End of an era for Godolphin in Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield

Courier-Mail

4 days ago

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A few tears might be shed when an era ends after Saturday's Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield.
The race will feature the last runners prepared from Godolphin's Crown Lodge operation at Flemington and trainer James Cummings' last Stakes runners for the operation.
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The Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum-owned Godolphin operation opted to cease employing a private trainer when James Cummings decided to quit the role to take up a Hong Kong training contract.
Godolphin will disperse its team into stables including the Ciaron Maher, Ben, Will and JD Hayes and Chris Waller camps, along with the Anthony and Sam Freedman stable, which has prepared horses for Godolphin for some years.
Godolphin's Flemington operation has saddled the winners of 101 stakes races, including 19 at Group 1 level.
Cox Plate winner Anamoe, dual Australian Cup winner Cascadian and the 2025 All-Star Mile winner Tom Kitten are among the top level winners to spend their time in Melbourne at the 'blue army's' Flemington base.
Anamoe provided James Cummings with three of his 19 Group 1 wins for Godolphin's Melbourne stable. Picture: Getty Images.
Godolphin's Melbourne representative Nacim Dilmi said the stable will have three runners in its bid for a third Bletchingly Stakes after winning the feature sprint with Viridine in 2020 and Ingratiating in 2023.
'It's going to be a sad day for us as they will be our last runners,' Dilmi said.
'We'll run Inhibitions, Kin and Kallos and we're hoping they can end things with a great result.'
Both Inhibitions and Kallos will have their second-up runs in the Bletchingly Stakes while Kin campaigned in Queensland before finishing fifth in the Sir John Monash Stakes at her last outing.
'Inhibitions ran well first-up and she has done well since but, without seeing the weather forecast, she'd like some juice in the track,' Dilmi said.
'Kin likes racing at Caulfield and did a good job in the Monash, she won't be far away.
'I thought Kallos ran all right first-up but he'll be a lot better for the first-up run and can run a better race.'
Dilmi said the Flemington team's numbers had dwindled to 10 in recent weeks as horses were transferred to other stables.
However, he said the staff had been busy preparing Crown Lodge for its next tenant.
'We're cleaning up the stables and packing up all the gear, keeping the staff busy,' Dilmi said.
'We started quite a while ago, every time the horses departed, so there's not too much to do at the end.
'Chris Waller is taking over Carbine Lodge so we want to give him the stable in the best condition.'
Dilmi said Cummings would head to Melbourne on Thursday for a celebratory drink with staff before the final acts of his Victorian stable on Saturday.
'It will be a good send-off. There's a lot to celebrate,' Dilmi said. 'It will be quite emotional next Saturday, for sure.
'The horses will come back to Flemington after the race and we'll look at them and see how they pull up but on Monday or Tuesday, they'll be going.'
Originally published as Godolphin trainer James Cummings to have last Melbourne runners in Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield