NEWS

Champion trainer James Cummings has been Godolphin’s private trainer for eight years but has also announced plans to become a public trainer from August 1.

Cummings will continue to train some horses for Godolphin with the all-powerful racing and breeding organisation explaining the decision to spread their team among a number of trainers was “in line with operating structures used by other major owners and breeders in Australia”.

The bombshell announcement was revealed in a joint statement with Cummings, Godolphin Australia Managing Director Andy Makiv said the change would provide greater flexibility for the business while maintaining Godolphin’s strong presence in the Australian thoroughbred industry.

This result comes off the back of the sale-topping $3.2m paid for the Home Affairs colt out of Sunlight at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. This means that the two top yearling prices recorded in 2025 belong to Coolmore Stud’s dual Group 1 winning sprinter.

The industry is clearly showing their faith in Home Affairs, the fastest son of Champion Sire I Am Invincible, becoming the next big thing in the Australian racing and breeding industry.

Straight Six Racing’s Michael Ward shares this view and was fortunate to secure a colt by Home Affairs out of the stakes-placed mare Royal Missile early in the sales season before the momentum really took hold. This colt is now presenting as outstanding value and has already been broken-in with the early feedback confirming Michael’s belief in the colt. Limited shares are available for those wanting to access a quality prospect, by the “talk of the town” first season sire, through racehorse syndication.

A good starting point when trying to predict the winner is to look at last year’s field to see who is likely to make a repeat appearance. We can immediately strike a line through those horses that have announced their retirement and/or impending sale, such as I Wish I Win, Bella Nipotina, Think About It, I Am Me and Southport Tycoon. Then you can possibly overlook the Coolmore-owned Storm Boy who has been sent overseas to try and build his future stallion credentials over there. We can maybe also eliminate the syndicated horse Private Eye who is seemingly past his best. Then who are we left with?

We have the proven stars like the 2022 Everest winner and 2024 Everest runner-up Giga Kick and this year’s Newmarket winner Joliestar, together with the talented Traffic Warden, Sunshine In Paris and Overpass (although age is not on his side if we are looking for the winner). This still leaves a plethora of spots to fill from those emerging lightly raced horses like Private Harry, Jimmysstar, Autumn Glow, Lady Shenandoah and Briasa and those in the current 2YO crop that may make the giant leap required in the Spring like the Golden Slipper quinella of Marhoona and Wodeton or even Tempted, Rivellino or Skyhook. Finally, the Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising may want to test itself against the best of the best and accept a slot.

A lot can change in the pecking order within the next 6 months, however the winner of the race is likely to come from the current pool of horses listed above. Straight Six Racing’s Michael Ward has a rich history in the Everest having been involved with syndicating the dual Everest winner Redzel and also Mazu, who placed in the 2022 edition of the race, while he was an owner at Triple Crown Syndications. If Michael was asked to make a long-range call 6 months out from the race, he said he would be putting his pennies on either Giga Kick or Wodeton, though he would also be having a little saver on the smokey Briasa!

Whilst this edition of the race was won by Emirates Park’s homebred, Marhoona, those contenders in the field that were traded through public auction ranged in price from $30,000 to $1.6m, for an average of $582,692.

That price may seem out of reach for most ordinary Australians who hold the dream of owning a share in a horse that lines up in the prestigious race. Yet the reality is thankfully very different. Fortunately for everyone involved in this great sport of horse racing, price tags don’t necessarily correspond with race track success. For example, in 2017 She Will Reign won the Golden Slipper after being purchased for a bargain price of just $20,000.

What is clear though, it is vitally important who is behind the selection and/or management of the horse. To highlight this point, Emirates Park Stud has won 3 Golden Slippers in the past 11 years and for prices at both ends of the spectrum, namely $85,000 and $1.7m (in addition to this year’s homebred). Clearly they are doing something right and it isn’t solely due to having deep pockets.

Purchasing shares in racehorse syndicates has proven over and over again to be an attractive option for those with more “modest” budgets looking to be a part of one of Australian racing’s greatest days. The key is to find a licensed syndicator with a proven track record of success. And that comment is not just pushing one’s own barrow, it is simply a fact.

Straight Six Racing’s Michael Ward has previously been involved in selecting and managing 5 Golden Slipper runners, namely Hot Snitzel ($60,000), Charlie Boy ($80,000), Dothraki ($45,000), Cavalry Rose ($85,000) and Revolutionary MIss ($195,000). While none of them won the holy grail, each of them, owned by racehorse syndicates, proved the perennial depth and quality of the Golden Slipper by going on in subsequent years to win at either Group 1, Group 2 or Group 3 level and gave all of their respective owners the experience of a lifetime.

Straight Six Racing is currently offering two yearlings that have been identified as 2YO types, including a Pinatubo filly out of Glamorous Miss that is closely related to Skyhook, the Group 3 Pago Pago Stakes winner and a contender in this year’s Golden Slipper. Will we see another member of Skyhook’s family lining up in the race in 2026? Who knows, but one thing is for sure, the syndicate of owners being put together by Straight Six Racing is going to have a hell of a lot of fun finding out!