Cover image courtesy of Donovan & Co.
Trainer Danny O’Brien has announced he is selling his Thirteenth Beach Training Centre, the property that has proven pivotal to the careers of horses like G1 Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare (Declaration Of War {USA}), G1 Blue Diamond Stakes-winning stallion Star Witness, and dual Group 1 winner Shamrocker (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}). The trainer is seeking to consolidate his operations and reduce his numbers of horses in work.
At the top of his game
After evaluating his training business in 2025, O’Brien made the decision to downsize his training operation from over 120 horses in work to 80, and with that decision, a third training base became superfluous to his needs.
“We just found with training over 120 horses that the bottom 40 were just a real drag on us,” said O’Brien. “The places we have to take them to win aren’t very competitive and not places that we really want to run horses at, and that runs down both your staff and yourself. Leading into Christmas, we sold quite a few horses through the online sales and cut our numbers back to about 80 in work. That's what we've been working since then.”
The reduction in numbers has been a welcome change, and O’Brien is happy to have made the step.
“We have really appreciated focusing on metropolitan class horses and horses that can run in the provincial venues.” - Danny O'Brien
“We have really appreciated focusing on metropolitan class horses and horses that can run in the provincial venues, rather than having to go any further than that,” he said. “There is a balance as a trainer - some of the very big stables in the country will still maintain that bottom 20% of horses and take them to the country tracks, but we just want to have a point of difference where we focus on metropolitan and the top class of provincial racing.”
Danny O'Brien | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
O’Brien currently sits seventh in the overall Victorian trainers premiership and seventh also in the Victorian metropolitan premiership, where he has a strike rate of 16% winners to runners.
In his last 50 starters, that percentage rises steeply to 22%, a number that includes Listed Desirable Stakes victress Sass Appeal (So You Think {NZ}), G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (colts & geldings) winner Closer To Free (Street Boss {USA}), and Wednesday winner Cannae (Maurice {Jpn}) who is nominated for the G1 Australian Derby.
Closer To Free will fly O'Brien's flag in the Blue Diamond on Saturday where he hopes to replicate the recipe that delivered Star Witness's victory in 2010.
“So with that in mind, we've decided that we really only want to have the Flemington facility and the Geelong facility. Hence the decision to put the Barwon Heads facility on the market.”
Closer To Free | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Geelong is only 10 minutes away from Thirteenth Beach itself, which means O’Brien does not lose access to the deep sand and salt water work that have been a core part of his training plan.
A property rich in history
O’Brien purchased the property in 2005 - the year he trained Glamour Puss (NZ) (Tale Of The Cat {USA}) to win the G1 Goodwood Handicap and Demerger (Saithor {USA}) to win the G1 Adelaide Cup within two days of one another - and has added numerous features to the landscape.
The trainer won his first Group 1 in 2000/01 with G1 Coolmore Classic victress Porto Roca (Barathea {Ire}), but it wasn’t until 2003/04 that he struck again at stakes level and the following season, he won two at the top level, and again in 2004/05. Since then, he has never been off the board.
Porto Roca | Image courtesy of Sportpix
“We've had Australia's biggest race winners be trained from this property,” O’Brien said. “We've had a Melbourne Cup winner, a Cox Plate winner, a Caulfield Cup winner come off the property - they're the three biggest races in the country, so whoever decides to take it on, we certainly hope they can do equally as well out of it.”
“We've had Australia's biggest race winners be trained from this property.” - Danny O'Brien
“It has such an incredible Group 1 history,” said Donovan & Co Director Clint Donovan, who will be facilitating. “So many household names have been trained on the property. The history in such a short period of time is a credit to Danny O’Brien, who is one of the best conditioners in the country, and it is a demonstration of how to effectively use the benefits of the environment. I think that goes a hell of a long way.”
The property has nurtured the likes of Shamus Award, who was the first horse to break his maiden in the G1 Cox Plate, dual Group 1-winning stallion Russian Camelot (Ire), and Miami Bound (NZ) (Reliable Man {GB}) who won the G1 VRC Oaks two days after Vow And Declare’s Melbourne Cup triumph. The latter still calls Thirteenth Beach home in his retirement.
Vow And Declare | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“He's been there for over 10 years now,” O’Brien said of his 2019 Cup victor. “He was broken in as a baby, came down to us as a 2-year-old, and he has lived there ever since. He’s lived his whole life at Thirteenth Beach, and he loves the environment down there.”
“He’s (Vow And Declare) lived his whole life at Thirteenth Beach, and he loves the environment down there.” - Danny O'Brien
More recently, horses like G1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes winner Callsign Mav (NZ) (Atlante) and dual Group 2-winning 3-year-old Getta Good Feeling (So You Think {NZ}) have taken advantage of the property. While the sale is necessary, O’Brien conveyed the feeling that he will miss the atmosphere of the place.
“I just love being there,” he said. “It's such a pleasant environment being so close to the beach. The horses love it, and certainly myself and the staff have loved it as well. It's a great way to spend a morning either on the property or down on Thirteenth Beach.”
Callsign Mav (NZ) | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Everything you could need
The 160-acre property in Connewarre is close to the frontage of Thirteenth Beach as well as Geelong - and Flemington is within an hour’s drive - with 46 stables and an array of day yards and spelling paddocks at the disposal of the new owner. A four-bedroom manager’s residence and several multi-purpose sheds complete the main infrastructure.
“There's nothing that you haven't got for training horses down there,” said O’Brien. “On top of that, you've got very immediate access to one of Victoria's premier race tracks for trials and racedays as well as the tracks at home.”
“There's nothing that you haven't got for training horses down there.” - Danny O'Brien
The property boasts three training tracks; a 1600-metre heavy sand track, a 2000-metre grass track with barriers, and an eight-metre wide all-weather track inside the grass. The grass track, which has a 1000-metre chute and 800-metre uphill straight, has been modelled on the hallowed turf of Flemington, down to the same type of grass.
Thirteenth Beach Training Centre | Image courtesy of Donovan & Co.
“The grass there is the equal of any grass track in the country,” O’Brien said. “And the beach is so close, which the horses love.”
“The undeniable assets of the property are many,” said Donovan. “To have three purpose-built tracks - of which the grass is modelled after Flemington - in a very private and quiet location, coupled with the beach access, which is exceptional for recovery, and the undeniable landbanking opportunity it presents makes it hard to miss.
“I have been there many times now, and they are very happy horses and people on the farm.”
O’Brien has also added two horse walkers and two treadmills to complete the setup.
“We've built a fantastic facility there, and I would love to see it go to someone who's going to get the full benefit of it.” - Danny O'Brien
“It’s been a labour of love,” he said. “We've built a fantastic facility there, and I would love to see it go to someone who's going to get the full benefit of it, because it's a great place to train more, since it's been very successful for us.”
A space of one’s own
What strikes Donovan first and foremost about the property is its secluded location, offering the new owner privacy without having to venture far out of the city.
“The horses obviously feel comfortable in the relaxed coastal environment, and I have felt it too,” he said. “It’s a very private facility once you get inside of it.”
It is for this reason that Donovan could see it suiting a variety of trainers who have an eye for the high level racing Melbourne offers, whether looking to expand their operations or wanting to get out of the city.
“I think it's an opportunity for any trainer that wants to either expand or complement their current arrangement,” he said. “The ability to drive horses to Flemington for the races within an hour, and then to bring them back to that environment the same night and have them working on the beach the next morning would be a wonderful addition to any serious commercial trainer, or a trainer with commercial aspirations.”
The property, located at 1272-1300 Barwon Heads Road in Connewarre, and is available for inspection upon appointment with Donovan.
“Facilities of this scale, sophistication, and coastal landbanking appeal simply do not come to market.” - Clint Donovan
“This is not just a training property, it is a proven performance environment with a track record at the highest level,” he said. “Facilities of this scale, sophistication, and coastal landbanking appeal simply do not come to market.”
