When the opportunity to purchase the 260-acre Victorian property, formerly known as Rockmount, arose the family moved quickly and earlier this month took full charge.
“It’s in full swing. We took over on July 12 and it’s all systems go now,” Leneva Director Vandersluys said. “It’s always been something I wanted to do. I’ve grown up on farms and my sister and I have always had a big involvement with horses – she was a champion show jumping rider.
“I’ve always had a lot of racehorses and in the last couple of years we’ve bought and sold a few weanlings and yearlings.
“The interest continued and this popped up and we saw it as an opportunity to take and it’s all quite surreal now.”
Leneva Park
The foundation of the business will be centred on pre-training and agistment with breaking-in services also offered.
“Justine Hales will be managing the pre-training side and we’re very lucky to have got her. She’ll be terrific for business,” Vandersluys said.
“Justine Hales will be managing the pre-training side and we’re very lucky to have got her.” – Luke Vandersluys.
“Pre-trainers and agistment will be the focus and there is also a lot of potential for broodmares, foaling and weaning and yearlings, but we want to focus on the pre-trainers and spelling to start with.”
The ideally laid out property was very much a walk in and open the gates scenario.
“Part of the deal we did was that we basically secured everything on the property as far as all the tractors, four wheelers and equipment,” Vandersluys said.
“There’s two houses and six units here so all the staff live on the property. Basically, we took over on the Friday and we were in full operation on the Monday so there wasn’t anything that we had to do, it was all ready to go.
Leneva Park was fully set-up when purchased by the Vandersluys
“Now it’s just about getting the clientele. Justine has got a lot lined up for when she starts in the coming weeks so I’m sure it will all take off. We’re in discussions with a lot of people and we’ll continue to build the business.
“Mitchell Brown will now do a bit of bloodstock work for me and between me and Swettenham he’ll have his hands fairly full.”
Racing interests
Vandersluys is also looking forward to the next few months on the racetrack.
“Hopefully, we’ve got an exciting spring ahead of us. We’re racing a few horses like Saone (NZ) (Burgundy {NZ}), who ran a huge race first-up at Bendigo,” he said. “She flashed home for third and then won the other day at Ballarat.
“We feel we might have an Oaks filly on our hands, Lindsey Smith has got her.”
Vandersluys also has high hopes for 2-year-old The Ladies Man (Zoustar), a half-brother to the G1 South Australia Derby winner Qafila (Not A Single Doubt). He was a $220,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling sale purchase by Brad Spicer out of Attunga Stud’s draft.
“He’s at Lindsay Park and had a couple of jump-outs and a trial win,” Vandersluys said. “He’ll have another trial in late August and hopefully he’ll be on a Guineas path.”
Overseas test
While his pre-training manager Justine Hales is looking forward to her new role, she has a major overseas adventure to experience beforehand.
She leaves next week to take part in the Mongol Derby, an equestrian endurance race over 1000km that recreates the horse messenger system developed by Ghengis Khan in 1224.
The terrain includes mountain passes, green open valleys, wooded hills, river crossings, wetland and floodplains, sandy semi-arid dunes, rolling hills, dry riverbeds and open territory with riders changing horses every 40 km at support stations.
Justine Hales will manage the pre-training aspect after she takes part in the Mongol Derby
“It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a few years now,” Hales said. “I’ve teamed up to do it with a New Zealand girl, Elise Stables from Cambridge.”
“It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a few years now.” – Justine Hales.
Hales has also had to overcome a health set-back to take part in the Derby, first established in 2009.
“I only had my gall bladder taken out four weeks ago, but that shouldn’t worry me,” she said. “I get back on August 20 and start at Leneva on September 2 – I think I’ll need that break.”
Hales is well-known in racing circles as she was formerly Chris Waller’s Melbourne forewoman and then worked as Ciaron Maher’s Pakenham Property Manager.
“It’s more of a challenge working here with different trainers and we’re hoping to get up to about 50 in work,” Hales said.
“There are full pre-training facilities with an 1100 metre rubber based track with a bit of an uphill gradient, a walker, a water walker, a treadmill and they’re putting in a dressage arena.”
