James Cummings

Who is horse trainer James Cummings?

James Cummings is the grandson of Australia’s most famous trainer, the late Bart Cummings. James Cummings has established himself among his country’s leading horsemen as head trainer for Godolphin Australia, training some of the greatest horses of the 2010s and 2020s.

What is James Cummings’ Origin Story?

James Cummings hails from a lineage of racehorse trainers. His great-grandfather Jim began training in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory in the early 1900s, having learned to ride and care for horses on his uncle’s remote cattle station. In the early 1920s, Jim Cummings made the 1,500km trek from Alice Springs to Adelaide, establishing himself in South Australia and making a successful first raid on the Melbourne spring carnival in 1928 by winning the VRC Oaks with Opera Queen. His most famous victory came in 1950 when Comic Court won the Melbourne Cup in race record time.

Jim’s son Bart Cummings was allergic to horses and hay but was determined to follow in his father’s footsteps. As a teenager, he worked in his father’s stables and in his early 20s he strapped Comic Court when he won the Melbourne Cup. That was the start of a lifelong love affair with Australia’s most famous race – from 1965 to 2008, he won the Melbourne Cup on 12 occasions. That was among 246 Group 1 wins which came with some of the legends of the Australian turf: Light Fingers, Galilee, Century, Leilani, Think Big, Maybe Mahal, Beau Zam, Let’s Elope, Saintly and So You Think among others.

Anthony Cummings – Bart’s son and James’ father – has trained in Sydney since the early 1990s. Known as a remarkable judge of a yearling, his selections include Might And Power – one of only two horses to win the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate treble – and Road To Rock, best known as the sire of Hong Kong champion Beauty Generation. In 2022, he won the VRC Oaks with She’s Extreme, joining his grandfather, father and son on the honour roll.

James began as a stablehand for his father before joining his grandfather’s stable, Leilani Lodge. In 2013, James went into a training partnership with Bart – a partnership that lasted until Bart’s death in 2015. The pair won the 2014 G1 Golden Rose and 2015 G1 Randwick Guineas with Hallowed Crown – the final two of Bart’s Group 1 winners and the first two Group 1 winners for James.

In May, 2017, he was appointed Godolphin’s head trainer in Australia. It would take only four months for him to prepare the first of 48 Group 1 winners for the blue army – Alizee in the G1 Flight Stakes.

James’ brother Edward is also a Group 1-winning trainer, preparing the top-class Duais to win three times at the highest level.

Who Is Horse Trainer James Cummings’ Wife?

James has been married to Monica, the granddaughter of late Filipino billionaire Eduardo Cojuangco, since 2014. They have four children: daughters Adeline and Mia and sons Harvey and Oliver.

James Cummings’ Move To Hong Kong

In 2025, after eight years at the helm of Godolphin Australia, it was announced that James Cummings was ending his tenure as private trainer for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s Australian arm and the operation splitting its horses between multiple stables.

Initially, Cummings was set to establish a public training organisation split between Sydney and Melbourne and set out to keep his grandfather’s stables, Leilani Lodge, in family hands. However, in June that year, the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced that Cummings would join the training roster at Sha Tin as of mid-2026.

What Is James Cummings’ Approach To Training?

Like his grandfather, who was renowned for surrounding himself with the very best horsemen, Cummings has achieved success as the figurehead of a thriving team. He has had his string split between two Sydney barns and a Flemington base – as well as Darley’s studs in NSW and Victoria – and has built a strong team right across the operation. 

While he has primarily worked with blueblood colts and fillies in a bid to turn them into bloodstock propositions, he has proven adept with staying types when he gets an opportunity with them. He is a typical Cummings in that he is remarkably patient and has proven shrewd in his placement of horses.

Who is James Cummings’ Best Horse?

Godolphin’s mission is to produce top-class horses who can develop into prominent stallions. No horse fits that bill more than Anamoe, who won the G1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes at two, the G1 Caulfield Guineas and G1 Rosehill Guineas at three and six Group 1 races at four, including the Cox Plate. His first foals will hit the track in late 2026.

However, if there is one pin-up horse from his time with Godolphin, it would be the gallant Hartnell. A winner from 1400m to two miles, Hartnell achieved many of his best results for previous trainer John O’Shea. However, Cummings was able to prepare him to win the G1 C F Orr Stakes and the G1 Epsom Handicap while he continued to campaign at the highest level until the end of his eight-year-old season.

What Is James Cummings’ Greatest Achievement?

Aged 36 years and 260 days, Cummings became the youngest trainer in Australian history to reach 50 Group 1 wins when Broadsiding won the Golden Rose. It is a feat which has only been bettered globally by Aidan O’Brien (32 years and four days) and Jamie Richards (32 years and 87 days).

Did You Know?

James Cummings joined his grandfather and father in having runners at Sha Tin. Bart Cummings won the 1997 Hong Kong Bowl – the precursor to the Hong Kong Mile – with Catalan Opening while Anthony’s Casino Prince finished ninth in the Champions Mile in 2007.