Hayes offers a piece of history

Trainer David Hayes’ decision to focus on the rich races in Melbourne and Sydney with a Euroa (Northern-Eastern Victoria) base has been several years in the making – since his return to Australia from Hong Kong just over four years ago, in fact  – and yesterday that focus became much clearer with the announcement that he would sell the training part of Lindsay Park, the famous South Australian property set up by his father, Colin.

Hayes is selling the idea as an evolving part of his father’s philosophy that “the future belongs to those who plan for it” rather than a dismantling of an Australian racing landmark.

That is true, in two ways: Angaston, in the Barossa Valley some 80 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, is in an area that now services a city that has become a capital struggler in racing and is too far from the Melbourne-Sydney hub; and Hayes is not abandoning the property and its stud, although he lives in Melbourne and has his headquarters at Flemington.

For sale is the training part of Lindsay Park, listed thus: 93.5ha, stables for 120 horses, grass tracks, artificial tracks, staff accommodation, staff canteen, heated equine swimming pool, treadmills.

For keeps is the bulk (706ha) of Lindsay Park: the house (more mansion) and grass tracks, artificial tracks, pre-training facilities, stud farm, stables for 100 horses, housing for track riders and staff, veterinary clinic, laboratory and operating theatre, administration office, and workshops.

Work is well underway on Hayes’ Euroa property, and he hopes to have it running next year, in conjunction with the Flemington stables, which will be cut back, even phased out. The trainer said he would keep a presence in Adelaide for horses coming through the grades. And of course breeding, educating and spelling horses will continue to be a part of the retained property.

Champions and big race winners who have been trained from Lindsay Park include Better Loosen Up, Zabeel, Dulcify, Jeune, At Talaq, So Called, How Now, Desirable, Special, Rory’s Jester, St Covet, Fields of Omagh, Tawqeet, Miss Finland and Niconero.

Hayes, who has won the Adelaide training premiership each season and gone two-two with Rye-based Lee Freedman for the Victorian title in four full seasons since returning from Hong Kong, told thethoroughbred.com.au earlier this month the he would love to keep winning premierships, but added: “I got bigger than I wanted to be. I’m getting a bit smaller in the next couple of years – where I really am interested is the Group and Stakes winners for more stakemoney.”

Euroa, a couple of hours from Melbourne, will make Sydney’s big races more accessible, reducing the travel time to around seven hours, similar to the time crossing from Angaston to Melbourne. “It’ll probably be up and running this time next year,” Hayes said then. “It’s been a bit slower than I first thought.”

Now, the pace has picked up. And at the forefront of planning, as it was with Colin Hayes, is David Hayes’ succession aims – he and wife Prue have four children, and their three boys are already rolling up their sleeves when schooling permits. “The succession plan for my family’s future is well thought out – I want to downsize horse numbers and land holdings, centralise my training operation and enhance quality control,” Hayes said in a statement.

“The sale of Lindsay Park will allow me the opportunity to develop the Euroa property and restructure my organisation. With the majority of my clientele being Melbourne and Sydney based, Euroa is the ideal ‘half-way house’ and I plan to build a state-of-the-art facility for 100 racehorses in full-time work, and target both Melbourne and Sydney racing.”

What is the section for sale at Angaston worth? Hayes reportedly turned down $7.5 million a few years ago. He estimated it would cost $12 million to set up a similar property. And he floated the idea that, in this tough economic environment, $6-7million might buy it when expressions of interest close in October.

The big question is: who will buy it? The very reason Hayes is selling appears to rule out big players such as Darley and Patinack, and trainers focused on Melbourne and Sydney and their rich rewards.

Likely to be interested are those prepared to punt on the future of South Australian racing – just as Colin Hayes did in 1965.