Strait-talking Cummings brothers have Acer up their sleeve

They might be at different ends of the training spectrum but brothers James and Edward Cummings will spend most mornings on the phone to each other swapping ideas.

They are only separated by 10 kilometres in distance but are worlds apart in terms of facilities. Edward uses Hawkesbury as his base, while up the road James oversees work at Godolphin’s private Agnes Banks set-up.

“He will ring and we just talk about things while our horses are working for hours,” Edward said. “He will start talking to someone else in the tower and then come back to our conversation.

“I’m sitting there by myself. He is my biggest supporter and has started calling me Doctor Turf.”

Asked about the nickname and James quickly responds: “He knows everything about the form, and he has been right about my horses recently.

“He picked Cascadian to win the Australian Cup and told me Pericles was good value in the Doncaster [it ran second].

“It is good to have him to speak to, and the most important horse, other than mine, at Randwick on Saturday is Strait Acer in the Provincial Championships.”

Godolphin will have group 1-winning filly Zardozi in the Australian Oaks and warhorse Cascadian in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but James will make sure he is out the front for the Provincial-Midway Championships, which his stable is not eligible to have a runner in.

“The only person cheering louder for it will be Edward,” James said. “I know the work that has gone into it and what it will mean to win that race for him – and what it will mean for his business.”