After 18 months on the market, New South Wales thoroughbred stud Edinburgh Park has sold at auction for $6.6 million.
The 86-hectare New South Wales Mid North Coast property, which was owned by thoroughbred breeder Ian Smith, sold at auction on Thursday afternoon for $6.6 million.
It was the third time River Point Farm, which was also known as Edinburgh Park, has been auctioned since the stud was listed for sale in June last year.
The most recent auction of the Wingham property in April, when it was also sold under the hammer for $6.6 million to a hospitality-focused buyer, later fell through.
Donovan & Co’s Clint Donovan, who has been selling the property on Smith’s behalf, said a young couple from the state’s Central Coast had purchased River Point Farm.
The couple owns 40 butcher shops and they plan to grow beef cattle on the property.
“They're going to feed and fatten some cattle there and it'll also allow an extension of their butchery business, so they'll be able to do some farm-to-plate type stuff where people can buy wholesale meat from them that's been reared on the farm,” Donovan told The Straight.
“Apart from it being a brand new horse investor, it's the next best thing. They're a good young couple.”
With four kilometres of Manning River frontage, River Point also comes with town water and a 200-megalitre irrigation licence as well as 19 stables, six outdoor stable areas and three veterinary crushes located throughout the property.
The exquisite homestead, which overlooks the farm and the river, has a 20-metre drop-edge infinity pool and two entertainment areas.
Donovan indicated that the sale of Edinburgh Park to non-thoroughbred interests continued a growing trend on the east coast as smaller breeders found it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.
“It's not an uncommon occurrence at the moment with a lot of small breeders finding it hard, so some of these facilities are getting repurposed into other things. ” Donovan said.
“Hopefully it's cyclical, but it's certainly (a trend) right throughout Victoria and New South Wales, and less so in Queensland at the moment.
“I feel Queensland's got a good vibe about the racing breeding industry. But certainly throughout New South Wales and Victoria, some of these highly capitalised equine farms are being repurposed and we saw evidence of that today.”
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Smith dispersed his bloodstock interests for $7.97 million at the Magic Millions National Sale on the Gold Coast in May 2023.
Meanwhile, Group 1 winning-colt Savaglee could play a central role in the sale of the renowned New Zealand farm The Oaks Stud.
Owned by Queensland businessman Dick Karreman since 2002, The Oaks Stud was officially listed with Donovan & Co earlier this month.
Karreman races the Pam Gerard-trained Savaglee, a three-year-old son of champion Kiwi sire Savabeel who blitzed his rivals at Riccarton in the 2000 Guineas on November 9.
Tim Rowe
He won four of his five starts in the spring and his Group 1 victory saw Karreman and The Oaks Stud manager Rick Williams receive multimillion dollar offers to buy the talented colt.
Those offers have so far been knocked back, but Donovan revealed that Savaglee, a Group 3 winner at two, had emerged as a significant carrot in any potential sale of The Oaks Stud.
“Dick's a very, very genuine seller and Savaglee has pricked a few people's ears, so to speak, just like he did when he crossed the line (in the 2000 Guineas),” Donovan said.
“There's a couple of parties looking to include Savaglee in the purchase of the property, so that's an interesting scenario. He's a highly sought after commodity.”
The renowned stallion and breeding operation near Cambridge spans 204 hectares and has a history of producing elite racehorses such as Group 1 winners Seachange, Recite, Artistic, Risqué, Devise, Keepa Cruisin and Catalyst.
