As Inglis approaches 150 years of service to the Australasian thoroughbred industry, Managing Director Mark Webster today announced that the company will relocate its head office and auction facilities from Newmarket in Randwick to Warwick Farm to position itself for the long term.
Inglis acquired 26 acres of land adjoining the Warwick Farm Racecourse from the Australian Turf Club in 2009 as an option for the future, and after recently achieving a rezoning of the Newmarket site will now proceed with relocation plans. It is anticipated that the move will occur in three years, during the spring of 2018. Inglis expects the first major yearling sales at the new facility to be conducted in early 2019.
After an exhaustive initial review in 2009 and again more recently, it was determined that Warwick Farm presented the most ideal relocation option. It is the only thoroughbred racing and training precinct in the Sydney metropolitan area with enough freehold land available to accommodate a world class thoroughbred sales complex. Located adjacent to the Georges River and overlooking Chipping Norton Lake, Warwick Farm Racecourse is often described as Sydney's garden racecourse with many mature trees and open space only 25kms from the Sydney CBD and 20kms from Sydney International Airport. It lends itself to a development of this type that will invigorate the surrounding equine precinct and create something befitting the high standard of thoroughbreds that Inglis offers on behalf of its clients from around Australia and New Zealand.
Looking into the future, the site will also benefit from an enormous amount of investment in the Liverpool area led by the second Sydney Airport(www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au)to be constructed 20kms to the west at Badgery's Creek. The new Inglis facility will be located in between two large international airports, only 25 minutes drive to each airport and both accessible by rail.
The Commonwealth and NSW Government funded $11 billion WestConnex(www.westconnex.com.au)project is already underway, which will provide significant upgrades to the ring road network around Sydney, including duplicating the M5 tunnels by 2019 to improve travel time by road from the Sydney CBD and Eastern Suburbs. The site already offers tremendous access from the Hunter Valley, Hawkesbury region and Southern NSW via the M5 and M7 removing the need to travel through the CBD.
Warwick Farm is one of four metropolitan racecourses in Sydney and is a major training precinct, servicing 44 resident trainers and at least 800 horses in training. It is home to many of Australia's leading trainers, and as a major thoroughbred community the site is well serviced by veterinarians, farriers, feed merchants, transport operators and other equine suppliers. Warwick Farm is also easily accessible from Rosehill Racecourse, just 15kms to the north.
"Inglis secured DA approval in 2012 from Liverpool Council to develop a state of the art sales facility at Warwick Farm with up to 1000 stables and a fully enclosed selling auditorium. Our recent introduction of ringside dining at Newmarket was a great success; we will be able to expand this level of service to many more clients at Warwick Farm. There will be plenty of open green space for vendors to entertain buyers and significantly more parade areas than any existing sales complex," said Webster.
"It will also be possible to service the complex with a ring road for vehicles, including resort style electric club cars for the convenience of major clients. Visitors will have access to 2000 car parking spots, significantly more than the 400 currently available at Newmarket. We are also working towards incorporating a hotel on our site to accommodate guests, with a range of hospitality facilities including a bar, micro-brewery, day spa, cafe and restaurants. This will supplement the recently established Holiday Inn Hotel opposite the racecourse on the Hume Highway.
"At our major sales, VIP's will also enjoy our chauffer driven fleet of Audi's from the City and Eastern Suburbs where they will be hosted by our preferred accommodation partners such as The Star, The Intercontinental and Crowne Plaza, whilst also having the option to reside onsite or nearby the complex of one of the many hotels available in the Liverpool area. We look forward to working with our major partners including TABcorp to optimise this opportunity for all involved. Our goal is to create the best thoroughbred horse sales facility in the world that honours our heritage and services the Australasian thoroughbred industry for the next 100 years, full stop," Webster said.
Inglis has relocated operations throughout its history, commencing with the move from the horse bazaar at 244 Pitt Street in the Sydney CBD to the 4 acre site at Camperdown, whilst also initially leasing the Newmarket premises in Randwick before its purchase in 1917. The thoroughbred sales complex at Oaklands Junction which is 40 minutes' drive from the Melbourne CBD was acquired from Dalgety Bloodstock in 1994 after that operation had itself outgrown its previous location at Ascot Vale. The spacious Oaklands facility is now a popular destination for vendors and buyers.
"It's worth noting that other major thoroughbred sales companies have followed this path successfully in the past. Tattersalls relocation from London to Newmarket and the move from Trentham near Wellington to Karaka outside Auckland in New Zealand are both good examples. The Tattersalls complex in Newmarket is more than 100kms from London and 150kms from Heathrow Airport, whilst Karaka is more than 30kms from Auckland." Webster points out.
"It has been a tradition for many yearling buyers to travel all over NSW leading up to the Easter Sale to inspect various drafts of yearlings on farms, when you put this into perspective the short trip out to Warwick Farm to inspect an entire catalogue of yearlings should be relatively easy going. As Warwick Farm is only 25kms from the CBD our clients will still enjoy Sydney's nightlife, hotels, restaurants and beaches whilst having access to superior facilities for selecting and buying racehorses and breeding stock. They will also benefit from the rapid transformation of the Liverpool area and massive investment in the region. The acquisition of a larger parcel of land provides for the continued growth of our company into the future to satisfy an increasing appetite for Australian bloodstock from international markets," adds Webster.
