MASTER trainer Bart Cummings turned 85 on Wednesday and is still doing what he loves, training ''the occasional winner'', reports The Age/SMH.The report adds: ''That keeps the owners happy and keeps me happy,'' Cummings said this week. ''I have some good owners but they like to win occasionally, as I do, and we would like to do that again on Saturday.'' The master with 12 Melbourne Cups and 265 group 1 victories has a zest for finding his next feature winner and thinks it could come from Lunar R
MASTER trainer Bart Cummings turned 85 on Wednesday and is still doing what he loves, training ''the occasional winner'', reports The Age/SMH.
The report adds: ''That keeps the owners happy and keeps me happy,'' Cummings said this week. ''I have some good owners but they like to win occasionally, as I do, and we would like to do that again on Saturday.''
The master with 12 Melbourne Cups and 265 group 1 victories has a zest for finding his next feature winner and thinks it could come from Lunar Rise, which goes around in Saturday's group 2 $350,000 Sandown Guineas (1600 metres).
''I think Lunar Rise might be an Australian Guineas type,'' he said. ''It is hard to predict the future but in him and Norzita [Flight Stakes winner] we could have a couple of good ones in the autumn...Time will tell though.''
Lunar Rise won the Carbine Club Stakes during the Flemington carnival and meets a similar field on Saturday, but will have to overcome the wide gate of 14.
''He did a good job to win last time but this is the race we had targeted him at,'' Cummings said. ''He might be a strong miler, so there will more races for him in the future. I think this race will be the right one for him.''