Horse Racing

The 2016 Bart Cummings is a Group 3 race held at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse on the first Sunday of October during the Spring Racing Carnival.

The Bart Cummings is run under handicap conditions and is open to horses of all ages and sexes.

Contested over 2500m, The Bart Cummings provides a valuable opportunity for local stayers to test their mettle over distances greater than 2400m. Because the race was used so much in the past as a lead up event to the Melbourne Cup, it seemed appropriate to name it in honour of the twelve times Melbourne Cup winning trainer, Bart Cummings.

Besides the Melbourne Cup, runners in The Bart Cummings might go on to contest later major events, such as the Caulfield Stakes (2000m), run under weight-for-age conditions, or the Herbert Power Stakes (2400m), run under handicap conditions, the following week.

The Bart Cummings is held on Turnbull Stakes Day, which besides Makybe Diva Stakes Day in mid-September is the major meet which kicks off spring at Flemington. Races held alongside The Bart Cummings include the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m), Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes (1600m), the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m), the Group 2 Blazer Stakes (1400m) and a number of Listed races.

The Bart Cummings will run on Sunday October 2, 2016.

2016 Bart Cummings Field

The Bart Cummings field tends to attract fairly top quality stayers. Because it is one of the earliest staying events in the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, some genuine Melbourne Cup contenders enter the Bart Cummings field. Other horses who are targeting later major staying events will seek entry into the Bart Cummings field in order to get as much fitness as possible over longer distances.

The 2016 Bart Cummings field was released on Wednesday September 28 and features a dozen stayers including last spring’s Geelong Cup – Sandown Cup double winner Almoonqith.

See below for the official 2016 The Bart Cummings Final Field & Barrier Draw and follow the link for a detailed race preview.

2016 Bart Cummings Nominations

Trainers will often include a number of their better performing stayers in the Bart Cummings nominations because there are few other choices at that distance in Melbourne that weekend. Inclusion in the Bart Cummings nominations is a strong indication that a horse has its sights set on major staying events later in October.

The 2016 Bart Cummings nominations were released on Monday September 26 by Racing Victoria and attracted 18 stayers.

The Bart Cummings History

The Bart Cummings was previously known as the Banjo Paterson. That name has since been reserved for a separate series of racing. The Bart Cummings was named as such because the man himself often used the race as a platform for developing his stayers ahead of feature events such as the Melbourne Cup.

The Bart Cummings gained its current name in 2004, when the VRC made the decision to honour the Australian Racing Hall of Fame inaugural inductee. In response to the accolade, Mr Cummings famously said “I will be doing my very best to try to prepare the winner of it”.

Previously a listed event, the Bart Cummings was granted Group 3 status prior to the 2014 edition. In 2012 and 2009, the race was run over 2520m.

Light Vision won this race two years running in 2008 and 2009. Mourayan took top honours in 2011, while Araldo seized first place in 2013. Bart Cummings results since 2006 are provided below.

Bart Cummings Results