Chris Waller, Gai Waterhouse express fury at proposed Rosehill sale
The sale of Sydney’s iconic Rosehill racecourse to make way for housing has been met with passionate resistance from some of the industry’s biggest names.
NSW
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As you walk through the Might And Power entrance onto Rosehill Gardens racecourse, a statue of the greatest of them all, Winx, greets racegoers.
Further up the pathway is the Golden Slipper Wall of Fame displaying all the winners of the world’s richest two-year-old race from Todman to Shinzo including Vain, Baguette, Sky High, Toy Show, Luskin Star, Manikato, Bounding Away, Tierce, Dance Hero and Pierro.
It gets you thinking about all the champions to have won at this historic racetrack like legends Phar Lap, Tulloch, Kingston Town and Makybe Diva.
Rosehill resonates with racing history which is one of the reasons any suggestion the racetrack could be sold to help address Sydney’s housing crisis has been met with such passionate and defiant resistance.
The Rosehill sale proposal was first raised three months ago. The issue has been simmering ever since until suddenly exploding this week with Sydney’s Hall of Fame trainers Gai Waterhouse and Chris Waller leading the chorus of opposition at a sometimes heated Australian Turf Club (ATC) members meeting.
Waterhouse describes the proposal as a “disgrace” and claims the Rosehill sale is a quick fix for the ATC to retire debt.
“You (ATC) are flogging this because you have got yourselves into debt and you should be ashamed of yourself,’’ Waterhouse said.
Racing’s first lady said about 120 people attended the meeting and all were “extremely vocal” against the Rosehill sale proposal. “There was not one person in favour of it,’’ she said.
Waller has his training base at Rosehill and is adamant the western Sydney racetrack must remain as a racing and training facility.
“Rosehill is going to be here forever and it’s going to be Sydney racing’s biggest asset forever,’’ he said.
If ATC chairman Peter McGauran and his board or directors weren’t sure how the proposal would be received by the racing industry participants, club members and racegoers, they are now.
NSW Premier Chris Minns and the Labor Government came to a historic deal with ATC late last year to transform Rosehill racecourse into a 25,000-home community with a new school and Metro Station.
Rosehill is in the geographic heart of the city, close to Parramatta, the central business district of greater western Sydney. The racetrack’s location near the M4 makes it prime real estate.
It is estimated the sale of Rosehill could generate at least $5bn which the racing industry plans to fund the building of a new world-class racetrack in Sydney, the development of Horsley Park into a state-of-art training centre, upgrade facilities at Canterbury and Warwick Farm and still have hundreds of millions of dollar in the bank to “future-proof the racing industry”.
However, the proposal is still in the development phase, the site of the new racetrack has not been determined, and information is scarce, prompting the emotional, angry backlash.
Premier Minns’ spokeswoman said the government would leave it to the ATC to talk to members about the Rosehill sale.
“The ATC has brought this proposal to the NSW Government,’’ she said. “We will let the ATC continue talking to their members.’’
The controversy has prompted alternative proposals including selling parcels of land the ATC owns around Rosehill rather than the racetrack itself.
Even Canterbury’s long term future has been questioned although the selling of the inner city track would raise “only” about $500m and doesn’t have the same appeal to a state government focused on finding solutions to Sydney’s housing shortage.
An ATC spokesperson said the club would not be making any comment about the Rosehill proposal while it continues scheduled information forums for racing industry participants, club members and staff.
But Kerry Packer’s famous line comes to mind when debating the merits of the Rosehill sale proposal: “You only get one Alan Bond in your lifetime and I’ve had mine.’’
Packer sold Channel 9 to Bond for $1bn in 1987 and bought the business back for a quarter of that price just a few years later.
ATC’s board and management would be negligent in their duty if they did not explore the opportunity to sell the club’s core asset.
If Rosehill is sold there is no turning back, but the potential sale might present that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform Sydney racing.
Will Freedman, 33, is a younger member of one of racing’s most famous and successful training dynasties. He is among Sydney racing’s new generation of trainers, the future of the sport.
Freedman, who trains in partnership with his father, Richard, has his stable base at Rosehill. The potential sale of the racetrack has major ramifications for his business but he’s keeping an open mind on the proposal.
“If it is the right decision then I’m all for it,’’ Freedman said. “But there are a lot of factors that go into making the right decision and we don’t know all those possibilities yet.
“I think some participants aren’t giving the process a chance in terms of finding the best solutions.
“I get the feeling the industry can always say no if the plans don’t suit.’’
Freedman said the ATC and Racing NSW should be given the opportunity to further develop the proposal.
“The process needs to be given more time. I don’t see the upside in saying this shouldn’t happen just yet,’’ he said.
“ATC and Racing NSW won’t want to get this wrong, there is too much at stake, but I’m not privy to enough of what they are planning to have a firm stance on this proposal.
“But I’m confident the process is easier when the Government is working with you and what if the solution is far better than what we have already got – then everyone is happy.’’
Warwick Farm racetrack is the “workhorse” of Sydney racing. It has around 800 horses in training and is regularly used as a midweek racing venue.
But the racetrack, situated in Sydney’s southwestern suburbs, is in urgent need of infrastructure upgrades which would be funded with the sale of Rosehill.
“This place hasn’t changed since Kingston Town was racing here more than 40 years ago,’’ one Warwick Farm regular said.
Trainer Gary Portelli has called Warwick Farm home for three decades and after attending a meeting with ATC officials this week, he believes the club should continue to further explore the Rosehill sale option despite the obvious logistical difficulties with building a new racetrack and training centre.
“I don’t know how they are going to do it but from my point of view it would be great for Warwick Farm to get these improvements, it’s not a bad thing for us,’’ Portelli said.
“But I think we all need to listen and understand how this proposal will impact racing and then make an informed decision.’’
Star jockey Tommy Berry regularly rides trackwork at Rosehill and some of his greatest wins have come there including three Golden Slippers on Overreach (2013), Vancouver (2015) and Stay Inside (2021). Understandably, he has mixed feelings about plans to sell the racetrack.
“I was born and raised in the west and I have a lot of great memories there,’’ Berry said.
“Rosehill is one of the best tracks there is, it’s in a perfect place where it is and they won’t be able to build another one like it.
“It would be sad to see it go.’’
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