“He’s just now starting to work out why he’s galloping around Sydney racecourses,” said Anthony Cummings. The trainer was referring to Saturday’s Gloaming Stakes winner El Castello, a three year old colt who’s come a long way in a short time. He won a Warwick Farm maiden on September 4th, and a Randwick Midway on September 21st before taking a significant leap into a Gr 3 at Rosehill Gardens. In both previous wins he appeared to wait for some company after hitting the front in the straight. He was significantly better in the Gloaming Stakes but again wanted to “loiter” when he got away from the opposition at the 100m.
The step up to 1800m was clearly to his liking, and as he’d done in all five previous runs he left the gate with urgency. El Castello came straight back underneath Josh Parr when the jockey opted to look for a cosy spot. The Gloaming was run at a very genuine speed with Cristal Clear running them along all the way to the turn. Okami Star kept the leader busy with Tenberry Wells enjoying a dream run in third. Firm Agreement raced in fourth spot on the fence with El Castello on his outside. The Cummings trained colt appeared to stargaze for a few strides when Parr switched him into clear space, but a “backhander” from the jockey quickly put his mind on the job at hand. El Castello moved stylishly to dash past the leaders, but once clear of them wondered where they’d gotten to. He was still able to win clearly from fast finishing SwiftFalcon, but it seems the penny really hasn’t dropped yet.
El Castello wins the Gr. 3 Gloaming Stakes courtesy of a great Josh Parr ride - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
There’s been a lot to like about this bay colt from the occasion of his first race start in April. He started at huge odds when a late closing third to Froebel Star and The Three Hundred in a 1300m Warwick Farm maiden. The improvement into his second run in the listed Fernhill Hcp was significant. After being outside the leader to the turn he looked a bit lost for a while in the straight, before finishing second just over two lengths behind rising star Broadsiding. He disappointed when unplaced in the Gr 1 Champagne Stakes but there were excuses. Cummings believed he didn’t handle the seven day back-up and there was the small matter of a H10 track. He was spelled immediately.
Anthony had his sights on El Castello from the moment he spotted the colt’s pedigree in the 2023 Gold Coast yearling sale catalogue. He was familiar with the distinguished racetrack deeds of his sire Castelvecchio, but was more interested in the female line. El Castello is out of Word Games (Fastnet Rock - Cryptic Miss) who just happens to be a half sister to one of the trainer’s all time favourites Fiveandahalfstar. Anthony delights in telling the story.
Anthony Cummings says he purchased El Castello largely on sentiment - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
“It all started when El Castello’s great grand dam Cross Words with a Snippets filly at foot was killed by a lightning strike at the Wakefield Stud in the Hunter Valley,” recalled Anthony. “I had actually trained Cross Words for a while before she went to Bill Mitchell’s Brisbane operation. She was by Grosvenor and would win two small races in Queensland. Her Snippets filly was hand-raised but made it to the racetrack as Cryptic Miss and I got to train her. Early on I thought she was a pure sprinter but her only win turned out to be in a 2100m maiden at Gosford. Sadly, she bowed a tendon in that race and had to be retired.
“Amazingly I happened to be one of a small syndicate who later purchased a few mares to support Hotel Grand when he went to stud. I’d been fortunate enough to win a Spring Champion Stakes and a Randwick Guineas with Hotel Grand. You wouldn’t believe it. Cryptic Miss was one of the mares we bought. Her first foal by Hotel Grand didn’t win but the second one by the same sire turned out to be a very good horse.”
Appropriately named Fiveandahalfstar, that Hotel Grand colt took forever to put it all together. His first twelve starts yielded only three minor placings, but his rise in the spring of 2012 was meteoric. He won his maiden at Canterbury over 1900m with Peter Robl in the saddle, after which Anthony Cummings put his gut feel into play. He sent the gelding straight to Melbourne and made the call to run him in the Victoria Derby following an impressive track gallop early in the week with Damian Oliver in the saddle. Fiveandahalfstar’s Derby win was the performance of a very genuine stayer. He followed a furious pace set by the leader Jimando and actually joined that horse before the turn. Fiveandahalfstar dashed well clear on straightening and bravely defied late challenges to beat Super Cool and Rawnaq. He was in the spelling paddock the following day.
His form in the autumn of 2013 was impeccable. His first four runs back resulted in seconds at the elite level - Caulfield Autumn Stakes, Caulfield Autumn Classic, Australian Cup and Ranvet Stakes. His consistency was rewarded with a well deserved win in the BMW at Rosehill Gardens after which joint issues forced his withdrawal from the Australian Derby. Those problems kept him away from racing for close to two years. Anthony had one more roll of the dice in 2015, but Fiveandahalfstar did little in four runs and was retired. Anthony is now hoping the close relation to his dual Gr 1 winner can make a similar transition to the elite level.
El Castello's close relation Fiveandahalfstar hangs on gamely to beat NZ mare Silent Achiever in the 2013 BMW - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
“I was very impressed when I first inspected El Castello at the Gold Coast sale,” said the multiple Gr 1 winning trainer. “I’ve seen a big number of yearlings from this family, and none looked more correct than this bloke. He ticked every box. I had to go to $220,000 to nail him but I knew he wouldn’t be hard to place. I kept a share myself and syndicated the remainder to good friends including Julia Ritchie with whom I’d originally purchased his grand dam Cryptic Miss.”
The rapidly improving three year old will make the natural progression to the Spring Champion Stakes on October 26th. His performance in the 2000m Gr 1 will determine whether or not he’ll attempt to emulate the Victoria Derby win by Fiveandahalfstar. The Spring Champion has been a good race for Anthony Cummings who won it with Hotel Grand (Jay Ford) in 2005 and Teranaba (Larry Cassidy) the following year.
Hotel Grand streeted the opposition in the 2005 Gr. 1 Spring Champion Stakes - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The Gloaming Stakes win on Saturday came as a breath of fresh air for the veteran trainer who’s currently dealing with a “show cause” notice from Racing NSW. This followed the disclosure that his training business had recently been placed in administration. Hopeful the matter can be amicably resolved, the twenty three time Gr 1 winning trainer is keen to regenerate a training partnership with son Edward.
Thirty three years have passed since Anthony Cummings cut ties with his famous father Bart to embark on his own training career. He made headlines around the world just a few months later when he won the Gr 1 Gadsden Stakes at Flemington with Final Card. The sprinter broke a 40 year old track record in winning the straight 1200m dash with Greg Childs in the saddle. Another twenty two elite level wins have subsequently been added to Anthony’s impressive CV.
As the accomplished trainer deals with current business pressures, he’s very pleased to have a diversion like El Castello in the stable. Pressed to nominate other members of the team punters may like to follow, he came up with a couple of three year olds by 2019 Everest winner Yes Yes Yes. One is a gelding called Livin’ Thing, a Hawkesbury winner last month who looks to have more wins in store. The other is three year old filly Doralee, who according to Anthony will break her maiden in the near future. The affable third generation horse trainer was quietly confident he could forge his own identity when he walked away from Leilani Lodge in 1991. His record says he’s done all of that, and then some. A Gr 1 win with El Castello would put the icing on the cake.
Jay Ford and Anthony after Hotel Grand's easy Spring Champion Stakes win - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - El Castello seems to be wondering where the others are towards the finish of the Gloaming Stakes. Runner up SwiftFalcon was responsible for a huge performance - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)