Anne-Marie Casey

2010-04-19T04:13:00.000-07:00

Cummings watched the race with his daughter Anne-Marie Casey
and granddaughter Emily, who was seeing her first Melbourne Cup.
"I'm sure he is disappointed but he doesn't dwell on it," Casey said. "So much of the focus is on what he does, it does make it harder for him."
Since he won the Toorak Handicap with Allez Wonder on Caulfield Guineas day and followed up with Viewed in the Caulfield Cup, So You Think in the Cox Plate and Faint Perfume in the Wakeful Stakes, the hype has engulfed Cummings in ever greater waves. Yesterday, he was front-page news again and graced the cover of the racebook.
He doesn't venture into the crowd, not even to go to the birdcage to check on the horses, because he would be swamped by well-wishers every step.
People do the next best thing by posing for photos with their arms around the statue of him just outside the members' enclosure and next to the wine bar named after Saintly, one of his 12 Cup winners.
"I never go near that statue. The VRC should charge them a fee," Cummings said drily.
He was up at 4.30 to help with the stable chores and at the track in time to saddle up one in the third race. This was Think Money, a four-year-old mare described in the racebook as arguably the best maiden galloper in the land.
She is another of his best mate and No. 1 client Dato Tan Chin Nam's production line and would have been Bart's fourth string in the Cup if she could have qualified.
Her mid-field failure got the day off to a bad start and was an accurate omen. Cummings looked relaxed, though, and was in a talkative mood. He doesn't do nervous, he said, because the horses would pick up on it.
The tie is part of the Australian Olympic team's uniform in Beijing last year. It was given to him by AOC president John Coates "and because it is so close to my racing colours I accepted it willingly."
In the long wait for the Cup to arrive, Cummings studied the form yet again. He had reports from the birdcage and is told the favourite Alcopop is showing signs of discomfort with the huge crowd. His three have been virtually asleep, which is a good sign.
Cummings watches the races for signs of track bias, and generally absorbed every bit of information he could. But he decided not to alter the game plan in any way.
He took up his position in the mounting yard, staring at the big screen. Arms folded, he didn't move a muscle as the field entered the barrier. He watched, never speaking, showing no emotion.
When it's over he observed the weight might have been too much for Viewed, that Roman Emperor went to the front too soon and Allez Wonder ... well, he lost track of her, doesn't know where she finished.
And then he was gone. For once, he is just another also-ran. But with Bart there's always one thing to keep in mind and he's just told you what it is. You live to fight another day; there's always next year.
reedr@heraldsun.com