The iconic trainer has been battling ill health for some time and news of his
passing was tweeted in the early hours of this morning by his son Anthony."Dad died peacefully in his sleep early this morning, surrounded by his family. He lived a full life. "
His grand-son James Cummings, who has been training in partnership with his grandfather, offered a statement.
"James Bartholomew Cummings, OAM, passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of this morning, Sunday the 30th of August 2015, in his homestead at Princes Farm, Castlereagh," James Cummings said.
"His final moments were spent with his family and wife of 61 years, Valmae, with whom he celebrated their anniversary on Friday.
"For Bart, aged 87, this was a fitting end. A husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather; a master trainer and a larger than life figure.
"We will miss you."
Bart Cummings started training at age 26 and re-wrote the training manual on how to prepare stayers enjoying unprecedented success in that area of the sport.
His 12 Melbourne Cup winners is seven more than any other trainer and among those winners was Saintly, the so called 'horse from heaven' that Cummings bred himself.
Saintly won the Cox Plate, Melbourne Cup and Australian Cup in a sparkling career that earned him Australian Horse of the Year in 1996/1997.
