6 minute read
For the Love of the Horse
ANDREW REICHARD
Steve and Eliza Grant’s Silverdale Farm is looking forward to the 2021 Magic Millions January Yearling Sale with a heightened sense of excitement.
STEVE GRANT IS NO NEOPHYTE IN THE THOROUGHBRED INDUSTRY, HIS INVOLVEMENT GOES BACK TO THE MID 1980S, BUT THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME THAT HE AND ELIZA WILL BE OFFERING A DRAFT OF YEARLINGS AT A MAJOR SALE UNDER THEIR OWN BANNER.
It’s both a new beginning and the culmination of a long and exciting journey in the commercial thoroughbred industry made possibly by Steve Grant’s successful business career. His early days were spent
as a leading macadamia farmer, with holdings in NSW, Qld and South Africa. Steve then moved into property development, notable for the redevelopment and revitalisation of Sydney’s NorWest business park which saw many major companies move their headquarters from inner Sydney out to the Hills district. Along the way Steve picked up many business awards which recognised his contribution to the State and the Region.
Steve’s expertise was put to good use during a nearly three year term as an ATC director during which he advised on various property issues relating to the light rail project adjoining Randwick racecourse. Since leaving the board, he has been retained by the ATC to complete an inspection of all their sites to provide a report on animal welfare issues relating to each location. “I remain on great terms with the ATC and I’m always ready to assist with whatever may be required” he said recently. He is also currently working on his pet project, whish is to organise funding for a Thoroughbred Training Centre in western Sydney, one which focuses on industry participants as well as horses.
“I would love to see the industry create a Centre Of Excellence where career pathways could be provided to facilitate the careers of young men and women who are integral to the overall success of our industry”
Over this period of success in business Steve has been guided by his passion for thoroughbreds, starting off slowly, putting a toe in the water around 1985 with Louis Mihalyka’s Laurel Oak syndicates and gradually expanding his involvement to where it sits today.
“I realised early on that this is a capital intensive business and that to be successful in the way I envisaged, the top end of the commercial market was where it was advisable to be involved. In order to spread the risk, my aim was initially to own a third of say 15 horses rather than just five on my own. As the number of horses grew, with the cost of the best stock also rising to the point where many of the horses we are now involved in have a median price of half a million, this policy is serving me well!
Early on in the piece, Steve struck up a firm friendship with another business couple, Ken and Maree
Lowe and they decided to go halves in most of their thoroughbred investments together. Over the years they have become significant shareholders in the Newgate colts syndicates, in Chris Waller’s Harras syndicates and they remain loyal supporters of Laurel Oak Thoroughbreds. They have also purchased broodmares and various other stock together, the relationship has stood the test of time.
As almost inevitably happens with investment on this scale, Steve found he had an increasing number of well bred fillies and mares retiring off the track, so once again he and Ken commenced a commercial breeding operation, the resulting yearlings being offered on their behalf by various associates in their drafts.
At this point the idea of owning his own boutique farm loomed large in Steve’s mind, and I’ll let him take up the story.
“The logical next step for us was to own our own farm, and although most of our thoroughbreds are in a 50/50 partnership with the Lowes, Eliza and I always dreamed of establishing our own farm. After much searching, I settled on a couple of adjoining properties at Avoca in the fertile NSW Southern Highlands. We have since added two more neighbouring properties to increase the holding to about 270 acres.
Over the past two years we’ve built new barns and maintenance facilities, upgraded the existing infrastructure, installed new fencing, done extensive drainage and landscaping, all to the highest standards we could achieve. Lots of the ideas we based on were cherry picked from the best designs I’ve seen while touring the world’s leading stud farms and training facilities over the years and I’ve added my own ideas trying to incorporate the best tips I’ve picked up during a long career in building and development.
No matter how good our facilities are, you’re only as good as your key people and I’m delighted to have vastly experienced Rob Petith as general manager with the brilliant Jenny Sassier as farm manager, she’s been here all the way along.”
If you get a chance to visit Silverdale, you will appreciate that Steve has been quite conservative in his description, the farm can best be described as a showplace, but one that reflects the knowledge of its chief architect and one that’s designed with the health and safety of its thoroughbred inhabitants as the key feature of its design.
Those of my vintage, I trust there are many of you, will recall the earlier days of the NSW Southern Highlands where stallions such as Dorica Star stood, where Richard Turnley bred and stood Golden Slipper sire Victory Prince and where Peter Stewart and Brigitte Woodford-Smith bred Melbourne Cup winner Just A Dash. It wasn’t the height of fashion in those earlier years, but things have certainly changed over recent times. Several of Australia’s leading owner breeders have established high quality operations there: starting with Dato Tan Chin Nam’s Think Big Stud which is now Lime Country Thoroughbreds operated by Greg and Jo Griffin; Ray Willis’s Rheinwood Pastoral Co; John Muir’s Milburn Creek, Woodpark Stud, Paul Fudge’s Waratah Thoroughbreds and Ricky Surace’s B2B, just to name a few. Rob and Gai Waterhouse’s beautiful “Fiorente” is a recent acquisition located in the same area.
There is nothing more satisfying in the thoroughbred industry than breeding a winner, except perhaps having your judgement vindicated by achieving good prices in the sale ring along the way. Both are hard to do, but Steve Grant has his sights firmly set on achieving this goal.
WE WANT TO PROVIDE THE BEST ENVIRONMENT POSSIBLE FOR THE HORSES, WE WANT TO BREED GR.1 WINNERS, HIGH CLASS STAKES WINNERS, AND WE FEEL IF WE CAN GET IT RIGHT THEN SALE PRICES WILL HELP TO PAY OUR WAY.
I’ve been very fortunate to have had wonderful help from my neighbours Greg and Jo Griffin at Lime Country and John Muir and Scott Holcombe at Milburn Creek with selling our yearlings before this farm, I can’t thank them enough.
Now, it’s an exciting new challenge for Silverdale as the first sale of the year at Magic Millions on the beautiful Gold Coast is always a big event in our calendar year. What will the market be like, how do the yearlings by new sires shape up, and it’s a chance to catch up with all our friends in the industry.
This year will be extra special, Eliza and I have those well known butterflies in our stomachs as we embark on what quite is new for us, selling from our own farm. But it’s a healthy nervousness I’m sure our team and the five top quality yearlings will do us proud.”
