🔒 🔒 Cummings relationship endures as Dilmi prepares to enter racing’s biggest stage

The first person Nacim Dilmi turned to when the chance to become a private trainer arose was James Cummings, the fourth-generation horseman he had worked alongside for more than a decade and whose judgement he trusted.

Cummings’ advice was simple: Dilmi had always wanted to train, so he should take the opportunity, regardless of what the future held for his former boss.

That conversation came at a significant point for both men, with Cummings on the verge of sealing a move to Hong Kong and Dilmi considering what life might look like after almost eight years within the Godolphin operation.

When Cummings worked alongside his legendary grandfather Bart before taking the keys to Leilani Lodge on his own and ultimately becoming Godolphin’s lead trainer in Australia, French expatriate Dilmi became a valued lieutenant. 

As part of a multi-state stable for one of the world’s most identifiable thoroughbred outfits, Dilmi oversaw its Melbourne branch that welcomed through its Carbine Lodge doors some of the best horses in the country.

Anamoe was the standout but there were also two-time Australian Cup winner Cascadian and Bivouac, the high-class sprinter who is now having an influence at stud with Darley.

Dilmi repaid Cummings’ faith with interest, and it made sense that he should seek counsel on his next move amid a transformation in Australia’s training ranks when Godolphin moved away from a private training model.

“I said to (James), what do you think I should do?” Dilmi recalled as he prepared for a decisive moment in his fledgling career at Randwick on Saturday.

“He said, ‘well, you always wanted to train, so I think you should do it’.”

Despite the tyranny of distance, the relationship between the two is as solid as ever, with Dilmi revealing he plays a role in getting Australian-bred horses for Cummings’ Hong Kong stable.

“All of James’ Australian purchases, I pre-train them,” Dilmi said.

“Because we do pre-train at our farm, I do a lot of his early work before the horses go to the trials or before they head to Hong Kong.

“So, at least, I partly still work for James.”

That continuity matters because Dilmi’s first opportunity to step out of an assistant’s role came at almost the precise moment Cummings was preparing to make his own career move.

When Cummings revealed his Hong Kong plans, Dilmi was looking for his next position.

Fortuitously, at the same time, Domeland’s enthusiastic racing supporter YP Cheng needed a private trainer to replace Sara Ryan.

“I was after a job, so the timing could not have been more perfect that Domeland was looking for a trainer,” Dilmi said.

“I put my hand up, applied for the job, and I was lucky enough to get it.”

Cummings had also been conscious of the futures of the staff around him as he contemplated his Hong Kong move, and Dilmi’s appointment at Domeland helped ease one of those concerns.

“He did tell me, regardless of what I’m doing, do what’s best for you,” Dilmi said.

“He said, ‘if you’re going down that path of Domeland picking you as a trainer, it probably makes my decision about going to Hong Kong a bit easier’.”

The transition has proved less daunting than opening his own stable because Dilmi recognised something familiar when he first visited Domeland.

“I put my hand up, applied for the job, and I was lucky enough to get it.” – Nacim Dilmi on his Domeland transition

The operation is smaller than Godolphin, but its structure has enough similarities to make the move feel seamless, with Cheng breeding horses and running his own private farm as part of the setup.

“When I did the interview and they showed me around the property, it was very similar to how Godolphin operated but obviously on a much smaller scale,” Dilmi said.

That familiarity has given Dilmi room to concentrate on the part of the job he had wanted for so long, although the financial realities of running a team remain different when the numbers are written on a monthly budget.

He inherited a stable that needed some tweaks and set himself a modest first-season target of 20 winners, only to finish with 36 while establishing a healthy strike-rate of about 17 per cent.

Dilmi has now trained 41 winners, suggesting his systems are working and his horses are given every opportunity.

Matcha Latte represents another step in that process, although his appearance in Saturday’s Epsom Handicap is as much a reward for patience as it is a measure of Dilmi’s progress as a trainer fronting up on the Group 1 stage for the first time.

The horse was spelling after an injury-interrupted Brisbane campaign when Dilmi took over, with no guarantee that his career would resume, even after a prolonged rehabilitation program.

“He had a significant number of injuries throughout his career,” Dilmi said. 

“We were lucky to get him back into training.”

Matcha Latte returned last preparation to finish third in the rich Provincial Championships Final and this campaign has offered even greater encouragement, with two Group 3 placings providing a lightweight path into the Epsom.

The race may also mark a final chapter, with Dilmi believing Matcha Latte is likely to be retired sooner rather than later.

“He’s placed in stakes races so many times without winning,” Dilmi said.

“So I know the Epsom we can only be very hopeful. But while he made the field and he only had 50 kilos on his back, we are happy to give him his chance.”