Edward Cummings, the grandson of legendary Australian horse trainer Bart Cummings, has had his suspension lifted and will resume his training career immediately with an ambition to keep the family’s Leilani Lodge dynasty alive.
Idol Horse can reveal Cummings has been notified he will be able to return to racing horses after being sidelined following an attempt to help save his father Anthony’s ailing business.
Anthony Cummings had his licence revoked by Racing NSW last month over the financial state of his training operation, with Edward granted a short leave to continue preparing the stable’s horses from Leilani Lodge at Royal Randwick.
The yard has been the home to the family’s horse training operation for 50 years, ranging from 12-time Melbourne Cup winner Bart to Anthony and Edward’s brother James.
But Edward was forced to leave Leilani Lodge after his father withdrew an appeal into the loss of his training licence, and is still waiting to hear the outcome of an independent assessment and his bid to be classified as a metropolitan trainer.
Edward had originally given up his own training licence to help revive his father’s business.
But from now, he has been told he can resume training at Hawkesbury, a provincial course on the north-western fringe of Sydney under his own Myrtle House business.
“It’s certainly been a tumultuous year for the family, but more specifically for my situation,” Cummings told Idol Horse.
“I’ve had to fight pretty hard to get my licence back, but it was only made possible because of the extraordinary support of the ownership. They’re probably more than owners now, they’re real friends.
“They’re confidantes and I look forward to having a fruitful relationship into the future.”
Anthony had his licence stripped after being deemed not a fit and proper person, a decision he claimed was “mystifying”.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission tabled a liquidator’s report last year that Anthony’s business, RossCarbery Holdings, was being wound up with $4.2 million in claims from unsecured creditors.
It triggered the potential end to the racing family’s dynasty at Leilani Lodge.
“I’ll most certainly be putting my application in to train from the stables and go through the normal process,” Edward said. “It’s obviously much different to when I received permission from the ATC during dad’s appeals process.
“Dad was on target to have his best season in 10 years, more or less under the management of our business. We know the stable like the back of our hands and we know how to get the horses going on from there.” ∎
