Cummings’ son Anthony was stable foreman for his illustrious father during the White-Cummings period and believes they made a formidable combination. Cummings saw in White everything that he wanted his jockeys to do, and within months White was riding track work at Flemington for the master trainer. “You know, when I look back, Dad and Harry never, ever had a cross word and that’s saying something, because Dad was a cranky old bugger who always wanted it done his way and the jockeys either fitted in or went elsewhere,” said Anthony Cummings. “Dad always insisted on his horses going 15 seconds to the furlong during track work, and in just one morning Harry had got his head round what Dad wanted. It seemed Harry had been with Dad all his life,” Cummings said. White was also brilliantly equipped to handle not only bad horses but speed horses. It was said that White could conquer any bad-mouthed horse and his coaxing ability in the closing stages was an artform. Punters who regularly backed White said that they would look in horror if White had to use the whip, as it was then a last resort. Former jockey Harry White with some of the trophies he has won over the years. (Darren McNamara/Newspix)
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