The end of this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale signalled the start of a new chapter for Stephens, who together with his partner Alanna Richards, has set up Palm Equine - a spelling and pre-training operation situated in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges.
“We have recently taken over a lease of the training facilities at Yungaburra, which is owned by David and Jenny Moodie, and we are very grateful to them for entrusting us with the property,” Stephens said.
“We have recently taken over a lease of the training facilities at Yungaburra, which is owned by David and Jenny Moodie, and we are very grateful to them for entrusting us with the property.” - Troy Stephens
“We’re both really excited about the venture. It’s a very unique, relaxed environment for horses.
“We’ve got a 2000 metre track with a beautiful 1000 metre uphill straight. We have 32 boxes, a walker, a round yard and day yards, and it’s only an hour from the CBD, so it’s pretty ideally located.
“Alongside that we have also engaged Breeders’ Farm, which was formerly Spendthrift Australia, where we will spell horses.
“That’s a showpiece of a property, it really is. It has the best, safest facilities that money can buy, and we hope that can give trainers and owners the confidence and peace of mind while their horse is taking a well-deserved break.”
Troy Stephens and Alanna Richards
In addition to the facilities at Breeders’ Farm and Yungaburra, Stephens also has the use of a 50-acre holding in nearby Romsey, from which he and Richards have been running a small number of mares, spellers and sport horses.
The “beautifully fenced” property, which the pair purchased in August last year, has an additional 13 boxes, a walker, a round yard and several paddocks, with plans to install an indoor arena already in the pipeline.
The proximity of Stephens’ Romsey property to Yungaburra is what prompted him to reach out to former Racing Victoria Chairman Moodie, who purchased Spendthrift Australia last year alongside business partner Ash Hardwick under the duo’s Hesket Thoroughbreds banner.
Some of the paddocks at Breeders' Farm
“Our property is just around the corner from Breeders’ Farm, and Yungaburra is only about 10 minutes away, so I rang David up and asked if we could catch up for a coffee,” Stephens recalled.
“I’d heard whispers about Yungaburra, and the first time I drove in there I thought it was such a beautiful property. It has luscious, undulating paddocks and it reminded me a lot of New Zealand.
“It’s one of my favourite farms in Australia, that’s for sure. It really is very special.”
Open doors
Having the use of three properties in such close proximity will provide plenty of scope for Stephens to develop his new venture into a multi-faceted operation, something which the Waverley-born expat has already given thought to further down the line.
Some of the facilities at the Yungaburra property
The immediate focus for Palm Equine, however, lies with pre-training, something which Stephens is confident he and Richards can deliver to the highest standard.
“The main role for the Yungaburra property will be pre-training, and then hopefully we’ll branch into breaking in horses,” he said.
“The main role for the Yungaburra property will be pre-training, and then hopefully we’ll branch into breaking in horses.” - Troy Stephens
“Whether that’s this year or we get going on that next year I’m not sure, but to start with we will be pre-training and conditioning horses for trainers.
“My partner Alanna is an amazing dressage and show rider, and with my background in pre-training and breaking in horses, we are pretty confident that we can offer trainers a boutique, high-end service.
“The end goal is to send the horses back in the best possible condition, with a solid foundation for the trainers to work on.”
As well as handling the pre-training for a number of Hesket Throughbreds’ horses, Stephens revealed that Palm Equine’s doors are ready to welcome new clients, with the operation’s proximity to Melbourne sure to be a huge draw card for trainers based in the metropolitan area.
Jo McEvoy presenting Alanna Richards (Troy’s partner) the ESA Champion Thoroughcare Newcomer OTT
“I have a great relationship with Sam (Fairgray) and Mr Zhang and the family, and I’d like to carry on working with them in the future, so we’ll hopefully pre-train some horses for Yulong,” he said.
“We’ll be doing some of David’s (Moodie) horses as well, but the bulk of them will be outside horses.
“Our main target clients will be the metropolitan trainers. We’re an hour from Flemington, so we’ll welcome whatever comes through the gateway I guess. It’s all very exciting.”
“Our main target clients will be the metropolitan trainers. We’re an hour from Flemington, so we’ll welcome whatever comes through the gateway I guess.” - Troy Stephens
As excited as Stephens is about his new venture, he was quick to thank Mr Yuesheng Zhang and all the team at Yulong for their support over his two-year stint in Nagambie, a period during which the operation set about securing some of the most highly sought-after bloodstock around the world.
“Yulong was a great stepping stone for me and I’ll be forever grateful to Mr Zhang and his team there,” he added.
“For the first 12 months I was nominations and sales manager, which was fantastic. We acquired Written Tycoon, sold some beautiful yearlings and reached a lot of milestones. During that time I was lucky enough to see the farm grow, and we acquired a lot of good mares.
Troy Stephens with Dissident whilst working at Newgate Farm
“In my second year, alongside the sales and nominations, I also took over as the racing manager, which was great.
“That helped me build some relationships with some trainers and sort of get back to where my passion lies, and that’s with racing and the horse side of it.”
‘Gone full circle’
Stephens is not lacking in experience in the pre-training and horse education sphere, having previously race-educated horses for Te Akau Racing and the late Sir Patrick Hogan during a three-year stint working alongside renowned Kiwi horseman Paul Pertab.
He also has experience working with educator, pre-trainer and jumps trainer Mark Brooks, as well as a spell as Waikato Stud’s private educator at Courtza Park, which preceded his move across the Tasman.
Troy Stephens, Michael Kent Jnr and Mick Price | Image courtesy of Darren Tindale
“I left school and was an apprentice jumps jockey in New Zealand, and then broke in and pre-trained horses for eight years,” Stephens recalled.
“That’s always been truly where my passion lies and I always tried to keep a hand on it whilst I was over here in Australia. I worked for Newgate for six years and always rode work for either Brett Cavanough or Gai Waterhouse at Randwick or Scone before coming into the office.
“I love riding, I love the horses and I love being up early and out there, so this was the logical next step for us.
“The last eight years between Newgate and Yulong has given me a great grounding in the bloodstock side and all facets of the industry. I guess it’s gone full circle and now I’m back to what I hope will provide a fruitful future.”
“The last eight years between Newgate and Yulong has given me a great grounding in the bloodstock side and all facets of the industry.” - Troy Stephens
Stephens has wasted no time in starting to shape that future, and has assembled a crack team to help assist with the horses already under his and Richards' care.
“We’re working 20 horses at the moment, so we’ve hit the ground running and we’ll look to build off that in the coming weeks and months,” he said.
“We want to crawl before we walk and get this right first. We’ll get our heads down and work hard over the next 12 months, building up a good client base and getting the business rolling.
“We’re fortunate to have a good team of work riders and ground staff around us, so we’re not going at it alone.
“It’s a pretty big jump, but we’re both pretty excited about it and confident that we can do a great job.”
