State-of-the-art equine facility offers multiple opportunities

Buyers are showing strong interest in a top-notch equine facility, minutes from Ballarat in western Victoria that has price expectations of $7 million.

Seven Daughters’ pre-training centre at 733 Cuthberts Rd, Cardigan, features industry-leading equine amenities as well as land banking and subdivision options.

The 65ha four-titled site sits within the Ballarat West Growth Area, a precinct which is expected to need 18,000 new houses to house a 84% population increase by 2036 according to the City Of Ballarat.

For horse-lovers however, the key features of Seven Daughters are its high-quality amenities including a Aquaciser water walker worth around $500,000, two treadmills and a motorised 12-horse ground walker.

There is also a computer-controlled water system, two stables, 20 paddocks, and feed and storage barns while a recently renovated three-bedroom cottage has private access to the site and would make an ideal manager’s residence.

Abundant possibilities for the future

James Lawson of Colliers Ballarat, which is selling the property in conjunction with Inglis Rural Property and under instructions from Advise Transact, said there had already been strong interest in the property.

The Aquaciser water walker is worth around $500,000. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale

“The sale is a great opportunity to buy a property that could generate a good cash flow in several different ways,” Mr Lawson explained.

“Obviously, we’ve had thoroughbred racing interest in it but we’ve also had some people looking at the property’s land bank opportunity, given how close it is to the western growth zones of Ballarat.

“But the buyers will be able to occupy the premises in whichever way they wish, from making use of the state-of-the-art equine facility or utilising it for any other agricultural use they deem beneficial.”

The property’s amenities are particularly impressive given that there was very little on the site when it last sold for $1,962,500 in May 2019, according to CoreLogic figures.

Prize-winning harness-racing trainers, Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin – who run Tonkin Stewart Racing at adjacent 767 Cuthberts Rd – initially ran Seven Daughters under the aegis of several investment clients who purchased the facility together, a Herald Sun article revealed.

Two stable buildings feature 80 horse boxes. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale

The couple are no longer involved with Seven Daughters, Mr Lawson said.

He said the investment owners are looking at divestments and other opportunities.

Since its last sale, around $4.5 million has been spent on the property’s capital investment and infrastructure, he explained.

“It took about 12 months of planning and consulting with some of the best equine commercial facilities around the world to get to where the property is now,” Mr Lawson said.

“The owners have done a really top quality job so the next buyers are going to be a lucky group.

“It’s really state-of-the-art stuff.”

Plenty to like about current facility

C4 Architects’ equestrian designs’ Luke Jones, who drew up the original master plan for the property, said professional racehorse trainers or owners were the most likely people to purchase the property.

“This is very much a professional piece of infrastructure and if you’re a racehorse trainer looking to just walk into a property, having all these details already available is brilliant,” he said.

“The good thing about buying an established property like this one is that you’re ready to go and you can start training tomorrow, whereas if you buy a vacant property that you have to develop, it can be a two-year process before you can train your horses on it.”

The recently renovated three-bedroom cottage is an ideal manager’s residence. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale

Seven Daughters could see a sale such as that of Fenwick Farm on the Gold Coast, where the 33ha equine facility sold under the hammer in January for $5.95 million.

Ray White Commercial Gold Coast director Michael Willems said the local buyer had equine interests and was keen to buy their own horse farm.

Figures from both Harness Racing Victoria and AgriFutures Australia also back up the interest in equine properties, with the former body’s website revealing the state’s harness racing industry generates $600 million for the economy every year.

The sector also sustained more than 4,300 jobs in FY2021, including around 1,600 trainers and drivers and 1,200 stablehands.

The thoroughbred racing industry as a whole is worth around $5 billion a year to the Australian economy, with the country’s breeding sector being the second largest in the world and contributing $1.16 million to the economy, according to AgriFutures Australia.

The racing industry also employs more than 65,000 people.

Mr Jones was confident that Seven Daughters would most likely sell well and swiftly with the property having superb land, which had been well looked after even before its last sale, while Cardigan and the Ballarat precinct was home to plenty of racehorse trainers.

“There’s a real market for walk-in walk-out thoroughbred training set ups and there are definitely people in the racing industry who would die for a facility like this one,” he said.

Seven Daughters is for sale via expressions of interest, which close Wednesday, July 6 at 4pm, and has a price guide of $7 million.