A trio of Group One runners would usually be sufficient to lure James Cummings to Melbourne, but Godolphin’s head trainer has declared he will instead be trackside at Rosehill this weekend to witness the return of star colt Broadsiding.
The Golden Rose winner and Cox Plate third placegetter is set to kick off his campaign in Saturday’s Hobartville Stakes (1400m) and given his longer-term future as a key member of the Darley stallion roster, Cummings is making the colt his priority.
“I will actually stay in Sydney despite having Group Ones in Melbourne because he’s a very important horse to stay on top of and I’d love to see the way he kicks off his preparation in person,” Cummings said.
“I’ve got a good feeling about how he’s going. I am really confident he has come back well and yet there’s nothing quite like race day for that to be the ultimate test.
“The proof in the pudding will be how he can handle the pressure coming up against horses who have had a little bit more time to mature themselves.
“But as a champion two-year-old, to come back and win a Golden Rose first-up, it takes a very good animal to do something like that and now his next assignment is to prove he can still be at that level in the autumn as a three-year-old.”
Broadsiding will be conceding race fitness to several key rivals, including Public Attention and Linebacker, who finished one-two in the Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) a fortnight ago.
While connections of all three have their sights on Group 1 races deeper into their horse’s respective campaigns, exactly which ones Broadsiding targets remains fluid.
Cummings confirmed the Randwick Guineas (1600m) on March 8 would be his three-year-old’s next assignment and an important fork in the road.
Beyond that, the Rosehill Guineas (2000m), George Ryder Stakes (1500m), Doncaster Mile (1600m) and All Aged Stakes (1400m) are all on the table.
“We’re dealing with a versatile horse,” Cummings said.
“I can keep him to his own age and the Rosehill Guineas would look ideal, but I could also keep him to 1500 and 1600 (metres) and keep him for races like the George Ryder, the Doncaster and the All Aged.”
Cummings has won two of the past seven renewals of the Hobartville Stakes for Godolphin with Anamoe (2022) and Kementari (2018), while he also claimed it with Hallowed Crown in 2015 when training alongside his legendary grandfather Bart.
