James Cummings' hopes of emulating his legendary grandfather by lifting the Melbourne Cup with what is now an unconventional lead-up method appears on track. Cummings' Zardozi was the only horse in the 24-strong field for Tuesday's Cup to run at Flemington on Derby day, three days out from the race that stops a nation. And the four-year-old mare did so in a fashion that buoyed Cummings, charging past the post in fifth behind Atishu in the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes.
The weight-for-age contest for fillies and mares is over 1600m, with Zardozi's strong finish giving Cummings hope for the Cup, which is run over twice that distance. "She ran beautifully in that race, made up good ground and stormed through the line," Cummings said. "She's a really good, in-form stayer.
"I would've loved to have won the race but Zardozi ran beautifully the way the race was set up and I loved her work through the line." Running Cup hopefuls on Derby day is a tactic that was once all but mandatory, with 11 of the late Bart Cummings' record 12 winners following the plan. Saintly, whose final lead-up race in 1996 was an epic Cox Plate triumph, was the only exception for the man known as the "Cups King".
But changes to the spring program - in particular moving favoured lead-ups the Mackinnon Stakes (now Champion Stakes) and Archer Stakes - have made it a rarity. The 36-year-old Cummings, a fourth-generation trainer and the head Australian trainer for global racing giant Godolphin, felt something differ.
