The building of Vinery

It was 20 years ago that Peter Orton walked into Vinery Stud, looking to build a new Australian thoroughbred brand basically from scratch.

The Vinery name had come to Australia two years earlier in 1998, initially under the ownership of American George Hoffmeister, who had an established breeding operation in the United States. Soon after German Dr Tom Simon took control with Vinery having a prime Hunter Valley farm in the original Segenhoe property, as well as Dr Simon's own breeding operation at Roselands in Victoria.

Determined to make a splash in a burgeoning market, Dr Simon intended to shuttle stallions from Vinery in America to capitalise on what he saw as a real opportunity in Australia.

What he needed was a local General Manager, who could not only execute his strategy but build their own, utilising substantial local knowledge and connections to ensure the prosperity and success of Vinery in Australia.

Orton came with impeccable credentials. He had worked with John Messara for 17 years, building the Arrowfield business up from standing one stallion, Rancher, at Middlebrook Park, to building and establishing a new farm at Jerrys Plains in 1989. He then helped establish Arrowfield Stud's current base in 1996 after the sale of the Jerrys Plains property to Coolmore.

Along the way, Orton had helped Messara initially launch the stallion which would redefine Australian breeding for the next generation, Danehill (USA), and had overseen the growth of two of Danehill's sons, Flying Spur and Danzero, to become star stallions in their own right. With another superstar son of Danehill in Redoute's Choice about to launch his breeding career at Arrowfield in 2000, the farm was at the peak of its powers when Orton took the opportunity to move up the road and kickstart Vinery's interests in Australia.

He remembers walking onto the farm on that first day, excited and nervous in equal measures about the task that lay ahead of him.

"It's always daunting taking on a new role. But I knew the farm well and I knew the people that were here, so the transition wasn't too difficult. I had only moved 2km down the road," he said.

"At the time, the decision to move from one role to another was a difficult one because the position I had at Arrowfield as manager was the best one available. Taking on the Vinery project was really an opportunity to take on another challenge."

Orton's remit was fairly straightforward, albeit a little intimidating, with Dr Simon wanting to establish a world-class broodmare band and service them with world-class stallions. In a competitive environment, the new General Manager was very much aware of the challenges he would have to face, the most pressing of which was establishing a brand and a reputation.

"To begin with a new name and to be right in the heart of it all, on the original Segenhoe property, was an interesting challenge. We had to establish a new operation under a new name, unfamiliar to the whole business and you had to start from scratch. We had to get some branding out there," Orton said.

The outcross phenomenon

The considerable asset from the outset that Vinery had was its access to the quality of stallions from America. Looking at what was on offer, and very much aware of the growing dominance of the Danehill line in Australia, Orton plotted a strategy which for many years would define Vinery's Australian operations.

"Fortunately, we were able to access horses of the calibre of Red Ransom and several other stallions that were already proven in America," he said.

"It was at a time of great optimism for the industry. There was a lot of opportunity there and shuttling was really hitting full swing fuelled by a market which had an open mind when it came to shuttle stallions.

"Red Ransom was proven worldwide at that stage, so he came in and then we found Mossman. One of the reasons behind standing the stallions we did, was that I had just came from a farm that was standing Flying Spur and Danzero and had at one stage stood Danehill and was just about to stand Redoute's Choice.

"To get another son of Danehill of that calibre was going to be difficult. So we positioned ourselves in the market where we could access outcross stallions such as Red Ransom and Mossman, and then More Than Ready. That's how we ended up kicking off the business and ensuring we had a point of difference."

It was important for Orton and Dr Simon to establish that Vinery was anything but 'Arrowfield-Lite', although Orton said the experience of working and setting up several farms with Messara was crucial to Vinery's early success.

"The background I had leading into that was fantastic. Certainly, working with John from the early days of Middlebrook Park, and then down to Jerrys Plains and to the current base and getting the opportunity to build those two farms," he said.

"I guess the thing is, you get the chance to make so many mistakes, you learn a lot. That's an important aspect of this business. It’s such a positive and enthusiastic business and the more you drive forward, the more people appreciate you.

"To be a part of Arrowfield for 17 years and having taken that journey from Middlebrook where we had 11 mares and one stallion to what it was with Redoute's Choice arriving, it was a hell of an experience.

"I also had the chance to work in Kentucky, so I knew that side of the business. That sort of experience was unique and gave me that ability to foster the relationship with our sister farm in America."

The importance of good people

While horses are obviously key to any major stud, the quality of people is what drives things forward. Again, Orton had a very determined strategy about the people he wanted to surround himself with, and that approach is what has underpinned so much of the stud's success in the 20 years that have passed.

"There's a particular way we like to run the business at Vinery. It's about the quality of the people. We like straight-forward people who are very good horsemen. We want people who are honest and loyal. There were good people here already when I started and we have brought some great people in along the way," he said.

"My PA has been with me for 25 years and (Bloodstock Manager) Adam White has been here for 20 years. My Stud Manager has been here for 10-12 years. They are good people that become part of the business, and they know what you want to achieve and they get on and utilise their skills. The people are so vital for how we run this farm."

The third plank of Vinery's success has been the farm itself. Orton said he inherited a wonderful property, which while it needed some TLC at the time, was perfect to facilitate Vinery's ambitions for Australia.

"It was at a good stage when I arrived. You can't buy time and a lot of the things we needed were already established. But the farm needed a lot of work from a maintenance perspective, which was good in a sense because it gives you the opportunity to do more than just renovate. You can do a big overhaul," he said.

"We put in a new stallion complex, added a new yearling complex and were able to utilise a lot of facilities that were already here.

"It’s just such a beautiful farm. It’s a naturally spectacular farm. It’s got good irrigated flats, but we've also got undulating land and the valleys at the back. They are quite unique. Utilising that was key to it as was an opportunity to upgrade what was here. We updated it and steered it towards the facilities we needed towards the future. It has come together beautifully.

"We were aware of the importance of the whole area. It's got such a great feel and we didn’t want to overpower that either. The farm continues to respect the history that was here and we have brought the facilities up to a state of the art level."

The power of the partnership

All businesses face challenges, and five years in, it became clear that Dr Simon needed to cut back on his thoroughbred interests. At a point where Vinery was just starting to bloom, its immediate future was under threat. Orton saw opportunity in a crisis and helped facilitate a solution which saw Dr Simon form a partnership with several of Australia's leading breeders. The Victorian arm was sold off and the focus was very much on the heart of the business in the Hunter Valley.

That partnership has evolved into the current ownership group, which includes Alan Green, David Paradice, Gerry Harvey, Greg Perry, Neil Werrett and Steve McCann, something which Orton believes has become a tremendous asset.

"When it became clear that Dr Simon was looking to reduce his interests, it seemed a shame that Vinery may be broken up and that's when we came up with a theory that we would have a group of investors," he said.

"We all had our own individual approaches and many of them had their own things going on, but we came together on stallion opportunities and had a combined approach to building the stallion offering.

"We all race a lot of horses and in this game, sometimes it's not a matter of how much money you have, it’s the ability to access a horse. Hopefully, within this group, we have that. We have come up with a couple of horses we have raced and that gives us a closer opportunity to access those horses."

Legacy well-poised to continue

Vinery has celebrated a myriad of successes in the past 20 years, many of them on the track through the iconic green with a white V, but most satisfying for Orton has been the way in which the stud's stallions, and the strategy which he pioneered with them, have shaped the direction of the thoroughbred breed in Australia.

"It is very satisfying to sit back and watch the influence and change these stallions make. Being involved with Danehill from the beginning and seeing him come into the industry and make such an impact, when there was such a need for fresh blood in the industry, gave me a sense of that," he said.

"Having a genetic balance is a key aspect of any level of farming, and if you have a theory and you can see a pathway through the industry and you can get your team and steer them through that and go for it, it's very satisfying to see that evolve."

The development of the horses that have graced the lush paddocks of the Vinery, names that live on like Red Ransom (USA), Mossman and More Than Ready (USA), as well as the staff that have worked with him, are what he feels is his greatest legacy to the business.

"I think through some of the horses we have had here, we have created the opportunity for them to have great legacies through their bloodlines," he said.

"Then there's the people. A number of young people that have come off this farm have gone on to run other businesses and in that regard it has been a great education farm, a lot of people go on after coming through."

Orton doesn't see his stint at Vinery ending any time soon but doesn't doubt that if he had to walk out the door tomorrow that the farm would continue to go from strength to strength.

"My job is as a professional manager, so I always keep my perspective on that. You have to do that, or you lose balance on it all. I don't think I'm irreplaceable by any means," he said.

"I've got a great team here and I could step down at any time and not cause any disruption, I don’t plan to do that. I'm feeling ok, so plan to be here for a little while yet."