Green pastures driving Hughes' Carinya Lodge

When Tim Hughes and his wife Jackie purchased Cloud Valley Farm just over a decade ago with a dream to turn it into a spelling and pre-training facility for the best trainers, Hughes applied the same lessons he had learned in his previous successes both in the corporate world and as a horse owner.

Hughes had a high-profile career working as media mogul Reg Grundy's right-hand man as well as with Macquarie Bank and Macquarie Media but decided to scale back his corporate interests in 2008, with Cloud Valley Farm a key plank in the plan.

In the decade prior to that, his thoroughbred interests had grown significantly and he had enjoyed terrific success in his part-ownership of horses such as Group 1 winning mares Virage De Fortune (Anabaa {USA}) and Serenade Rose (Stravinsky {USA}) as well as the likes of The Fuzz (NZ) (Danasinga), Von Costa De Hero (Encosta de Lago) and Royal Asscher (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}).

He had also ramped up his breeding interests, working closely with Yarraman Park, applying the principle which had served him so well in his 'day job' and still does to this day.

"I applied what I learned in business to the racing industry and that is to surround yourself with people who are much better than yourself," Hughes told TDN AusNZ.

"James Bester bought most of the horses for me. He bought Virage De Fortune for $70,000, and I raced her with a few friends and she won over $1 million in prizemoney and we sold her for 50 times what we paid for her within two to three years."

But the acquisition of Cloud Valley Farm, previously owned by radio king John Laws, changed the game for Hughes, and in 2010, he decided he would reduce his racing and breeding numbers and 'put capital into the farm'.

Seeing potential

Hughes saw significant potential in the property, located in the Yarramalong Valley at Ravensdale, about 100 km north of Sydney.

"From all those years racing horses and going to lots of farms, I’d been interested in getting my own farm and I wanted a special place which was close to Sydney, and I could get to easily," he said.

"Given what I’d learned as an owner and visiting other properties, I thought maybe I could start from scratch and start out a spelling farm that horses could do well at all-year around."

"The farm is in a beautiful pristine valley and it's a great environment for horses. Because we are in a valley, we get above average rainfall, yet we get a mild climate, I thought this would be an ideal place for horses to rejuvenate."

"I then built a pre-training and breaking-in centre and it has gone on from there."

The result is Carinya Lodge, an operation which has been an asset to some of Australia's leading trainers, who have used it to break-in and educate their young horses and then allow their premium racehorses to rest and recover on the property.

Getting the balance right

The local climate ensures year-round lush pastures, while Hughes ensures that the scale of the operation is closely monitored so to not compromise on that promise of quality.

"It's not about numbers for us. It’s always been about quality and trying to get results from the horses that spell here. I've built it out with large individual paddocks and also much larger paddocks, which fillies and geldings can run themselves around and just be horses," he said.

"Our focus is creating a safe and pristine environment for the horses. We do a lot of paddock management, fertilising and irrigation, making sure the place is in good nick."

"If you don’t overstock your property, the horses really do well. That's what I am focused on. We want 40-50 quality horses that leave here in good order and do well on the racetrack."

The reputation of Carinya Lodge after eight years of operation can be judged not only by the quality of its clients, but the standard of horse that has passed through the farm.

Gallery: Group 1 stars who have grazed the paddocks at Carinya Lodge

The likes of Chris Waller, John O'Shea, Gerald Ryan, Ron Quinton and Bjorn Baker, and more recently Ciaron Maher and Mick Price, utilise the farm's services.

Recent Group 1 winners to have graced (and grazed) the paddocks include Daysee Doom (Domesday), Trapeze Artist (Snitzel), Who Shot Thebarman (NZ) (Yamanin Vital {NZ}), Patrick Erin (NZ) (Gallant Guru), Shillelagh (NZ) (Savabeel), Kenedna (Not A Single Doubt) and Hiyaam (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}).

"It's about the results and the fact is the farm has attracted those really good trainers," Hughes said. "We are a very small part of it, but when the horses come here, they get what the trainers want."

Part of the training program

Hughes says Carniya Lodge, which is managed by former trainer Scott Aspery, aims to form part of the training workflow.

"(Aspery) is a trainer so he knows what a trainer wants. He understands their needs. Because we are close to Sydney, we try to be an extension of the trainer's program. Right from breaking in to pre-training and then when they return to us, they are comfortable with where they are going," he said.

"What we do, is we make sure that the horses are very familiar with the property. When they come back here, they generally spell in the same paddock. We generally feed them in pre-training the same as what they would have when they go into training."

Hughes sees the period of adjustment of a horse between the structures of stable life to the wide-open spaces of the spelling paddock as crucial in ensuring it thrives in its time away from the stable.

"When they arrive here, they let down straight away, because they are familiar with the property and their surroundings. They then just put their head down and enjoy the pasture," he said.

"I think we have a really good reputation that horses do very well when they come here."

Racing passion still burns

Carinya Lodge is Hughes' major interest in thoroughbreds. He has sold off his broodmare band, while he keeps a small interest in about 20 or so racehorses.

But the passion for the horses, fuelled by a father who loved a bet, and built up over his years involved as an owner and breeder, still burns brightly. You can tell when he talks about his favourite current horse, Floki (Hinchinbrook).

"He's a horse that I bred with Harry and Arty Mitchell. We were going to sell him as a yearling but we kept him," he said. "His first start he won by eight lengths and he then won again at his fourth start on a Friday night at Canterbury. Then he did a tendon. That was 18 months ago."

"The future looked pretty grim. But with the help of our vet, Brett Jones, we rehabilitated him at the farm, mainly walking him up around the hills."

The 6-year-old is likely to return to the racetrack for his new trainer Danny Williams this Friday at Canberra, with The Kosciuszko on the radar.

"It’d be great to see him do well. Just to see him race again would be great," Hughes said.

Like any of the horses that pass through Carinya Lodge, for Hughes, it is about seeing them go on and perform on the track.

"We just want to continue to provide a really good service and see the horses leave here in a really good condition. We enjoy to see them race with success," he said.

"We follow them everywhere and it’s great to see them do well."