James Cummings departs: Gun trainer to make Hong Kong move

50-time Group 1 winner James Cummings will officially take his training expertise from Australia to Hong Kong after securing a licence for the 2026/27 season.

The gun trainer, grandson of racing legend Bart Cummings, took up head training duties with Godolphin in Australia from May 2017 and will conclude his time on July 31 this year.

SENTrack’s Giddy Up host Gareth Hall reported the news exclusively on Wednesday morning.

“James Cummings will be heading to train in Hong Kong on a permanent basis,” Hall revealed.

“It’s been a secret that everyone knew about for a little while but (he) will be training in Hong Kong for their next season when that starts.”

Godolphin will shift to a dual-trainer model while Cummings will shift his focus to the highly competitive Hong Kong training landscape featuring the likes of Australian royalty in David Hayes and John Size.

Boasting 1491 career wins alongside a 45% place and 16%-win rate, Cummings will look to further immortalise the family name in a region of the world his grandfather Bart managed to win the Hong Kong Bowl in 1997.

Cummings will look to win his final Group 1 as Godolphin head trainer with Golden Mile in the Stradbroke Handicap at Doomben this Saturday.