Bart Cummings is building up for a big spring with last Saturday’s Queensland Derby winner Dariana joining Cox Plate hero So You Think and VRC Oaks winner Faint Perfume at the front-line for the carnival.

This season has been a beauty for the stable’s three year-olds.  Bart is a past master picking sires that will fire and he did it again with the first crop of exciting young stallions High Chaparral (Coolmore) and Shamardal (Darley).

Coolmore will shuttle High Chaparral to its head office in the Hunter Valley this year after he was initially stationed in New Zealand.  The move closer to home was always on the cards after High Chaparral sired So You Think plus Shoot Out (AJC Derby) and Monaco Consul (VRC Derby) in his first crop.

Darley has been overwhelmed with the support for Shamardal.  A son of Giant’s Causeway, he was hardly flavour of the month when Bart first put Faint Perfume in work but his fee has more than doubled to $66,000 this year..

Cummings believes he’s got the three year-old bases covered again in 2010-11 with the first crop of God’s Own.  

God’s Own stands at Eliza Park by arrangement with Yallambee Stud and Bart is on record as saying the Redoute’s Choice horse is the most impressive stallion prospect he’s ever seen.

Bart is probably a bit prejudiced but with good reason.  He trained God’s Own to a breath-taking victory in the 2005 Caulfield Guineas and the colt returned as an autumn three year-old to be narrowly beaten by Takeover Target in the Lightning Stakes at Flemington.

“God’s Own is a cracking type and possessed an exceptional turn-of-foot,” Bart explained.  “He’s got everything you look for in a stallion and he’s by Australia’s dominant sire Redoute’s Choice.”

Bart trained his first God’s Own winner when Big Storm scored an impressive victory in the Sandringham Hcp (1550m) at Randwick on Monday.  He is the fourth winner for the God Squad following Heavens Own, Captain Oates and Onamissionfromgod.

Storm brewing for Spring

Dariana capped a superb season for Bart Cummings and Dato Tan Chin Nam with a decisive victory in the G1 Queensland Derby on Saturday.  The Redoute’s Choice filly closed the curtain on her winter carnival but within 48 hours Bart was already looking ahead to the spring with his first God’s Own winner Big Storm.

Big Storm (2c God’s Own – Stormy Sac by Anabaa) was very impressive when stepped up to 1550m for the Sandringham Hcp at Randwick on Monday.  He settled off the pace and was produced at the right time by Blake Shinn for a half a length victory.

Big Storm’s win brought nothing but praise from connections.  “He wanted to stargaze but really knuckled down to the job,” Shinn said.  “He’s going to be a nice horse over a bit of ground.”

Stable foreman James Cummings was also impressed.  “We have 15 by God’s Own on the books,” he said.  “They all look promising.”

Dato Tan Chin Nam’s racing manager Duncan Ramage recalled Big Storm failed to reach a $160,000 reserve at the 2009 Inglis Easter yearling sale.  “He’s a Think Big Stud homebred and has been given plenty of time to mature,” Ramage revealed.  “God’s Own didn’t debut until he was within a week of turning three, so people have been patient with them.”

Big Storm’s dam Stormy Sac is a winning half-sister to Danendri (Danehill) who was Australia’s Champion 3YO Filly in 1996-97.  She has foaled 6 winners and another unraced daughter is the dam of Faint Perfume.  Stormy Sac foaled a God’s Own filly last October and was bred back to him the following month.

God’s Own will be a force to be reckoned with next season especially when his filly Dreamcoat reappears.   She is trained by Bart and was placed behind stakes winning youngsters Beneteau and Georgette Silk on debut at Randwick on Australia Day.

Bart knows Dreamcoat’s family back-to-front having trained her dam Angora (Barathea) and close relation Allez Sauvage (Best Western).  Both fillies were placed in the Listed Reginald Allen Hcp at Randwick before unplaced efforts in the G1 Flight Stakes.

Bart won the first of five Flight Stakes with Cap D’Antibes in 1974 and Dreamcoat can make it six in this year’s edition on October 2.