Godolphin has announced a major shift in its Australian racing operations, confirming it will move away from its private training model from next season.
In a joint statement with head trainer James Cummings, Godolphin Australia managing director Andy Makiv revealed the global operation will adopt a public training model – aligning with other prominent breeding and ownership outfits such as Yulong.
“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.”
Makiv stressed that Godolphin would retain the same number of horses in work and remain committed to local racing as a key part of their stallion development pipeline.
“We will continue to have the same number of horses in training – it’s fundamental to what we do,” he said. “Group One winners like Anamoe, Bivouac, Broadsiding and Cylinder have all come through our commitment to racing.”
James Cummings’ current contract expires on July 31, after which he will transition back to public training. Makiv confirmed Godolphin will continue to support him with horses.
“He brought up his 50th Group One win late last year and we are extremely grateful for his leadership of our wonderful racing team,” Makiv said. “We are looking forward to working with James under our new training model.”
Discussions are already underway for Cummings to take charge of horses such as Golden Slipper placegetter Tempted, Cox Plate hopeful Tom Kitten and star stayer Zardozi.
Cummings, grandson of legendary trainer Bart Cummings, said he was ready to take on a new professional challenge.
“The time is right for me to take the next step in my career and launch my own venture as a public trainer,” he said. “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.”
Cummings joined Godolphin in 2017, with his latest top-tier success coming via Broadsiding in the Rosehill Guineas last month.
