Angus, Richie and Stuart Lamont, cover image courtesy of Kooringal Stud
In Riverina country, halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, Kooringal Stud has been in the hands of the Lamont family since 1910. Back then, it was a bare, expansive block some 13 miles from Wagga, and today it’s over 2500 acres of good pasture in the same spot.
So far, the Lamont family has had a booming season. Kooringal hasn’t sat under the relentless downpours that have drowned the east coast since January, yet their own local rainfall has left the place looking splendid.
In fact, the farm is playing host to over 50 spelling racehorses that have left the likes of Kembla Grange this year, all in search of greener, drier pastures.
The Kooringal Stud driveway | Image courtesy of Kooringal Stud
It’s a far cry from only a handful of summers ago when fires and drought ripped through so much of New South Wales. However, when you’ve got a farm like this one that’s been in the same hands for 112 years, it's been there, done that and bought the t-shirt.
It’s why Kooringal has been in the news this last week, with the Lamont family announcing that Stuart, the farm’s 66-year-old studmaster, will be stepping back from the thoroughbred side of the business.
In his place, his sons Angus and Richie will take the helm.
Changing of the guard
The farm's announcement in recent days was less about breaking news and more about a formal progression of the Lamonts’ succession plan, something that every family business faces in the generation game.
“I guess it was about formalising our succession plan,” said Angus Lamont, speaking to TDN AusNZ. “Stuart is stepping back from his roles in horses. He was on the board of the Murrumbidgee Turf Club (MTC) for a long time, and Chairman of the breeders’ board too, and he’s stepped back from those responsibilities as well. He wants a bit more time to enjoy himself outside of the day-to-day running of the stud.”
As recently as December, Stuart Lamont was announced as the outgoing president of Thoroughbred Breeders NSW (TBNSW), a role succeeded by Hamish Esplin. In November 2019, after 34 years (15 of which were as president), he stepped down from the MTC.
Penny and Stuart Lamont | Image courtesy of Kooringal Stud
Stuart had served a similar tenure on the MTC board to his father, Colin, the pair overlapping for a time in the late 1980s. Keeping it in the family, Angus is now a third-generation board member, serving as a director since 2013.
For Stuart, it’s an opportune time to step aside at Kooringal Stud.
“There’s probably 350 to 400 horses here at any one time, so there’s plenty going on,” Angus said. “Richie and I are taking over the daily running of all that, plus the staff and all that comes with it. It’s not really a new thing because we’ve been working together a long time now. I’ve been back at the farm for 14 years, and Richie maybe close to 10 years.”
Angus and Richie are two of four children that Stuart and his wife Penny have raised at Kooringal. Each went their own way for a time, attending Marcus Oldham College, working at outside farms across the industry or going into respective careers, but family businesses have a significant pull.
“We’ve been running the farm all together for a number of years with Stuart keeping an eye over all of it,” Angus said. “He’s gradually stepped back over a number of years and, to be honest, most people would be calling Richie or myself these days anyway when it comes to the day-to-day stuff.”
“We’ve been running the farm all together for a number of years with Stuart keeping an eye over all of it. He’s gradually stepped back over a number of years and, to be honest, most people would be calling Richie or myself these days anyway when it comes to the day-to-day stuff.” - Angus Lamont
Angus gives his father plenty of accolades when it comes to the things Stuart has imparted.
“He’s been a fantastic boss to so many people over the years, and his level-headedness is something that I really admire,” he said. “He’s put us in good stead to move forward and keep the business rolling along nicely, and we’ve been growing it quite substantially the last two years. Numbers are up, winners are coming off the farm and it’s all heading in the right direction.”
Branching out
Currently, Kooringal Stud is home to four stallions, headed by the impeccably performed Prized Icon at a 2022 fee of $11,000 (inc GST). Alongside him is the Snitzel horse Sandbar, plus Last Kingdom (USA), a son of Frankel (GB) and The Brothers War (USA) by War Front (USA).
Both Sandbar and Last Kingdom were added to the stallion barn just last year. The former is a three-quarter brother to Farnan, cherry-picked by the Lamonts from a Bloodstockauction.com catalogue last June for an undisclosed price.
Gallery: Stallions standing at Kooringal Stud in 2022
Last Kingdom, meanwhile, was just the second son of Frankel to head to stud in Australia.
It was a significant step forward for Kooringal Stud, and a step they’re willing to take again, according to Angus.
“We’ve always got to be looking at upgrading our stock,” he said. “It’s never any good sitting still, and I’m always on the lookout for good mares and trading options. But our day-to-day business is agistment, essentially, with a couple of hundred horses for clients, so it’s very important that we’re doing our best for them.”
“We’ve always got to be looking at upgrading our stock. It’s never any good sitting still, and I’m always on the lookout for good mares and trading options.” - Angus Lamont
The Lamont family’s own broodmare band numbers 53, a boutique-enough number amid a large number of client horses.
Angus spends plenty of time organising and shuffling the spring plans for each mare and, while they largely support their four stallions, this year he says they’re targeting outside sires more than they ever have.
“We’re definitely sending a number out and about,” he said. “Some of the stallions we’re using will be unproven but not necessarily first-season. You’ve got to take a bit of a punt sometimes, don’t you?”
While Kooringal has a long history of standing stallions, going right back to 1956 when Kerry Piper (GB) moved in, the use of outside sires has been pretty regular. It’s something that he credits back to Stuart.
Kooringal Stud | Image courtesy of Kooringal Stud
“It was initiated by my father, really, before the handing over,” Angus said. “It’s a tough one though. I’m really thrilled with what we’re seeing from the Prized Icon stock, with good feedback coming from the Maher-Eustace yard and Gary Portelli, and a lot of good Sydney trainers. There are people booking in mares because of what they’re hearing from different breakers about the place.
“So I’ll support him as heavily as I can, but I also need a bit of diversity when it comes to yearling sales. I need to offer buyers a bit more than my own sirelines.”
Currently, the oldest crop of Prized Icon progeny are yearlings. The stallion went to stud in 2018, serving a stout book of 115 mares and, of the first weanlings that hit the market in 2021, the first two were snapped up by Prized Icon’s breeder, Gooree Park.
Prized Icon's highest-priced yearling to date is a colt from Agueda who sold for $145,000 at this year's Inglis Classic Sale | Image courtesy of Inglis
His highest-priced yearling to date is a colt from the General Nediym mare Agueda, a youngster that attracted $145,000 from Duncan Ramage's DGR Thoroughbred Services (FBAA) and trainer John Thompson when sold by Newgate Farm at this year’s Inglis Classic Sale.
Succession
By all accounts, the succession plan has been gradual and largely seamless at Kooringal Stud. The family has worked together for a long time, so last week’s announcement was about cementing what most people already knew.
Angus said he and Richie are only uptaking what is already a well-established business very familiar to them, and they won’t be reinventing the wheel. Nor will they feel much pressure from the outgoing patriarch.
“I guess there’s some pressure that will come with it, but it’s a fantastic opportunity,” Angus said. “My wife and children are here, and what was a fantastic partnership with my father is now a fantastic partnership with my brother.
“I guess there’s some pressure that will come with it (succession), but it’s a fantastic opportunity. My wife and children are here, and what was a fantastic partnership with my father is now a fantastic partnership with my brother.” - Angus Lamont
“It’s a bit like why the training partnerships are so popular these days. They give you a chance to get away, and it’s good to have that reliance on someone else in the family, people that have the same goals as you going forward.”
In their wake, Stuart won’t be kicking back on the golf course or holidaying in sunny climes. He’ll have 3500 ewes to take care of on Kooringal, which were the foundations of the property back in the day. Angus said he’ll poke around with maintenance too.
“My father still has ownership of the property, with my brother and I leasing the farm at this stage, and that will be the plan until the succession moves on a little further,” he said.
