Long-time Moruya trainer Chicka Pearson said Cummings was a smart man who was also loyal.

“He had the same staff for years and years,” Pearson said.

Pearson met Cummings at a number of city meetings and track work sessions and remembered a man of quick wit.

“I remember sitting with Bob Thomsen at Randwick on a bench,” Pearson said.

“Bart shuffled up to us in an immaculate suit.

“Bobby said, ‘don’t park that big Mercedes next to my car, you make my car look like a Mini Minor (he had a BMW)’.

“Bart turned around with grin on his face and, because he’s a great one-liner man, he said, ‘yeah, but you paid for yours’.”

Pearson’s son Willie rode a couple of winners for Cummings and the family has kept the video footage.

“Those videos are a treasure because he’s an icon in racing,” Pearson said.

The NSW Government will hold a state funeral on September 7 for Cummings and Chicka will be there.

“It’s sad for racing, but it’s a wonderful thing to have a state funeral,” he said.

“If anyone deserves it, he does.”

Pearson said Cummings’ one-liners offered plenty of laughs over the years.

A health inspector reportedly told Cummings his stable had too many flies.

‘How many flies am I allowed to have?’ Cummings is said to have quipped.

Moruya trainer John Law admired Cummings for his “remarkable eye” for a horse.

“He’s the only I’ve ever known to set a horse for a particular race, whether it be the Melbourne Cup or another,” Law said.

“He just had this innate sense for when they were absolutely ready; the only trainer I have seen that could do that.

“He was a quiet person and a very astute horseman.”

Law said he believed Cummings’ record of 12 Melbourne Cup wins would not be beaten.

“His record will never be bettered, particularly for horses over ground,” he said.

“I think one of the best horses he ever had was Storm Queen (1966 Golden Slipper winner).

“She was an outstanding mare, up to a mile.”

Moruya Jockey Club manager Brian Cowden said he was always a fan of Cummings.

“I came into racing as a young fella, in Bart’s heyday with Light Fingers,” Cowden said.

“I was a sucker for a Bart Cummings’ horse; if I was going to have a bet I’d back his horse.”

Cowden believed Cummings’ legacy was among the top 10 legends of Australian sport – a high level for a person who didn’t run, swim or jump with the world’s best.

“We call it the Sport of Kings and the sport of racing but it’s not as if he sprinted or lifted weights,” Cowden said.

“That’s an even bigger tribute.

“He will be thought about as one of the great 10 legends of sport, with Don Bradman, Dawn Fraser, Rod Laver and Herb Elliott.”