Meet
the
Vardy
Team
STEPHEN VARDY
Stephen Vardy is the owner and founder of Vardy Thoroughbreds, which was established in 2020. Steve’s passion and love affair for thoroughbreds began at the ripe old age of 6, after an unplanned visit to Warwick Farm racecourse to watch trackwork on a wintery Saturday morning.
The classic scene of seeing a magnificent horse bursting out of the thick fog and into the sunlight, ignited a flame that continued to flourish and glow. From that moment on, the form guide was Steve’s favourite reading material, Saturday afternoons were spent listening to the dulcet tones of Ian Craig and Des Hoysted, and he knew this is where his career was bound to be.
Most kids growing up 40 odd years ago had idols like football players or rock singers – but not Steve. His hero was the late trainer, J.B “The Master” Cummings, and the late jockey, John Marshall.
Whether it’s going to a sale yard, watching trackwork, attending the races, or just being in a paddock full of horses, the calmness and content Steve feels when he’s around them is something that can’t be explained. It’s a feeling that can only be experienced, and he would love for you to experience that with him!
Listen to Steve chat with John Tapp about his life and passion for racing here.
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TRAINER
John Thompson is a fourth-generation racehorse trainer – and a successful one at that as evidenced by his Group One winners expertly executed under his care. The Randwick-based trainer oversees a capacity stable of 50 horses in work at Randwick in Sydney.
John ran Cummings’ Leilani Lodge for Cummings at Randwick for eight years before branching out on his own, where he learnt the value of patience (as Bart famously quipped, it’s the cheapest thing in racing and the least used) and demonstrated his ability with young horses. In the season of 2011/2012, he was Australia’s leading two-year-old trainer.
John has prepared eight Group 1 winners during his career including champion three-year-old Fastnet Rock filly, First Seal.
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Trainer
Kristen Buchanan is proof that you don’t need to be based in the city to be a regular metropolitan winner; she has had success in town with the likes of Two Blue, Lucky Liaison, Lucky News, Echo Effect and Niccobelle, just to name a few.
Kristen rides most of the horses in the stable on a regular basis, along with her group of experienced trackwork riders. The team mentality helps her find the best-suited rider and handler for each horse, whilst monitoring their progress and fast tracking their progression.
Buchanan Racing understand that no two horses are alike, and pride themselves on being a boutique stable that takes a “tailor made” approach to your horse’s individual exercise, feeding, handling and educational requirements.
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TRAINER
Marc Quinn’s trade began under his father, the late Pat Quinn of Rosehill. Marc is very passionate about training and thrives on challenges. He prides himself on the transformation of many horses, bringing them back to winning form.
Marc’s natural ability saw him broaden his skills in Ireland, with world-renowned trainer, Dermot Weld. Returning to Australia, Marc worked with legendary trainers Peter Snowden and John Hawkes of Crown Lodge fame.
Marc Quinn Racing has a hands-on approach, giving maximum attention and the highest level of care to all horses under his management.
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TRAINER
Anderson Racing resides within the Eagle Farm infield stabling complex in Queensland, offering safe, spacious boxes for the horses, rooftop viewing platforms, high-end security, landscaped spaces for use by trainers, and owners, modern waste collection, and generous staff amenities.
Unlike a lot of trainers who were born into the racing industry from generations of family history, Chris Anderson didn’t take up training until well into his adult life. His late entrance into the training industry has given him the advantage of having no preconceived ideas or outdated family habits to shake, allowing him to focus on developing more modern, and effective training techniques.
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TRAINER
In a world of super-stables, we are big but we are small. Our ethos is to provide the best care and training to every horse in our stable while providing the best-in-market communication to our owners.
I have assembled a team of leading experts in bloodstock, veterinary, and trackwork to ensure we have the best support around these animals that we love so much.
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BREAKING IN AND PRE-TRAINING
Hannover Lodge is a thriving thoroughbred facility based in Wilberforce, NSW, only an hour from Sydney and close to all the major city tracks. Owned and run by Hinnerk Hueppe, the farm was named as a tribute to his birthplace Hannover, Germany.
The farm is nestled on an undulating 120 acres, dedicated to “preparing the elite racehorse” offering pre-training, breaking-in, rehabilitation and spelling.
With around 100 horses being cared for on any given day, the team prides themselves on the level of care and attention paid to each horse that comes onto the property.
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AGISTMENT & PRE-TRAINING
Finniefeirme is a Boutique Thoroughbred Stud based in the heart of Kulnura on the Central Coast NSW. We offer 5 star spelling, breeding & yearling preparation facilities.
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SPELLING
GT Park was established as a family run business in the 1980’s and since that time has flourished as a premier equine spelling and breeding facility. GT Park is set on over 160 acres in the Central Coast Hinterland, with an abundant water source thanks to natural spring water and the ability to thoroughly irrigate every paddock year round we are spared many of the stresses that other farms can face. Trainers such as John Thompson, Mark Newnham, Gary Portelli, Gai Waterhouse, Pat Webster, Adam Duggan, Bjorn Baker and Joe Pride have all used GT Park and we pride ourselves on our reputation within the industry for providing horses with a quiet, relaxing environment in which they thrive. We treat each horse as if it’s our own and with over 120 years of experience within the thoroughbred industry between our employees we pride ourselves on our skills and knowledge base.