Nick Hodges admits he never thought he and his family would be handed the keys to the picturesque and highly successful breeding operation Ashleigh Thoroughbreds by longtime friends and confidantes Senga Bissett and Ivan Woodford-Smith. But opportunity knocked and in Hodges’ words, “We just had to take the opportunity”.
It was announced last week that the Hodges, who own and operate nearby Riversdale Stud, have purchased Ashleigh Thoroughbreds – a 330-acre rural property along Cressfield Road, outside of Scone - in an off-market transaction.
Nick and Jasmine Hodges with their four sons Oliver, Lincoln, Edward and Dougal.
Hodges told TDN AusNZ he is confident it will prove a savvy business acquisition and said his family is terribly excited about what lies ahead.
“It’s a chance for us to take the next step, really,” Hodges said.
“Riversdale has always been a beautiful, productive farm, but the one thing we have lacked is hills. It gives us some beautiful hills to grow out yearlings.
“Riversdale has always been a beautiful, productive farm, but the one thing we have lacked is hills. It (Ashleigh Thoroughbreds) gives us some beautiful hills to grow out yearlings.” - Nick Hodges
“Between the two places, it makes for a really good balance between hill country and then irrigation flats.
“That country out there, it’s renowned for raising good horses. Senga herself had Captivant go to stud this year, but she also bred and raced (G1 Coolmore Classic winner) Danii Martine and she bred (G1 VRC Oaks winner) Bulla Borghese, who has turned into a bit of a blue hen.
“You’ve got Cressfield Stud, Robrick Lodge, Willow Park Stud and Middlebrook Valley Lodge all very successful farms up there, so we’re in good company which is great.
Riversdale Stud
“It’s awesome, we’re really excited about the future. We can’t wait.”
Hodges explained that having two properties will make life easier when it comes to preparing drafts for sales.
“Ashleigh has got 23 boxes up there, a walking machine and all of the facilities that we need, so it allows us to run drafts in parallel. Sometimes you run into trouble when you’ve got certain horses in for certain sales and then you’ve got other sales coming up… it’s a bit of a balancing act, but with the purchase of Ashleigh, it will give us a lot more room to do bigger drafts,” he said.
“The client base has really increased and the quality has increased over the last few years, especially at Riversdale, so we were looking for something; we never expected this to come up, but when it did, we just had to take the opportunity.”
“The client base has really increased and the quality has increased over the last few years, especially at Riversdale, so we were looking for something; we never expected this to come up, but when it did, we just had to take the opportunity.” - Nick Hodges
Established by Peter and Alison Hodges – Nick’s parents, Riversdale Farm has been a family owned and operated thoroughbred stud for over 35 years. Nick and his wife Jasmine took over the business in December 2016.
Riversdale Farm is primarily a broodmare farm, specialising in foaling down mares, reproduction and yearling preparation.
The Hodges have enjoyed great success, with Riversdale Farm graduates including Group 1 winners Nettoyer (Sebring) and Samadoubt (Not A Single Doubt), as well as Group 3 winners Meryl (Epaulette) and Irukandji (Dundeel {NZ}).
They also consigned the recently retired multiple Group 1 hero Behemoth (All Too Hard) at the 2017 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale.
In the blood
Nick Hodges grew up on the family farm at Scone riding motorbikes. He studied geology at university and worked as a geologist for six months, before coming to the realisation that his future was in the thoroughbred industry, just like elder family members.
Nick Hodges
“It’s almost come full circle, my pop (Ted Hodges) developed Willow Park Stud as an Apaloosa Quarter Horse Stud, originally, and then Dad bought that off him. I moved down to Riversdale when I was two,” Hodges explained.
“I studied geology and worked as a geo before getting back into the horses. I worked in Kentucky, Newmarket and Ireland and when I was travelling Dad rang me up and said, ‘If you like travelling keep doing it, if you want the farm to be here when you come home, you’d better come home now because I’ve had enough’.
“I studied geology and worked as a geo before getting back into the horses. I worked in Kentucky, Newmarket and Ireland and when I was travelling Dad rang me up and said, ‘If you like travelling keep doing it, if you want the farm to be here when you come home, you’d better come home now because I’ve had enough'.” - Nick Hodges
“I figured it was too good an opportunity to pass up, so I came back and took over the management of the place and then met Jasmine and started a family.”
Short-term plans
The Hodges have six months to get organised before making the move, which takes 10 minutes by car.
Between now and then, they will sell Riversdale North which is 116 acres of fully fenced horse country. Riversdale North, which is part of Riversdale Farm, was formerly called Flametree Stud when owned by Ross Warnock.
Riversdale Stud
“It’s an extended settlement, it’s not until May, which works out well because it gives Ashleigh a chance to sell their stock and it gives us a chance to get through until the end of the breeding season. The first two months of the year is always busy with your sales - Magics and (Inglis) Classic – after that it gives us time to make the transition. There will be a bit of a transition period,” said Hodges.
“We’re going to sell Riversdale North, which will be auctioned mid-December. It will be a lovely little property for someone to have broodmares or whatever they want to do… yearling prep. It’s got all the facilities.”
Hodges revealed their four kids – Oliver (who is at school in Sydney), Lincoln, Eddie and Dougal - were initially disappointed when told they would be moving, even though it’s not far, but they have since come around.
“The kids were a bit shocked and upset when we told them we were moving, but we took them up there to Ashleigh and had lunch with Senga the other day and now they keep nagging me as to when we can move up there permanently,” he said.
“The kids were a bit shocked and upset when we told them we were moving, but we took them up there to Ashleigh and had lunch with Senga the other day and now they keep nagging me as to when we can move up there permanently.” - Nick Hodges
“Bringing them up in that sort of environment is ideal, it gets us off the highway here and up into the picturesque Cressfield area.
“It’s only just around the corner from where Mum and Dad are now, they’re only two paddocks away. They’re retired now. It brings us closer to them; the kids will be able to ride their motorbikes over to see their grandparents.”
High praise for Senga Bissett
Hodges said it was an honour to purchase such a beautiful property – one with a tremendous track record – from Senga Bissett, who has been a dear friend of the Hodges family for a long time.
“I grew up with Senga, we spent a lot of time over there. Mum was really great friends and my brother and I were really great mates with her son, Mark. We were around there all the time, so we grew up with Senga and then when she sold Willow Park Stud to Glenn Burrows and moved to Ashleigh, where she is now, I went up and worked for her, preparing the yearlings and things like that, and then I worked for her at the sales,” Hodges commented.
Ivan Woodford-Smith and Senga Bissett | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Ashleigh Thoroughbreds has enjoyed a long and successful connection with Riversdale, with the two farms, along with Byerley Stud, teaming up in the past to offer yearlings under the banner of Southern Cross Breeders.
“We originally sold yearlings under Ashleigh-Riversdale and then that evolved to incorporate Byerley Stud, which then gave us Southern Cross Breeders, which went for a good few years, which was fantastic,” said Hodges.
“We all got a bit bigger and Jas and I wanted to make our own way, so that’s when we separated from Southern Cross and started selling under Riversdale.
“We all got a bit bigger and Jas and I wanted to make our own way, so that’s when we separated from Southern Cross and started selling under Riversdale.” - Nick Hodges
“It was fantastic selling under Southern Cross for those years, it was a great idea. We originally had four or five each for the main sales, then we ended up with 15-20 combined, which makes for a really good standout draft. It worked really well.”
