Given he’s been buying horses from New Zealand since 1958, it’s no surprise Bart Cummings is almost regarded as an honorary Kiwi.
As of Monday, it’s official. He’s now the first foreigner to be given a place in the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame.
Cummings was inducted at a ceremony before the beginning of the 2012 New Zealand Premier Yearling Sale on Monday by Prime Minister John Key.
The legendary trainer is officially an honorary member, mirroring the status Cambridge Stud’s Sir Patrick Hogan has in the Australian Hall of Fame.
“I was quite surprised,” Cummings said.
“It’s unusual to go to another country and get that kind of medal, but anyway, these things happen and what can I say? I appreciate it.”
The honour reflects the record Cummings has with New Zealand-bred progeny. Eight of his 12 Melbourne Cup wins, including the first seven, came with horses raised in New Zealand.
“No overseas trainer has done more to promote the New Zealand thoroughbred,” Hall of Fame chairman Gerald Fell said.
In his typical dry fashion, Cummings said the reason for coming to New Zealand back in 1958 was “winners. I badly needed winners. It beats the alternative”.
“The research said that 60 per cent of the Group One horses on the eastern seaboard of Australia were New Zealand-bred.”
The percentages may not be the same now, but he’s still reaping benefits from New Zealand. His most recent champion, So You Think, was bought in New Zealand for $110,000.
By the middle of the sale’s first session, Cummings had bought five horses at Karaka, two by So You Think’s sire High Chaparral.
He paid $NZ360,000 ($A280,745) for a colt by So You Think’s sire High Chaparral out of Clarens, a daughter of La Brillante who comes from the royal family of New Zealand breeding which has produced the likes of Octagonal, Kaapstad and Mouawad.
“I’m always looking for a bargain in New Zealand,” Cummings said, “because I can’t get one in Australia.”
NZN AAP TURF
