FAMILY heritage is no guarantee of results and few have had the weight of expectation more than 31-year-old James Cummings, grandson of the ‘Cups King’ Bart.

Appointed head trainer at Godolphin in May 2017, the performance of Cummings this past season exceeded all expectations.

Not traditionally the province of the ‘blue army’, Cummings-trained juveniles dominated that scene with 20 individual winners.

Well-oiled machine

Success in the Magic Millions (Exhilarates) and training the quinella in the Golden Slipper (Kiamichi and Microphone), Cummings finished the Sydney metropolitan season on 99 wins, very nearly joining a select group of only five trainers, all Hall of Fame Inductees, to have prepared 100 winners in Sydney.

“It’s a really good reflection on how we have got the whole operation humming,” said Cummings. “I enjoy seeing people empowered and getting more out of their roles.

“I take satisfaction out of that when it starts to purr along like a well-oiled machine. What has gained us enough recognition, to have made it all the way to Newmarket in England, is the performance of our two-year-olds.

“They have won over $7.5 million prize money, which has got to be a world record.”

THE move by Racing New South Wales and the New South Wales police to strike a deal which will see a senior detective embedded with the racing regulator is emblematic of the challenges all sports face in the 21st century.

“A detective sergeant will be working for Racing NSW and the NSW Police with the full powers of the police,” said Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys in October. “The benefits for the police is they will see first-hand what happens in the racing industry. We are going to be proactive in ensuring the integrity of the sport. This is a complete new joint venture between the police and a sport. I don’t think it has been done before by anyone. We are going to set the benchmark.”

At the legislative end, work is also being done to improve the powers of Racing NSW to compel individuals to give evidence and hand over phones. In the wake of numerous recent scandals, most notably the ‘Aquanita eight’ and the Darren Weir disqualification, the sharpening of integrity is vital if racing is to maintain its ‘social licence’.

Room for improvement

IT was clear during the Melbourne Spring Carnival that horse welfare is a serious issue that that all horse pursuits need to address. The catalyst for the debate was the ABC program The Final Race, which shone a light on animal cruelty, notably the use of abbatoirs to dispose of unwanted horses.

Sections of the racing industry cried foul in respect to the timing and the selective use of footage and highlighted their love for their horses, but to discount the information provided is to misinterpret the gravity of public sentiment generated.

Many racing participants were keen to encourage welfare improvements, and a number highlighted the raw figures of 14,000 horses bred annually in Australia for 9,000 that race.

Hopefully the administrations don’t fall into the trap of just directing money to re-education and rehoming facilities, as it will never be enough. A multi-faceted approach is required that starts with addressing foaling numbers, and remains with the horse through and beyond their racing career.