TEST – Showpiece property Edinburgh Park on the market
Silent Witness’ breeder Ian Smith makes difficult call to put New South Wales Mid-North Coast farm up for sale
One of Australia’s pre-eminent thoroughbred breeding properties is up for sale, providing a “generational” opportunity for investors to purchase a stud renowned for producing top-class racehorses.
Ian Smith’s Edinburgh Park Stud, located on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast, has been placed on the market through Donovan and Co and Magic Millions by the well-known breeder, following a dispersal of his breeding stock at auction on the Gold Coast last month.
The 85.56-hectare, four-title property, near Wingham, is surrounded by four kilometres of Manning River frontage, while the highly fertile pasture-improved farm also comes with town water and a 200-megalitre irrigation licence.
It has 19 stables, six outdoor stable areas and three veterinary crushes located throughout the property, as well as an exquisitely designed and executed homestead overlooking the farm and the river with a 20-metre drop-edge infinity pool and two entertainment areas.
Donovan and Co’s Clint Donovan has no doubt that Edinburgh Park is the “best farm of its scale in NSW and it’s an out and out showstopper”.
“For the right buyer, it is really ‘generational’. It does provide the ability for someone to step in and take over the reins over a really premium-producing facility and continue on the legacy Ian’s started,” Donovan told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“There’s that ability to pick up that name, that brand, that reputation which will certainly bring benefits in the sales ring and the racetrack for the new owners.”
Smith described Edinburgh Park as a showpiece property where no expense had been spared.
“It’s very unique in terms of location. It is very quiet, peaceful and tranquil, you couldn’t ask for a better environment for a horse to be raised on. The way I designed it, it is so horse friendly and people friendly,” Smith said.
“If we breed 30 foals, we get 30 foals to the sales because the place is set up where we’ve eliminated the majority of the risk.
“We usually run, because it’s such quality land, 40 to 50 mares on here, plus progeny, when we were at our peak about three or four years ago.
“We also had 40 to 50 head of cattle cleaning up the paddocks behind the horses and then just rotate the paddocks.
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“We’ve got beautiful river flats, which is good cattle country and they do well down there.”
Edinburgh Park Stud’s long list of top-class graduates is headed by none other than Hong Kong champion Silent Witness (El Moxie), prolific Queensland stallion Better Than Ready (More Than Ready), $3.1 million earner Eleven Eleven (Fastnet Rock), Group 2-winning stallion Glenfiddich (Fastnet Rock), Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Sister Madly (Redoute’s Choice), while Group 2 winner Rubisaki (Rubick) was also bred and raised on Smith’s farm.
“With due respect to all farms which breed thoroughbreds, there’s probably not too many that punch above their weight than Edinburgh,” Donovan said.
“When you drill down on it, it’s a farm that Ian has run up to 50 mares on over the past number of years, so to have the success rate that it has, it’s quite incredible.”
Last month’s The Goodwood (Gr 1, 1200m) in Adelaide also provided another reminder of Edinburgh Park’s success with three-year-old filly Royal Merchant (Merchant Navy) taking out South Australia’s premier Group 1 race.
“There’s so many other young horses coming through, so the record will only keep on improving because the quality of the horses we’ve been breeding over the past few years has only gone up and up,” Smith said yesterday.
“We’ve always been high up in the stats in terms of selling high-quality horses at good prices who have gone on to win good horses.”
There is a separate manager’s residence and staff accommodation on the property, while there are bitumen roads across the entire farm, which also has hardwood post-and-rail fenced paddocks
It is 15 minutes drive to the M1 and three hours to Sydney, one-and-a-half hours’ drive to Newcastle, and 20 minutes to Taree and the township’s airport.
“It is three hours walk-on to Coolmore, which is very easy, and three and a half hours to Arrowfield,” Smith said.
“We didn’t walk on last year, but we walked on the previous three years and we were 92 to 94 per cent fertility, so it was very good.”
At last month’s Magic Millions National Sale, Smith sold 40 mares for $5.154 million and 23 weanlings for $2,816,500 as part of the Edinburgh Park Stud dispersal.
Written expressions of interest to purchase Edinburgh Park Stud close at 4pm on Friday, July 28.
“I’d like to think there will be a lot of Sydney and Newcastle-based business people who want to take their investment in the racing game to the next level,” Donovan said.
“But I also expect good interest from the wider lifestyle and equine industry participants, it could be showjumping or polo, it could be used for a number of things.”