Ridgmont Farm

Horse racing loves fresh, exciting new things, and Ridgmont Farm fits all those brackets while bringing together strong industry knowledge and experience under their umbrella. The team at Ridgmont Farm, run by proprietor Andrew Dunneman, purchased a property in Australia’s renowned horse country, the Hunter Valley, and have given it a complete makeover to upgrade all the facilities with the aim of building Ridgmont Farm into a property focused on a quality racing product. They will present their eagerly awaited inaugural draft of yearlings at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Dunemann began his sporting career young, making his NRL debut at seventeen, then moved into coaching after a fifteen season playing career. For the past eight years, Dunemann has been working in various aspects of horse racing to broaden his knowledge base, and together with an established property, and an experienced team, Ridgmont Farms looks like a farm going places.

Ridgmont Farm’s inaugural Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft will feature thirteen yearlings with nine of them in book one and each yearling represents the investment Ridgmont Farm have put into upgrading both the property and their broodmare band.

The draft presented by Ridgmont Farm is headed by two colts by two of the best stallions to ever stand in Australia. Exceed and Excel continues to fire as a prolific winner of two year-old stakes races whilst Lonhro, the sire of the winners of 17 individual Gr1 races, continues to be well sought after in his twilight.

Not many yearlings by Champion Sire Lonhro end up in the marketplace, and his colt, Lot 61, is the first foal of group placed winner Light Up The Room (So You Think), with a strong colonial family behind his pedigree. He has the credentials to be on everyone’s final list.

Lot 513 is no different, with this Exceed and Excel colt’s dam Urban Rocket being a three-quarter sister

to eight-time stakes winner, including the Gr1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp, Maarek. Urban Rocket is out of Ruby Rocket, who won five races including two Listed races and this colt hails from a great European family. Importantly, Urban Rocket’s siblings are doing it in the breeding barn.

Grey like her third dam Emancipation, Lot 634 is a Deep Field filly whose dam is the seven-time stakes winner, and Gr1 runner up Avenue (Anabaa), a sister to Gr1 winner Virage de Fortune (dam of group placed winner Subedar). Virage De Fortune is proven to be an exceptional granddam as well. The great Emancipation has been responsible through her deeds of leaving high class Gr2 winner and Gr1 placed Royal Pardon, as well as the dams of Railings and Magneto. Avenue’s five foals to race are all winners.

Gr1 winning sprinter Pierata was a tough racehorse over several seasons, and his first crop yearling filly, Lot 349, is the second foal of the multiple winning mare See Me

Rock (Sepoy) including a six-length maiden win at her third start, and is a daughter of Listed winner and Gr1 placed Born To Rock.

Proven international sire Night of Thunder’s yearling colt, Lot 113, is the first foal of Mia Diva (Exceed and Excel) who was a winner at two, and is a full sister to group winner Queen of Bermuda and a half-sister to the progressive Gr3 placegetter, Crazyland.

Dunemann’s Gr1 winner and now successful sire Spirit of Boom is represented by a colt, Lot 892, who is a threequarter sibling to Gr1 winner Jonker (Spirit of Boom), being out of Jonker’s winning half-sister Gandiva (Magic Albert). This is the family of Commands, Fair Trade, Fiscal Fantasy, and further back to Eight Carat.

The Dundeel colt, Lot 363, is the second foal of multiple winning Track Record holder mare Shantou (Sepoy), a daughter of group winner and Gr1 placed Shanzero, making her a half-sister to group placed winner Hill Spy. This Dundeel colt is from the Danestorm family.

An American Pharoah colt, Lot 564, is out of the four-time Sydney metropolitan winning mare Yuma Desert (Not a Single Doubt) whose full brother won his first two races at two, then placed in the Listed Singapore Juvenile Championship at his third start and is now the winner of six races. She is also a half-sister to the Melbourne stakes placed Sandy Prince.

American Gr1 winner Frosted (Tapit) shares a sire with 2022’s best racehorse, Flightline, and Frosted’s yearling colt, Lot 853, is from a winning family with his dam and granddam both being multiple winners. This colt’s dam Face Forward is a multiple Flemington straight course victor and showed serious ability on the racetrack.

Ridgmont Farm will also present four yearlings in book two by Alabama Express, Calyx, and Menari.

What is the best horse you have sold through Magic Millions?

I sold Finance Tycoon who earnt $961,000 and is now at stud. Boomtown Lass who earnt $783,150. My main focus since coming into the industry has been buying yearlings and broodmares and have been involved in selling only around eight yearlings at Magic Millions. I’m looking forward to adding to that in the upcoming years with our first draft for Ridgmont Farm.

When assessing breeding which influences/key horses do you mainly look for?

I am a big believer in the progeny of an exceptional mare being the one who does it at stud. I also will not buy a mare who is placed only, nor her progeny. There are exceptions to every rule and one will make a fool of you but the stats don’t lie. I do buy unraced mares. The background information becomes very important and in fact I think being unraced can be a major positive.

Do you still get butterflies as your yearling enters the ring?

I think when the butterflies go, much like in sport, it is time to probably give it away.

What makes Magic Millions at the Gold Coast such a success?

It is what racing is all about… The experience. Nobody does that better than the Magic Millions carnival fortnight. Racing for most people is not about dollars and cents, it’s about the experience and use of their disposable income.

Where is the most unusual place you’ve visited?

Port Moresby, it is very different to Australia yet so close. I’ve seen some things there you would never see anywhere else including a blind man who had a pet 5m crocodile he would sit on and even put his head in its mouth. What’s the coldest you’ve ever been?

I’ve lived in England, Canberra and Scone and grew up in Toowoomba. They can be as bad as each other at times.

What songs take you back to your teen years?

Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston were my go to songs as pump-up music before footy games along with Eye Of The Tiger.

What drives you nuts about social media?

Keyboard Warriors. Tough on social media, most weak as you know what when not behind the keyboard.