James Cummings has ended the season on a high in his new role as Godolphin’s head trainer in Australia, with Bandipur taking out the Lightning Stakes in Adelaide.
Cummings, who began his job earlier in July, watched the Morphettville race from Rosehill and credited his Melbourne team with the decision to run the two-year-old in the final stakes race of the season.
Saturday’s Listed 1050m sprint was open to two- and three-year-olds, and Bandipur and the Hawkes Racing-trained Ducimus were the only two juveniles in the race.
“We were thinking about the Vain Stakes but David Charles in Melbourne rang me to say there was a stakes race coming up in Adelaide,” Cummings said.
“So we thought if he did particularly well we would have a crack at a black-type race.
“It’s great to get off the mark with a stakes win for Sheikh Mohammed.”
The Lightning was Bandipur’s fourth start and the colt beat Arkham Knight by 1-1/4 lengths.
Ducimus, ridden by Tommy Berry, finished fifth after being up on the lead.
Bandipur’s win was also a welcome return to stakes racing for Group One jockey Dom Tourneur, who missed the Adelaide autumn carnival after breaking several ribs in a fall during track work in April.
Cummings capped the day with the win of Philosophy in Sydney’s final metropolitan race for 2016/17 at Rosehill.
