A King’s Count of 13 - Bart Cummings’ Australian Cup Record

Kristen Manning

Editor

Last updated: Fri 27 Mar 2026 05:15

Kristen Manning 27 Mar 2026

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Bart Cummings won 13 Australian Cups, starting with Arctic Coast in 1968
His success included Melbourne Cup winners like Hyperno and Let's Elope
Cummings' last Australian Cup victory was with Sirmione in 2008

Trainer Bart Cummings and jockey Peter Mertens hold up the trophy after Sirmione’s 2008 Australian Cup win. (Getty)

Number 13 - lucky for some, certainly for the legendary Bart Cummings, who cheered home that number of winners in the Australian Cup - a Flemington autumn carnival feature which headlines this Saturday's programme.

Bart's First Australian Cup - Arctic Coast
The Adaptable Lord Dudley
The Popular Grey - Ming Dynasty
One Of Bart's Best - Let's Elope
History At Flemington - Bart's 13th Australian Cup

Making it timely to have a look at the record held by the trainer who was so aptly known as "The Cups King."

Of course, he earned that title with his 12 Melbourne Cup victories, but his record in other features sealed his reputation as one of Australia’s finest trainers.

Two of Bart's Melbourne Cup winners - Hyperno and Let's Elope - also won the Australian Cup, the former 16 months afterwards and the latter third-up during her next campaign.

Both can be considered to be amongst the very best horses Bart trained, but it was a lesser-known horse who kicked off his winning streak in the Australian Cup - Arctic Coast in 1968.

Journalist Charles McQuillan showed a bit of foresight with his comments in the following day’s Sydney Morning Herald, noting that "no trainer in Australia has equalled Mr Cummings' record as a trainer of distance winners in recent years."

Bart's First Australian Cup - Arctic Coast

The Australian Cup was at that time a 2000m handicap and Arctic Coast snuck in with 47.5kg, his win part of a streak of four, with a five-day back-up seeing him take out the much longer (3200m) Duke Of Norfolk Stakes.

Later that year, he was third in the Caulfield Cup won by Bunratty Castle and sixth in Rain Lover's first Melbourne Cup, also finishing third in the following year's Adelaide Cup.

Having just his second ride for Bart (his first a Perth Cup win on Dayana), Peter Cook was aboard the 1973 Australian Cup winner Gladman, whose best subsequent run was a Doomben Cup second en route to a hurdling career.

Two years later, one of Bart's favourite mares in Leilani provided him with his third Australian Cup, and she did so with a weight-carrying record for a mare - 58.5kg.

The pattern system was not yet in place, but it was to be the final Group 1 win for Leilani, who had won the previous year's AJC Oaks and Caulfield Cup.

And it was the first Australian Cup for Roy Higgins, who happily declared that he had "fallen head over heels in love" with the gallant mare.

The Adaptable Lord Dudley

Bart won the next three runnings of the Australian Cup, in 1976 with the well-backed Lord Dudley, who made his own history in regard to weight; his 53kg the most carried by a three-year-old winner of the race since 1890.

The chestnut was an adaptable racehorse, the previous year having won the Blue Diamond Stakes and the VRC Sires' Produce Stakes, and just three starts before his Flemington success over 2000m taking out the William Reid Stakes over 1200m.

And three starts after the Australian Cup, he won the VRC St Leger over 2800m.

The Higgins/Cummings partnership was again to the fore in 1977, with the former Western Australian Ngawyni prevailing in an exciting finish.

His win was part of a big campaign, the four-year-old winning another five races including the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick (defeating stablemate Gold And Black) and the Moonee Valley Cup.

"He is a top-class galloper," Bart said on the day, adding that "it has all been worthwhile" - the 'it' being the effort it took to keep Ngawyni sound with his problematic feet.

The Popular Grey - Ming Dynasty

Bart won three of the next four Australian Cups, twice with the popular grey Ming Dynasty.

Harry White was aboard in 1978, the race providing a memorable spectacle with the winner (carrying 7kg more) engaging in a duel with Crepellox from the 300m to the line.

Ming was back at Flemington two years later, the dual Caulfield Cup winner recording what was described by Sydney Morning Herald writer Alan Speers as "a fairytale win."

Again, it was a tight finish, with Double Century heading Ming Dynasty 100m out.

And it was a different sort of win, the Australian Cup now a weight-for-age contest.

Twelve months later, a star (winner of the 1979 Melbourne Cup) won in such dominant style that his trainer was able to declare that "there is not a horse in Australia who could've matched Hyperno today."

It was the penultimate victory for that Australian Horse Of The Year, who a month later won the Rawson (Ranvet) Stakes.

A ninth Bart Australian Cup, and a fifth for Harry White, Noble Peer was one of those 'what might have been' horses.

He was three when beating the tough stayer Astrolin at Flemington and the future looked bright - but at his next start in the Rosehill Guineas won by Spirit Of Kingston, he bowed a tendon and never raced again.

One Of Bart's Best - Let's Elope

It was a seven-year gap for Bart at the Australian Cup, but a New Zealand-bred mare made the wait well worthwhile... Let's Elope.

Having won the previous spring's Caulfield and Melbourne Cups (as well as the Turnbull and the Mackinnon), the chestnut had added the C.F. Orr Stakes and the St George Stakes to her record in the lead-up, and she was well fancied at Flemington, where the stablemate she conquered in November was again second - Shiva's Revenge.

A 31-year-old track record was equalled, with Let's Elope storming home from the rear, making up lengths in a few strides, leading renowned writer Les Carlyon to declare "the lady is a Champ."

Another star chestnut, another Horse Of The Year, was Bart's next Australian Cup hero, that 'horse from heaven', Saintly.

Like Let's Elope, he also won the Melbourne Cup but in reverse order, his two-mile success coming nine months later, with a W.S. Cox Plate win along the way.

Two years on, and it was another of Bart's W.S. Cox Plate winners providing him with another Australian Cup - the high-class mare Dane Ripper.

Asked if the win was a special one, he replied, "oh well they are all good to win... a dozen times makes it pretty good I think!"

Rider Steven King reported that he had been confident throughout the race - "I was always in control... once I let her down she was never going to get beaten."

History At Flemington - Bart's 13th Australian Cup

Those at Flemington on March 3, 2008, witnessed history - the last of Bart's 13 Australian Cup victories, this one with the tough campaigner Sirmione, who two years later nearly gave his trainer a 14th success, only narrowly beaten by Zipping.

But his win was a big one, a suitable one for Bart's Australian Cup finale, with Terry Bailey's call....

"Sirmione lets down and Bart's boy exploded away at the 250m."

Bart was a little taken aback by the ease of the 3 3/4 length victory - "well, it’s surprising how well he won," he told the media - "I thought he'd win by a half a head or half a length, but that was quite impressive."

Quite impressive, just like Bart's Australian Cup record!