James Cummings To Hong Kong

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From Racenet:

 

https://www.racenet.com.au/news/james-cummings-accepts-offer-to-train-in-hong-kong-from-the-202627-season-20250610

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Cummings' shock Hong Kong switch revealed

Trainer James Cummings has accepted an offer to train in Hong Kong from the 2026-27 season. Picture: Jeremy Ng / Getty Images

 

By Ray Thomas
11:48am • 11 June 2025 

James Cummings will withdraw his application for the famous Leilani Lodge stables at Royal Randwick after accepting an offer to train in Hong Kong.

Cummings flew to Hong Kong on Tuesday and will later this morning front a press conference in which the Hong Kong Jockey Club will confirm the trainer will move there for the start of the 2026-27 season.

It's a real coup for Hong Kong racing to secure one of Sydney's most outstanding trainers.

Cummings' tenure as Godolphin's private trainer comes to an end on July 31. It is understood he may take a "sabbatical'' from training before he moves to Hong Kong next year.

It is unclear whether Cummings will continue training Godolphin's Group 1 stars Tom Kitten and Zardoziand boom rising three-year-old filly Tempted for their spring carnival campaigns later this year.View All 

Cummings has been reconsidering his future since Godolphin Australia made a bombshell announcement recently it is moving to a public training model from August 1. The trainer had lodged an application to take over the vacant Leilani Lodge stables at Royal Randwick. 

The Australian Turf Club board of directors are due to meet this week to discuss which trainer will be allocated the 60-boxes at Leilani Lodge where Bart Cummings trained so successfully for more than 40 years.

An original Hall of Fame inductee, Bart Cummings prepared some of his greatest champions out of Leilani Lodge including Saintly, So You Think, Beau Zam, Shaftesbury Avenue, Sky Chase, Campaign King, Dane Ripper and many others.

The nation's leading trainer, Ciaron Maher is clear favourite to be given the keys to the Randwick stables which have been vacant since James's father, Anthony Cummings' licence to train was revoked earlier this year.

The famous Leilani Lodge stables at Randwick.

James Cummings is only 37 years of age and has already trained 52 career Group 1 winners including two with his legendary grandfather, Bart.

To put this achievement into context, Bart Cummings and Tommy Smith didn't train their 50th Group 1 winner until they turned 45.

Chris Waller may rewrite all the training records but he didn't get to 50 big race wins until he was 42.

In fact, the only other trainer to reach 50 Group 1 wins before the age of 40 was Lee Freedman who was 38.

Cummings has been Godolphin's trainer since 2017 and has been hugely successful for the global racing and breeding giant, preparing 48 Group 1 winners for the "Blue Army" and more than $200 million prizemoney.

Anamoe has been Godolphin's best horse during the Cummings era winning nine Group 1 races including the 2022 Cox Plate and earning Horse of the Year honours in 2022-23.

 

Cummings trained a Golden Slipper quinella in 2019 with Kiamichi and Microphone, and the winners of the Golden Eagle (Colette, 2019), Doncaster Mile (Cascadian, 2021), Epsom Handicap (Hartnell, 2018), Tancred Stakes (Avilius, 2019) and two Golden Roses with Broadsiding (2024) and Bivouac (2019).

The champion trainer also enjoyed tremendous success for Godolphin interstate preparing the winners of the All Star Mile (Tom Kitten, 2025), two Australian Cups (Cascadian 2023, 2024), three Newmarket Handicaps (Bivouac, 2020, In Secret, 2023 and Cylinder, 2024), two VRC Oaks (Zardozi, 2024 and Willowy, 2021), two Caulfield Guineas (Anamoe, 2021 and Golden Mile, 2022) and the Stradbroke Handicap

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I am not surprised. He will do very well there and what an outstanding CEO Hong Kong Racing have with Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.   

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James Cummings to join Hong Kong training ranks: ‘It’s a sliding doors moment for me’

The 37-year-old describes racing in the city as ‘something of a Holy Grail’ as he prepares to move to Sha Tin ahead of 2026-27 season

 

by Sam Agars

James Cummings has labelled his dramatic career shift “a sliding doors moment” after being unveiled as Hong Kong’s newest trainer at Sha Tin on Wednesday morning.

In a coup for the Jockey Club, Cummings – who will finish up as Godolphin’s private trainer in Australia next month – will join the roster for the 2026-27 Hong Kong season.

“Hong Kong is something of a Holy Grail for a young horse trainer in Australia to imagine receiving an invitation [to train in],” said Cummings.

“It’s a sliding doors moment for me – the conclusion of my contract at Godolphin and the decision to go out on my own, which a few months ago I was fully committed to doing.

 

“But when the Hong Kong Jockey Club reached out, I felt like the timing was right because it gives me the opportunity to get some certainty into the future.

 

“The focus on the horses and the investment in facilities here is a very strong pulling factor to the decision. It will be a great stage in my career.

“Out of respect of my staff and owners, who have already been very supportive, I think this gives everyone certainty and everyone can plan for the best,” added Cummings of the early announcement of his Hong Kong move.

 While Cummings is looking forward to testing himself in the cutthroat Hong Kong racing cauldron, he’s also excited about what the move will mean for his family.

“For me on a personal note, I’ve got four children under 10. Speaking to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, I really felt like it was now or never for me,” said the 37-year-old.

“This is a great age for them. They’re excited about the adventure that we can really take on as a family and I’m excited for them because it gives them a world view. As a family, we are very excited about making that change.”

Grandson of the legendary Bart Cummings, James will finish up as Godolphin’s private trainer on July 31 and had applied to take over the Leilani Lodge stables at Randwick in Sydney which are synonymous with the famed Cummings family.

Instead, the 52-time Group One winner will have over 12 months to get himself ready to make a splash in Hong Kong.

“I feel like time is on my side. I’ve met some Hong Kong owners over my time and what I like is that I’ve got plenty of time between now and when I begin next year to get to know many more,” he said.

“That will come and that time will be well spent. The preparation is part of an overall strategy that we were quite comfortable with and I look forward to meeting more members of the club and those associated with the entire jurisdiction.

“I do like that I’ve got that time to get myself organised, get set, have a chance to refresh since the busy time in the last little while and over the last eight years training privately for Godolphin. That’s something I can hone in on in the next period of time.”
While building new relationships will be key for Cummings, he’ll also be leaning on existing ones with the likes of Hugh Bowman, Brenton Avdulla and Zac Purton.

“I’ve got friends here who are in the jockeys’ ranks. I can reach out to those friends and I have met some of the trainers along the way. There’s going to be a great opportunity for me to lean on those who are familiar faces to me,” he said.