White takes charge of Leneva stallions in rebranded Lovatsville
Rising thoroughbred industry figure Sam White has orchestrated the restructure of Victorian stallion operation Leneva Park with his first coup securing the immediate future of exciting young stallion Royal Meeting (Invincible Spirit).
White, who previously worked for Coolmore and later Ciaron Maher Racing before embarking on other business interests within and outside the racing industry, has joined forces with Seymour Park owners Darren Thomas and Mark Pilkington and Leneva Park’s Luke Vandersluys to form Lovatsville at the Northwood Road farm.
The entrepreneurial White, 37, has entered into a three-year lease of the property with further options in what he hopes will secure the long-term future of the rebranded Lovatsville.
He has also procured investment from a number of other partners, some of whom are from outside the thoroughbred industry. They are backing the new incarnation of the stallion station with capital and business acumen to what White hopes will become a significant player in the Victorian breeding industry.
The newly structured Lovatsville’s prospects have been boosted by the retention of Royal Meeting – the sire of this year’s Clinton McDonald-trained Blue Diamond (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Hayasugi – after months of speculation that the stallion’s principal owner Aquis Farm could relocate him to its Queensland stud.
Set to stand at an increased fee of $22,000 (all fees inc GST) in 2024, double his fee of the first four years at stud, Royal Meeting will stand alongside Japanese-bred three-time Australian Group 1-winning miler Fierce Impact (Deep Impact) and new recruit Generation (Snitzel), an unbeaten two-year-old who won a Red Anchor (Gr 3, 1200m) and a Manfred Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m).
Fierce Impact will stand at a slightly reduced fee of $13,750 and Generation will stand at an introductory fee of $11,000.
White, who has spent the past two seasons helping run Leneva Park’s stallion operation, to be based on a Northwood Road property near Seymour that was formerly leased by Aquis Farm and subsequently Leneva Park, told ANZ Bloodstock News that the new business was many years in the making.
“I suppose I don’t come from racing, while I’ve always been a fan, I entered it later in life. My background was in property, working here in Australia and overseas, but when I started I wasn’t very familiar with the industry and I wanted to start at the best place possible to give myself the best opportunity to learn,” White said.
“I ended up at Coolmore through a stroke of luck and it was through my time there that I really fell in love with the breeding side of things, the stallion game. I love the pace of it, I love the opportunity.
“There’s risk-reward, but there’s some fairytale stories, there’s no set formula in success which is what makes the game really unique and I think that passion and fire to do something really furnished with a bit more knowledge of the game.”
White was thrilled that the partners in Royal Meeting had supported his vision for the stallion station.
“It is a credit to Aquis, Leneva Park and the stallion’s shareholder group that he has started his career in such amazing fashion, siring a Blue Diamond winner from his first crop.” White said.
“Given the feedback we have received over the past nine months from some excellent judges we are extremely pleased, but not completely surprised by this given the pedigree, performance and profile of Royal Meeting himself and the type of stock that he was producing.”
White’s long association with Maher, now the dominant trainer in Victoria, who is increasingly establishing a foothold in Sydney, played a role in him landing Generation, a $575,000 yearling purchase who is a son of Group 2-winning filly Fontiton (Turffontein) and a half-sister to the stakes-placed Pinkham (Written Tycoon).
“He was fourth in a Moir, fourth in a William Reid when he went around at about 5-1. He is everything the Australian industry wants at the moment,” White said.
“Yes, he’s done it on the racetrack and, yes, he’s got a pedigree, but he is such a good-looking animal. In today’s market, we want physique, we want performance, we want pedigree and I just thought he was a great option for Victoria.
“We are going to be really aggressive in how we position him in the market. We want to be a business known for working with breeders and making sure there’s plenty in it for them and I think breeding rights packages and the value for breeders within them is reflective of that.”
Leneva Park, which operates a successful pre-training and horse education business at nearby Longwood in north east Victoria, remains an integral member of the Lovatsville partnership and will support the stallion roster, particularly Fierce Impact.
“Pre-training and the early education work that we do is our core business, and it always will be,” Leneva general manager Mick Sharkie said.
“The last three years have shown us that you need to have that high-end level of expertise which we welcomed with Sam’s involvement, particularly last season.
“That was really the catalyst for the conversations with Sam about being part of something essentially bigger than what we could do on our own.”
White does not intend for Lovatsville to diversify into being a consignor of bloodstock at the sales and he is far from daunted about the challenges that lay ahead, particularly in the face of a contracting bloodstock market.
“I think you’ve got to think longer-term. It’s easy to jump into something when it’s going well. I know there’s a lot of work to be done, but I am willing to do it,” he said.
“I just think it’s all about being really sensible with your price points in the market to make sure we’re making as much value as possible and we’re fortunate that the shareholder groups that we’ve got behind these stallions understand that and they are really keen to meet the market to help breeders.
“I know we’re venturing into a tough market, but our decision-making is not for a year, but it’s being set up for Lovatsville to be around for a very long time.”