Tributes To The Cups King

Bart Cummings 1927-2015

John O'Shea and Darren Beadman have paid tributes to training icon Bart Cummings, who died peacefully in his sleep in Australia on Sunday.

Both were closely associated with Cummings before joining Godolphin in their present roles.

O'Shea, who was a foreman for the great trainer, said: "I'm just honoured to have worked with him. For me, coming down from North Queensland, I had only seen him on TV, and he took me in and showed me how he did things."

"These are things that have stayed with me to today," the Godolphin trainer added.

Beadman, who rode two of Cummings' record 12 Melbourne Cup winners, said: "He was a fun guy to be around."

"He had time. He was very patient and when you spent time with him at the track, he was always studying the horse, always looking for that edge that could bring the horse on," he added.

Beadman reiterated the story of when he had gone to Cummings and to tell him of his decision to quit as a jockey in order to go to Bible College with the aim of becoming a Church minister.

"Bart paused for a few seconds, then said: 'Have you got a second opinion on it?'"

Bart Cummings held a trainer's licence for nearly 60 years in Australia. He won 266 Group One races, including 12 Melbourne Cups, 7 Caulfield Cups, 5 Cox Plates, 4 Golden Slippers, 8 Newmarkets, 32 Derbys, 24 Oaks, 13 Australian Cups. He sent out his final winner, Sultry Feeling, at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.