Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, has finally sold Darley's redundant North Richmond horse stud, Belmont Park for $12.28 million.
The 121 hectare holding with Hawkesbury River frontage was listed some two years ago with a $12 million price guide.
The sale has been settled this month with the Kavanagh family from Box Hill emerging as the buyers. As Belmont Park came with five homes the purchases included several family members.
The sale through Cutcliffe Real Estate’s Neville Rava was overseen by Darley's Henry Plumptre.
The Sheikh’s global racing company, Darley, had bought the stud in 2008 as part of a $93 million deal that included a handful of properties and thoroughbred horses sold by the billionaire racehorse owner-breeder Bob Ingham.
It was after its $7 million sale in 1988 that the North Richmond horse stud had become part of the Ingham family business - encompassing the Crown Lodge stables at Warwick Farm, training establishments in Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane, a pre-training farm and stud farms in the Hunter Valley and Cootamundra.
At the time it ranked as the biggest racing operation ever in Australia.
The long separated, but nearby Belmont Park homestead was built in the 1890s by the Charley family, other race horse industry royalty.
This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.
