gun sprinter In Secret as a potential candidate for the $20 million The Everest and Champions Sprint on the final day of the Flemington carnival.

The Melbourne Cup was on display at Godolphin training centre in Agnes Banks. Credit: Nick Moir

“I think [the Champions Sprint] is the type of race that will be very important for us to have her absolutely perfect for, but having said that a month beforehand The Everest has gone to $20 million,” he said.

“It’s impossible to ignore and it’s going be an important target for us, particularly as slot holders.”

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