Bart bought a young horse in NZ and she became an Australian staying superstar

The lightly built chestnut was by the highly successful sire of stayers, Le Filou, from Cuddlesome by (Red Mars via Hyperion). She was originally called Close Embrace in New Zealand, but the Australian registrar would not allow that name to be used. Light Fingers was highly regarded for her courage and versatility. She overcame injuries and had the speed to win races over the sprint distance of 1000 metres and the staying capacity to win the Melbourne Cup over the arduous journey of 3200 metres. Trained by Bart Cummings, Light Fingers would become the first of his twelve Melbourne Cup winners. Cummings had tried to buy the filly on a visit to New Zealand but was unsuccessful. However, he managed to lease the horse, which would carry the most significant weight to victory by a mare to that date. Named in honour of her sire Le Filou (meaning “pickpocket”), Light Fingers’ career was kick-started when W.J. Broderick leased her following her brother, The Dip’s, on-track success.

Light Fingers had her first race on Boxing Day in 1963 at the Port Adelaide Racing Club's track at Cheltenham, where she ran second over 5 furlongs. She won her next three starts, two at Adelaide, and one at Flemington, before being sent for a spell. In her three-year-old year, Light Fingers won 7 races from 12 starts. That year, she won all essential fillies' races, save the One Thousand Guineas, where Reveille beat her. The mare won her first race as a four-year-old and won the Craiglee Stakes over a mile early in the spring of 1965.

The rest of Light Fingers' lead-up to the Melbourne Cup was filled with obstacles. First, she suffered a virus, and then she injured her shoulder in a near fall in the Caulfield Stakes. The injury prevented her from running in the Caulflield Cup and raised doubts about whether she would make the start of the Melbourne Cup. Her regular rider, Roy Higgins.was unsure about whether he should keep the ride but eventually chose to stick with the mare, saying, "my filly is so good that if she gets to the post, she might just win, and if she does it will break my heart not to be on her." Light Fingers pulled up well after her final lead up run in the Mackinnon Stakes, and following a cortisone injection by vet Percy Sykes, started in the Melbourne Cup at odds of 15/1. Fifth into the straight, Light Fingers ranged up to stablemate Ziema at the furlong. The two horses hit the line together, with the camera giving Light Fingers the victory by half a head. Higgins, who rode Light Fingers in the majority of her big wins, was quoted as saying after her Melbourne Cup victory, that as Light Fingers and her stablemate Ziema worked together leading up to the '65 Cup, Higgins felt that when the mare ranged up alongside the big striding Ziema, he seemed to take a look at her and turn it up. Higgins went on to state. "In the last few strides, however, she seemed to sense that something extra was needed. I could feel her gathering herself and she fairly dived for the winning post. I only had to wave the whip at her. I did not want to hit her. She was giving all she had."

Following her Melbourne Cup win, Light Fingers ran second to stablemate Galilee, one of the great stayers of the decade, in that race the following year. The race that distinguished Light Fingers, however, was the renowned two-mile race that has eluded some of the most remarkable horses, but it elevated Light Fingers to legendary status in her own right. Light Fingers had a mediocre breeding career. Her foals were: Her Boy, a colt by Agricola, foaled in 1969, an unnamed colt by Alcimedes, foaled in 1972, Nimble Fingers, a filly by Alcimedes, foaled in 1973, Slick, a filly by Zephyr Bay, foaled in 1977, an unnamed filly by Decies, foaled in 1978, Nimble Touch, a colt by Smuggler, foaled in 1981 and Nimble Princess, a filly by Princes Gate, foaled in 1984.

‘She is only a little horse, but has a big heart. I am very attached to her…and if she could cook, I’d marry her.’ Roy Higgins

RACE RECORD - 33-15-8-5

EARNINGS - $109,370

VRC Oaks (1964)

Wakeful Stakes (1964)

Edward Manifold Stakes (1964)

Sandown Guineas (1964)

AJC Oaks (1965)

Craiglee Stakes (1965)

Melbourne Cup (1965)

Sandown Cup (1966)

St George Stakes (1966)