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Anthony Cummings, the son of the late Australian racehorse trainer Bart Cummings, has broken down while delivering a eulogy at a state funeral for his father, saying he was always "in awe" of him.
The legendary trainer, whose full name was James Bartholomew Cummings, won the Melbourne Cup a record 12 times, earning him the title "Cups King". He died in his sleep at his Castlereagh homestead on August 30, surrounded by family, at the age of 87.
His son Anthony said his father possessed an "uncanny" ability to know what would, or wouldn't, make a champion racehorse.
"I was always in awe of my father, as people came to him for advice. And they always got what they asked for - his view, unabashed, unequivocal," he told the gathering at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney.
"One of his favourite sayings was that there was no such word as no. His foresight for what became his industry, thoroughbred racing, has been uncannily accurate.
"There hadn't been a bridle made to hold him back."
He broke down as he described getting to know his father during a trip to New Zealand, where they scouted potential racehorses.
"He knew where they came from, and how he could turn them into a racehorse, or as importantly, if not," he said.
Through tears and assisted at the lectern by his son, he then recalled the softening of their relationship in his father’s final years.
"I don't think I had a blue with him over the last couple of years, and at one time, he even told me I'd come good - rare praise indeed."
Led by the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, the service was attended by the Governor-General Peter Cosgrove and Premier Mike Baird, who sat among hundreds of mourners.
The Archbishop opened the ceremony by welcoming Cummings' family, including his wife of 61 years, Valmae, and their children Margaret, Anthony, Sharon and Annemarie. The couple also had a son, John, who passed away.
Family friend Malcolm Wuttke paid tribute to the many adventures he shared with Cummings, and thanked the trainer’s family for embracing him as one of their own.
"It was always a pleasure to be with Bart and Val, as they always treated me as their family, seeing as both my parents died in 1964," he said, before making the crowd laugh when he recalled one particular memory from a Melbourne Cup with Bart.
"Off we went to a large marquee, where we spoke to Hugh Hefner – who welcomed us in, like long lost friends. Things were going great – until Valmae, and then my wife, found us. Things went back to reality…" he said.
In the final eulogy, horse racing writer Tony Arrold described the moment he realised the "power" of Cummings, when they walked to a VIP tent at the Melbourne Cup in 1988.
"As we reached the corporate tents, the crowd just parted like the red sea. All the way up, Bart was up front with the official, all the way up, and people were moving aside – 'there's Bart!', 'there's Bart!', 'G'Day Mr Cummings!'".
"All the way up, it just went on and on,” he said.
The ceremony, which lasted almost two hours, was then concluded as male family members carried the coffin out of the cathedral.
Cummings had been unwell for a while before his death, and was admitted to hospital in November last year with a chest infection.
He won his first Melbourne Cup in 1965, with Light Fingers, just seven years after attaining his trainer’s license. His champion runners included Kingston Rule, Let’s Elope, Saintly, Rogan Josh and So You Think, among others.
In an interview shortly before his death, he said he had enjoyed a very lucky career.
"I was very lucky. I had the right horses, pleasant people to work for, to support me in ownerships, and I bought horses that turned out bargain buys, and I think all these things helped to make a good career," he said.
Cummings received the Order of Australia in 1982 for his services to the racing industry.
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The text includes 198 "r"s in total.
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