Known for his sharp wit and sense of humour which helped him overcome his shyness, trainer Bart Cummings perfected the art of the one-liner.

They weren't always original but the delivery was.

The most often told is about the day a hapless health inspector visited his stable and told Cummings there were too many flies in his stable only to be asked: "How many am I allowed to have?"

The late jockey Roy Higgins rode two Melbourne Cup winners for Cummings and once told the trainer that without him he would have won two fewer Cups.

"And if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have won any," was the response.

But he saved his more serious observations for the thoroughbred and the industry that consumed his life.

"I don't keep records," Cummings said. "That may sound strange but I never look back, I only look ahead. You can't dwell on the past. Racing goes on and you have to go with it."

Was there any trick to training?

"A good horse will win the race you train him for."

Is it what he feeds them? "I like to feed horses as much as they will eat."

He was a patient trainer.

"Patience is the cheapest thing in racing but most people don't use it.

"I worked out early that you have to aim for the top and then work down. I've tried to eliminate the speculative side of racing by trying to choose Group One winners as yearlings. If they don't make the grade there are plenty of other races around."

Cummings was unflappable.

"The excitement of it doesn't worry me. Never has, never will." he said.

"I approach every meeting the same. You have to. If you change it the horses know. So your attitude should remain the same, whether its a maiden at Gosford or a Melbourne Cup at Flemington."

And the final words on the animal he preferred to most people.

"They think, they are honest, they are genuine, they are very intelligent and they do not forget. You get a few non-conformists occasionally but if you are good tempered and good natured, horses will respond in a similar manner."