Cummings lesson guides Dilmi to his first Group 1 runner

Nacim Dilmi’s years of experience working for Godolphin have helped shaped his approach to training in his own right, but there is one over-arching learning from that time that he’s used to prepare his maiden Group 1 runner.

Taking over as the private conditioner for Domeland just over 12 months ago, Dilmi will mark a major milestone when Matcha Latte flies the flag for the team in Saturday’s Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Randwick.

And the horse may not have got there without Dilmi implementing a key piece of advice from his time under former Godolphin head trainer, James Cummings – patience.

“If it doesn’t work out that week, you’ve just got to move on,” Dilmi said.

“There’s no point holding a grudge. At the end of the day, you’re training animals, not machines, and if things don’t go right, well you’ve just got to be patient and their time will come.

“That was the main thing with James, and I think that’s what he learned from Bart (Cummings) as well. You’ve just got to be patient.”

It was that patience Dilmi deferred to when he decided to spell Matcha Latte after he placed in the Provincial-Midway Championships Final (1400m) in April.

Jockey Ash Morgan said post-race he thought the gelding was looking for more ground, but instead of stepping Matcha Latte immediately up in trip, Dilmi played the long game.

Not only did it give Matcha Latte the chance to have a good break, it’s also gave him time to recover from the niggling soundness issues that have plagued him throughout his career.

“When he ran third in the Final this year, Ash said, ‘I think he’s looking for the mile now’,” Dilmi said.

“We didn’t want to push on with him, that was his grand final that ‘prep’, but we’ve brought him back with the Epsom as his potential target.

“We knew coming back this time of the year would be quite tough, spring carnival. But he’s shown he’s back in great order.

“I’ve been able to train him properly now instead of being careful due to soundness issues. The vet and farriers are very happy with him.”

On paper, Matcha Latte’s mile record isn’t flash. He’s had five tries at the trip for two seconds, and never won beyond 1400m.

However, those statistics are misleading as both were close placings in Group 3 races, and he has been mainly restricted to 1400m as an older horse.

Dilmi has no qualms about the journey, and has been rapt with the horse’s build-up, including a last start second to General Salute in the Bill Ritchie Handicap (1400m).

“We took him to Newcastle for a grass gallop (on Tuesday) morning as Wyong is out of play at the moment. He’s in great order,” Dilmi said.

“I can’t fault the horse and hopefully he can finally put a stakes win to his name.”

Incredibly, Matcha Latte has recorded nine black-type placings without a winning at stakes level.