NEWS
Darley makes major Australian purchase
Posted: Monday, March 24, 2008 5:28 PM
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Darley Stud is in the process of purchasing prominent Australian owner-breeder Bob Ingham’s racing and breeding operation in a deal estimated to be worth more than $500-million, The Daily Telegraph of Australia reported.
The sale includes more than 1,000 Thoroughbreds from one of the nation’s most productive breeding operations, stable complexes at Flemington and Warwick Farm, stud farms at Jerrys Plains in the Hunter Valley and Cootamundra, and a pre-training complex at Belmont Park.
Ingham is regarded as the most successful owner in Australian racing history. His decision to sell his operation came on the eve of the Conrad Jupiters Magic Millions yearling sale, which started Monday.
Ingham's racing manager Trevor Lobb confirmed Ingham’s empire— the largest in the Southern Hemisphere—will be sold to Darley.
“There have been negotiations for the last two weeks or so and the deal has just been finalized,” Lobb told The Daily Telegraph. “It is still subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Board, and we expect that process will take about a month.”
