‘It’s either make a move or get out’ – The Oaks gets a new Rider as Milan Park principal swoops 

The Oaks Stud will be back under New Zealand ownership next year, with well-known breeder Tony Rider buying the Cambridge property after protracted negotiations with international investors failed to come to fruition. 

A Hong Kong-based consortium which had been in long-running negotiations to buy The Oaks Stud was expected to be the new owner of the Cambridge farm as little as 10 days ago.

The group, which is understood to have been acquiring breeding stock in recent months to spearhead its investment in the New Zealand industry, has been beaten to the punch by Milan Park principal Rider’s fresh approach to manager Rick Williams and owner Dick Karreman, which led to its quick sale.

Having recovered from knee surgery, Rider re-emerged as a buyer for The Oaks Stud, leading to the parties settling on terms in less than a fortnight.

Rider, who made inquiries about the property a year ago, will not take possession of The Oaks Stud until the end of July 2027 as part of the unconditional sale.

“Tony’s our neighbour, and about four or five years ago he said, ‘if you’re ever going to sell, would you give us first right of refusal?’ and I said I would and I did, but at that time the timing wasn’t quite right (for Rider),” Williams said. 

“He had health issues and a whole lot of things, but … he came and saw me a lot in the last couple of weeks and it just came together. 

“He rang up and said, ‘right, we’ve made a decision that we want to buy it’, so we got the deal done. 

“It’s great for the industry as he’s a very positive man and very optimistic. It’s staying with horses, which is also good.”

Williams acknowledged the level of interest from Asia, but the protracted negotiations had also become a frustration for him and Karreman.

“The only other real interest was international … but they hadn’t shown the positive signs required for me to hang around,” he said. 

“But it made no difference. The land price was the land price and that hasn’t altered.” 

Rider’s 100-hectare Milan Park, which is across the road from The Oaks Stud near Cambridge, is slated for subdivision and housing development over the next 15 years, another reason which prompted the breeder to take a leap of faith.

The sale of The Oaks Stud comes during a period of uncertainty for the New Zealand industry, with questions about the financial viability of the model underpinning both the thoroughbred and standardbred codes in the country.

“I suppose there’s other ways you look at things and sometimes when things are not going the right way, it’s the best time to get in and you ride the wave,” Rider said. 

“When things are going well, it’s a lot harder to get in and I suppose that (current sentiment) was good from my point of view. 

“The industry (has) some challenges here in New Zealand, so for me it’s probably the right time to get in.

“Over a 15-year project the (Milan Park) farm will be split up into housing, so it also made me think about where I’m heading.

“It’s either make a move or get out and, like most of us that are in the industry, we’ve got so much love and passion for the industry. We’re a small country and we all need to work together and if we all work together, we’ll get through it (the challenges).”

Rider sold Group 1 winner Provence for $1.8 million at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale in May, proceeds which have allowed him to invest in a number of better-class mares who will be served by Australian-based stallions in the spring.

“We used to sit around 30 to 40 mares, and we ended up buying about 18 to 20 mares to support The Chosen One (at stud), so that took us up to 60, but before we had finalised the deal with The Oaks, we actually announced 17 mares to go on Gavelhouse Plus,” he said.

“There’s some black type mares going on there and they’re not there because I need money to buy the farm, but we were just going to lower our mare numbers, and I’ve been concentrating on buying some Australian mares and we’ve bought half a dozen.

“I’m just trying to cater for the Australian market, and the New Zealand market, so time will tell whether I’ve made the right choice.”

Rider raced The Chosen One, a son of Savabeel who now stands at The Oaks Stud, with the Dennis brothers.

His first crop are rising three-year-olds and he is hopeful they can start hitting their straps in the new season.

Williams, 75 next month, will help Karreman disperse his bloodstock interests over the next 12 months before taking a step back after running The Oaks Stud for 28 years.

He joined The Oaks Stud when it was owned by Auckland businessman Terry Jarvis before Queenslander Karreman purchased the operation in 2002. 

“We’ll sell our bloodstock in an orderly fashion over the next 12 months, but Dick will keep racing horses and he might keep a few mares from the Seachange family because we’ve got shares in Storm Boy (at Coolmore),” Williams said. 

“All of those things we’ll just work through over the next 12 months. He’ll always have a racing team both here (in New Zealand) and in Australia at some level.”

Donovan & Co and Magic Millions had been the agents for The Oaks Stud when it was placed on the market in November 2024. However, the deal between Karreman and Rider was a private one.