Bart Cummings facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bart CummingsAM |
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Cummings at Government House, Canberra in 2011
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| Occupation | Thoroughbred race horse trainer Thoroughbred horse owner and breeder |
| Born | 14 November 1927 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Died | 30 August 2015 (aged 87) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Career wins | 12x Melbourne Cup 7x Caulfield Cup 4x Golden Slipper 13x Australian Cup 5x Cox Plate 9x VRC Oaks 8x Newmarket Handicap |
| Racing awards | |
| 12x Melbourne Cup | |
| Honours | |
| Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame Australian Racing Hall of Fame Image on Australia Post Postage stamp> Former Australian National Treasure The Bart Cummings |
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| Significant horses | |
| Light Fingers Galilee Red Handed Think Big Gold and Black Hyperno Ming Dynasty Beau Zam Kingston Rule Let's Elope Saintly Rogan Josh Viewed So You Think |
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James Bartholomew Cummings (1927 – 2015) was a super famous Australian horse trainer. People called him the Cups King because he won the amazing Melbourne Cup race a record twelve times! This race is often called 'the race that stops a nation'. Many thought Bart Cummings was a true Australian hero.
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Early Life of Bart Cummings
Bart Cummings was born in 1927 in Adelaide, South Australia. His dad, Jim Cummings, was also a great horse trainer. Jim even trained a famous horse named Comic Court, which won the Melbourne Cup in 1950.
Even though he was allergic to horses and hay, Bart started working with them. He began as a 'strapper' for his dad. A strapper is someone who looks after horses, like grooming them and preparing them for races. Bart learned a lot from his dad by watching and listening carefully. He said his dad was the "best of teachers."
Bart Cummings' Training Career
Bart got his trainer's licence in 1953. He then opened his own stables in Glenelg, South Australia. His first big win was in 1958, when he won the South Australian Derby. This was his first 'Group 1' race, which are the most important races in horse racing.
Melbourne Cup Success
Bart Cummings had many horses race in the Melbourne Cup. His first horse in the Cup was Asian Court in 1958. It wasn't until 1965 that he won his first Melbourne Cup. That year, his horse Light Fingers came first, and another of his horses, Ziema, came second!
He won his first Trainer's Premiership in the 1965–1966 racing season. This means he was the top trainer that year. He didn't just win the Melbourne Cup; he also won many other big races like the Adelaide Cup, Caulfield Cup, and Sydney Cup.
In 1968, Bart opened new stables in Flemington, Victoria, near the famous Flemington Racecourse. He won the Trainer's Premiership five times while based there.
Breaking Records and Moving Stables
In 1974, Bart Cummings became the first trainer in the British Commonwealth to have horses win over $1 million in prize money. This was a huge achievement!
In 1975, he moved his main training base to a new place called 'Leilani Lodge' near Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.
Later in his career, Bart faced some financial challenges. But with help from others, he kept training horses. In 2014, his Flemington stables closed, and all his horses moved to the Randwick location. His grandson, James, helped with this decision.
Bart's last Melbourne Cup win was in 2008 with a horse called Viewed. This was his 12th Melbourne Cup victory! It happened 50 years after he first entered a horse in the race.
Bart Cummings achieved an amazing 246 Group 1 victories. Besides his 12 Melbourne Cups, he won the Caulfield Cup seven times, the Golden Slipper Stakes four times, and the Cox Plate five times. He also won the Australian Cup thirteen times.
Honours and Awards
Bart Cummings received many awards and honours for his incredible career:
- In 1974, he was named ABC Sportsman of the Year.
- In 1982, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to horse racing.
- He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1991.
- In 1997, he was named one of Australia's 100 Living Legends.
- He carried the Olympic Torch in 2000.
- In 2001, he was one of the first people inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
- In 2007, Australia Post put his image on a postage stamp as part of their 'Australian Legends' series.
- A new horse racing award, The Bart Cummings Medal, was created in his honour in 2008.
Melbourne Cup Winners
Bart Cummings won the Melbourne Cup a record twelve times with eleven different horses. In some years, like 1965, 1966, 1974, 1975, and 1991, his horses even finished first and second!
Here are his Melbourne Cup winners:
- Light Fingers (1965)
- Galilee (1966)
- Red Handed (1967)
- Think Big (1974 & 1975)
- Gold and Black (1977)
- Hyperno (1979)
- Kingston Rule (1990)
- Let's Elope (1991)
- Saintly (1996)
- Rogan Josh (1999)
- Viewed (2008)
After his passing, the Victoria Racing Club named a special area at Flemington Racecourse 'Saintly Place' in his honour.
Bart Cummings' Personal Life and Death
Bart Cummings grew up in Glenelg, South Australia. He went to Sacred Heart College in Adelaide. He left school when he was 14 years old.
Bart met his wife, Valmae, at a church social in Adelaide. They got married in 1954. Bart and Valmae were both Catholic, and their faith was important to them. They had five children: Sharon, Anne-Marie, Margaret, John (who passed away in 2011), and Anthony.
His son Anthony and grandson James are also horse trainers. Another grandson, Edward, also works in horse training.
Bart Cummings wrote a book about his life called Bart: My life, which was published in 2009.
Bart Cummings passed away on August 30, 2015, at his home in New South Wales. He was 87 years old. His family accepted an offer from the Premier of New South Wales for a state funeral. The funeral took place on September 7 at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, and was shown on TV.
Images for kids
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Cummings at Government House, Canberra in 2011
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Bart Cummings meets Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 2011.
See also
In Spanish: Bart Cummings para niños
