Trainer John O'Shea tipped for Darley head role Trainer John O'Shea. John O'Shea is set to be announced as Darley's head trainer as early as Thursday following a final interview. Fairfax Media has been told O'Shea made a trip to Dubai, during a family holiday to Thailand, to meet Sheikh Mohammed. Henry Plumptre, Darley's Australian managing director, told Fairfax the new trainer would be at the Dubai World Cup meeting and not necessarily before that. However, he did confirm the announcement would be made before Christmas. "Whoever it is they have to be fair to their owners because the yearling sale season is coming up," Plumptre said. We will make the announcement soon. In recent weeks, O'Shea has visited Darley's stud in the Hunter Valley as he has been courted for the job. It has become clear he is the front-runner to take over from Peter Snowden as the head trainer in Australia. O'Shea's racing manager, Tom Ward, is set to join his boss at Darley and possibly take up the Melbourne foreman's role, vacated by Snowden's son Paul. Ward joined the O'Shea team three months ago after working for Kiaran McLaughlin, one of Darley's trainers in the US. O'Shea has been trying to put a succession plan in place for his stable to keep his clients happy should he get the Darley role. It is believed Perth trainer Simon Miller, who was a foreman for O'Shea a few years back, could take over his team and Randwick stables after coming to Sydney on Monday. Meanwhile, the partnership between Bart and James Cummings is heading for the rocks but is not over yet. It was reported the partnership, which only started on August 1, would finish at the end of the year. Bart was reportedly ready to walk away from the partnership after a disagreement, and train a small team of horses out of Princes Farm at Hawkesbury. However, his grandson James has not given up on resolving the problem. "I wish to make it clear that this issue is a family matter that can be resolved," James said. As of now, the Bart and James Cummings training partnership is intact and we have an obligation to maintain our professional service to the loyal clients that support us.