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Bart: My Life
In the pantheon of Australian sporting icons, James Bartholomew "Bart" Cummings AM stands alongside Sir Donald Bradman. Known to his tens of thousands of fans as the "Cups King", Bart is arguably Australia's greatest ever horse trainer. For over five decades he's been at the very top of his profession, yet the man himself remains a fascinating and intriguing mystery. Now, for the first time, he tells his extraordinary story - a story that will truly stop the nation.
In My Life, he recounts his early years as his father's apprentice, leading to his first Group One win in 1958. He never looked back. In over half a century as a trainer Bart has won over 250 Group One races - a staggering statistic. But the achievement that will almost certainly never be matched is his incredible tally of twelve Melbourne Cup wins, from his first triumph with Light Fingers in 1965 to Viewed's stunning victory in 2008.
But Bart means much more to the Australian public than just the sum total of his racing successes. From the highs of the racetrack to the lows of suspensions and near bankruptcy, Bart shares his unique perspective on an extraordinarily long period of Australian racing. Along the way he illuminates - with his trademark dry wit - the colourful trainers, jockeys and owners who populate the industry.
Winner of ABIA Awards for Biography of the Year 2010
In My Life, he recounts his early years as his father's apprentice, leading to his first Group One win in 1958. He never looked back. In over half a century as a trainer Bart has won over 250 Group One races - a staggering statistic. But the achievement that will almost certainly never be matched is his incredible tally of twelve Melbourne Cup wins, from his first triumph with Light Fingers in 1965 to Viewed's stunning victory in 2008.
But Bart means much more to the Australian public than just the sum total of his racing successes. From the highs of the racetrack to the lows of suspensions and near bankruptcy, Bart shares his unique perspective on an extraordinarily long period of Australian racing. Along the way he illuminates - with his trademark dry wit - the colourful trainers, jockeys and owners who populate the industry.
Winner of ABIA Awards for Biography of the Year 2010
285 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 22, 2020
Written by a man of respect in every aspect of his life. He made me smile at his wit and his way of talking to you . A great read
June 24, 2024
An honest, enduring and personal look into a racing legend's life, well worth a read.
November 30, 2015
Whilst clearly an amazing man, he should have stuck to horses. Didn't enjoy this. Too horsey for me, he said it himself, "he liked horses more than people", but when you write for people you need to offer more than just, I found this horse, trained it and it won this race, over and over again, ad nausea. Met the queen and brushed over it in a sentence, yet spent chapters and chapters on each horse. Wanted to hear more about the man, more about relationships with others and less about damn horses
December 26, 2013
A really good read. Bart has a very dry humor, I laughed out loud quite often.
March 24, 2014
I have leant a lot from this book and this man and if you happen to be interested in horse racing then I highly recommend this book. His a wise and brilliant man and deserves nothing but respect.
November 23, 2011
A very interesting life, well told by the master trainer.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews