Godolphin Australia moves to public training model, James Cummings to train in own right
Godolphin Australia has announced it will move to a public training model from the start of the new racing season.
Champion trainer James Cummings has been Godolphin's private trainer for eight years but has also announced plans to become a public trainer from August 1.
Cummings will continue to train some horses for Godolphin with the all-powerful racing and breeding organisation explaiming the decision to spread their team among a number of trainers was 'in line with operating structures used by other major owners and breeders in Australia'.
The bombshell announcement was revealed in a joint statement with Cummings, Godolphin Australia Managing Director Andy Makiv said the change would provide greater flexibility for the business while maintaining Godolphin's strong presence in the Australian thoroughbred industry.
• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
'The private training model that we first adopted after the purchase of Woodlands in 2007 with successive trainers, Peter Snowden, John O'Shea and now James Cummings for the past eight years has proven to be very successful,'' Makiv said.
'Moving away from a private training model gives us greater business agility. We will continue to have the same number of horses in training — it's fundamental to what we do.
'As a stallion business, Group 1 winners like Anamoe, Bivouac, Broadsiding and Cylinder have all come through our commitment to racing.
'Our numbers have and will remain stable, just as they have been for the past five years.'
Makiv said Godolphin's decision coincided with the conclusion of Cummings' current contract, which ended on July 31, and the trainer's own plans to expand his business.
'James is a fantastic trainer and has been incredibly successful,' Makiv said.
'He brought up his 50th Group 1 win late last year and we are extremely grateful for his leadership of our wonderful racing team who have supported him.
'We are looking forward to working with James under our new training model.'
James Cummings trained star Godolphin filly Tempted to victory in the Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes earlier this month, a win which came just after her gallant third placing in this year's Group 1 Golden Slipper. Picture: Vince Caligiuri / Getty Images
Cummings said he was proud of what had been achieved during his time with Godolphin and excited about the next phase of his career.
'The time is right for me to take the next step in my career and launch my own venture as a public trainer,'' Cummings said.
'I've been fortunate to work with exceptional horses and a dedicated team during my time at Godolphin, and together we've celebrated many memorable successes.
'This experience has been incredibly rewarding and has taught me invaluable lessons, both professionally and personally.
'I'm deeply grateful to Godolphin for their ongoing support, and I look forward with great anticipation to this exciting new chapter.'
Makiv expected that Mr Cummings' expertise would remain an important part of the operation.
'We are in discussions with James to lead the campaigns of horses like the outstanding two-year-old Tempted, Tom Kitten on his path to the Cox Plate and VRC Oaks winner Zardozi,'' Makiv said.
'We remain absolutely committed to breeding and racing in our famous Godolphin blue silks.''
Originally published as Godolphin Australia moves to public training model, James Cummings to launch own venture
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
11 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
'Golden era is now': Campbell lauds Australian swim team
Cate Campbell gives a wrap of night seven at the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore, declaring the current Australian swim team's success a new "golden era".
The Age
11 minutes ago
- The Age
'Golden era is now': Campbell lauds Australian swim team
Cate Campbell gives a wrap of night seven at the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore, declaring the current Australian swim team's success a new "golden era".
West Australian
11 minutes ago
- West Australian
ASX-listed gold miners arrive at Diggers & Dealers with more than $7.5b of cash and bullion to play with
Local gold miners are making the annual pilgrimage to Kalgoorlie while carrying piggy banks bursting at the seams. The Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum begins in the gold heartland on Monday after a record year for the precious metal. Gold miners were already flying high at last year's Diggers & Dealers and since then bullion's value in Australian dollar terms has surged another 38 per cent to $5120 an ounce. ASX-listed producers of the precious metal are now flush with funds — collectively holding more than $7.5 billion of cash and bullion at June 30. How those riches will be spent, or not spent, is set to dominate conversation among the 2000-plus attendees at the three-day conference. 'Perhaps they could be used for further acquisitions although prices now paid to obtain such new assets are very high,' Surbiton Associates director Sandra Close said. 'The concern is that the larger the cash reserves become, the more the company may become a tempting takeover target.' Dr Close, who has been a gold industry analyst for three decades, said there was 'another rather obvious solution'. 'I am sure that shareholders would love to see higher dividends.' A wave of consolidation has already swept through the gold industry over the past 18 months, with about $9 billion of mergers between Red 5 and Silver Lake Resources, Westgold Resources and Karora Resources, and Ramelius Resources and Spartan Resources. Gold mines and early-stage developments have also been snapped up at a premium left, right and centre across WA. South Africa's Gold Fields in May shook hands with Gruyere mine partner Gold Road Resources to buy its half stake in the Goldfields project for $3.7b in cash and shares. A day prior to this handshake, Northern Star Resources wrapped up its all-stock deal to take control of De Grey Mining and its prized Hemi development in the Pilbara for $6b. Northern Star has the biggest pile of cash and bullion among miners listed on Australia's bourse. It held $1.9b at June 30, well ahead of Ramelius in second place at $810m. Evolution Mining had $760m, Vault Minerals $686m, Greatland Gold $575m and Regis Resources $517m as the other local miners with liquid asset balances over half a billion dollars by the end of FY2025. While gold chiefs are poised to chest-beat at Kalgoorlie's Goldfields Arts Centre's lectern, their battery metals counterparts will cut forlorn figures for the second year in a row. Some, like IGO's Ivan Vella, have decided not to front. WA's once-thriving nickel industry is one mine closure away from complete collapse, lithium remains in the doldrums and no local rare earth element explorers of note had a bumper year. Uranium has also lost its glow. The radioactive commodity became a hot topic at last year's Diggers & Dealers after former Coalition leader Peter Dutton gatecrashed the conference to spruik his nuclear energy policy. Mr Dutton's election failure in May and weakening uranium prices over the past 12 months have largely killed the hype. A notable absence at this year's forum will be the presence of any of the three biggest miners in the State — BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue. Fortescue presented last year via Kristen Pelc, a corporate development manager, and BHP had a booth — infamously an empty one after announcing a month prior to the conference that is sprawling Nickel West arm would into care and maintenance.
