Widden Stud has doubled down on its investment in Victoria with principal Antony Thompson purchasing the property which he had been leasing from Sun Stud for the past three years.
In a milestone moment for Widden, which has been operating under the Thompson family’s name in the Widden Valley in NSW for more than 150 years, and set up its Victoria operation in 2021, it has now taken ownership of the Riddells Creek property.
When Widden Victoria began, there was an option to purchase the property, which before being Sun Stud, was known as Eliza Park, and Thompson and wife Katie took up that option on July 31.
“It was really important to be able to secure the property and complete that transaction and show full commitment to Widden Victoria and the Victorian industry,” Thompson told The Straight.
“There are a lot of positive things in the Victorian racing and breeding industry. It's a different market in many ways, but there's a lot of synergies between what we do in the Hunter and what we're doing down here.
“We have the luxury of being able to, you know, to share a lot between the two.”
Set on 425 acres in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, the property will host nine stallions in 2024, highlighted by Group 1 producers Nicconi, Star Witness, Overshare and Gold Standard.
While setting up that operation was an achievement, purchasing the property gives Widden a defined foothold in the Victorian market.
“I think whilst a lot of what Widden is, is the Widden Valley, I'd like to think it's more than that in the way we do business and the staff we have,” Thompson said.
“A lot of the Widden ethos and ethics we can bring to everything we do. And we want, you know, Widden Victoria to really reflect that. And we've built a really good team down here, and we're really excited about the way it's going.”
The news of the purchase was announced at a stallion parade day on the farm on Friday.
“To pull out of the boxes four proven stallions of Group 1 winners, that's a pretty rare feat, and I said today I couldn't think of another farm where every stallion that comes out of the box that's had a runner has had a Group 1 winner,” Thompson said.
“And add to that, you know, the really exciting young stallions we've got there. It was a really nice day. It’s a big year with three young stallions and first crop runners. So, plenty of things to look forward to this season.”
Thompson said that while the breeding and bloodstock market had come back off pandemic highs, there was a great deal of optimism in the industry, which backed up the new investment.
“Breeders are resilient and the market has been very good, very strong and growing year on year for a while. So, yeah, I think everyone's fairly optimistic and, you know, there's still plenty of opportunities to present. So, yeah, I think we're in pretty good shape,” he said.
It’s a new chapter for the property which was purchased by Lee Fleming and branded Eliza Park in 1997.
Bren O’Brien
Among the foundation stallions on the farm were Desert Sun and General Nediym, while in 2002, Eliza Park secured a racing and breeding share in Bel Esprit.
By 2006 it was standing 12 stallions on the property, while future Australian champion Written Tycoon began his career at Eliza Park in 2007, a year where the farm's book of mares exceeded 1200.
The property also played a major role in the background story of the legendary Black Caviar, with her dam Helsinge bred by Fleming and sold by the stud as a yearling.
“There are a lot of positive things in the Victorian racing and breeding industry" - Antony Thompson
Owner Rick Jamieson then sent her to Eliza Park resident Bel Esprit in her first season at stud, which produced the unbeaten global sprinting star.
In 2013, Fleming opted to sell Eliza Park's operations and it was purchased by Sun International Group, who continued to stand stallions until transferring over to Widden in 2021.
