AUSTRALIA'S greatest trainer, Bart Cummings, yesterday condemned a proposed lockdown of Melbourne Cup runners 24 hours before the race, reports The Age.It adds: Cummings said the Canadian system of lockdowns was an insult to horses and ''was a case of putting dollars ahead of the thoroughbred''.There was outrage yesterday at a suggestion by Racing Victoria Ltd chief steward Terry Bailey that RVL examine locking up the entire field on the eve of the Cup.''Are they serious?'' Cummings said. ''Let'

AUSTRALIA'S greatest trainer, Bart Cummings, yesterday condemned a proposed lockdown of Melbourne Cup runners 24 hours before the race, reports The Age.

It adds: Cummings said the Canadian system of lockdowns was an insult to horses and ''was a case of putting dollars ahead of the thoroughbred''.

There was outrage yesterday at a suggestion by Racing Victoria Ltd chief steward Terry Bailey that RVL examine locking up the entire field on the eve of the Cup.

''Are they serious?'' Cummings said. ''Let's think about who would come up with an idea like that. It must be an accountant. He's thought to himself, well, we can save on 24 armed guards and just use one and put them in a big barn. And it's the old story, saving money and putting the horse last. 'I've had a lot of Melbourne Cup favourites during my life and wouldn't it be a heartbreak to see it shipped into a foreign stable and it walks the box all night.

''I can't possibly see one ounce of logic in this idea. Haven't we got better things to worry about?''

Australian Trainers Association president Colin Alderson was also dumbfounded at the suggestion, describing it as ''nonsensical and impractical''.

''Let's put it another way: go and ask the two coaches of this year's AFL grand final [teams] and tell them that we're moving the [players] out of their own beds into a motel the night before the big game. You'd be laughed out of the room,'' Alderson said. ''If it's a Canadian idea, well and good. They seem to train their horses out of boxes but what relevance does it have to Australian racing.''

David Hayes said from his Lindsay Park property near Adelaide: ''How ridiculous is that. It's just a simple waste of time. But can I ask the question: why is the horse trainer of today left with 99.9 per cent of the responsibility for their horse except for one day, Melbourne Cup day?''