Melbourne Cup 2023: James Cummings wants Godolphin to adopt ‘underdog’ mentality for spring

Chris Waller often spoke about the hangover after training the great mare Winx, and James Cummings has urged global racing giant Godolphin to adopt an “underdog” mentality as they plan for life after the Australia’s best horse, Anamoe.

On the same day Godolphin’s picturesque Agnes Banks property, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, welcomed the Melbourne Cup on its trophy tour, Cummings, Sheikh Mohammed’s Australian head trainer, opened up about the void left by Anamoe’s retirement.

The nine-time group 1 winner, who is poised to end Waller’s seven-year stranglehold on Australian Horse of the Year honours with Winx, Verry Elleegant and Nature Strip, will serve his first book of mares at stud this spring as Cummings plots a new batch of racetrack stars.

“We’ve got to be approaching the spring carnival like the underdogs,” Cummings said. “We’ve lost our flag bearer and we’re immensely proud of his record. It’s not like we’ve lost him, he’s safely retired to stud.

“[But] we’ve got to knuckle down in this upcoming season and give every horse their best opportunity. There’s going to be a huge hole with the retirement of Anamoe.

“We’re very grateful to have trained 56 stakes winners this season so far. That’s a very high number for us.”

Cummings, the grandson of 12-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Bart, is still trying to secure his first win in the race that stops the nation, and tempered expectations of it being this year when nominating Alegron as a horse which would need to justify a spot in the race.

But Cummings is open to Godolphin nominating potential imports from Europe to be trained locally for the two-mile test.