Inglis Riverside Stables opens doors to both horses and people
THE $140 million Inglis family complex, Riverside Stables, has opened its doors at Warwick Farm. While it’s about champion horses, there’s also a five-star hotel with a rooftop pool and a wellness centre pitched as a place for a ‘staycation’. Take a look.
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SOUTHWEST Sydney is set to become the events capital of the west as the Inglis family’s new complex, Riverside Stables, opens it doors in Warwick Farm.
The 10-hectare precinct will host its first horse sales on February 10 and the first horses will arrive this weekend, while the William Inglis Hotel has already welcomed its first guests.
The family empire’s move out west is expected to drive economic activity in Liverpool and surrounding suburbs with signs local businesses are already benefiting from the $140 million development.
READ THE FULL HISTORY ON WILLIAM INGLIS & SON HERE
William Inglis commenced business as a livestock and general produce auctioneer in George St Sydney in 1867, his son John took over in 1896 and after a stint at Homebush, moved to the famed Newmarket stables in Randwick in 1918.
“It is really bringing economic activity and a focus on southwest Sydney which we think is really important and that benefits everyone,” Inglis managing director Mark Webster said.
“Already we’ve got groups of people coming here on tours and they go up to Cabramatta to the Iron Chef for lunch, you know, or they go to Gemelle in Liverpool or they go across to The Warwick.
So everyone’s already starting to benefit and we’re only just getting going.”
Mr Webster believes Liverpool is the “true centre of Sydney”, which is why, when the 150-year-old family business was looking to relocate, Warwick Farm was considered an ideal spot with its already established racing community and proximity to major infrastructure.
Just 25 minutes away from Sydney Airport and the upcoming western Sydney airport, the new precinct will now be the base of the Inglis family’s bloodstock auctioneering business.
But besides four major sales periods throughout the year, the equine business is only one part of a bigger, bolder vision for the site.
“That’s 10 per cent of the year, so the other 90 per cent is making sure that we really provide something for the local area or the southwest part of Sydney,” Mr Webster said.
“We’ve got a sales arena that can accommodate up to 1000 people for a concert or for a seminar or for an expo or for a wedding and this is bringing big events to this part of Sydney and that will stimulate everything else,” he said.
The Inglis complex the potential to be expanded depending on its success in its first year.
“We need all the locals to get behind this first,” Mr Webster said.
FRESH START FOR A 150-YEAR-OLD TRADITION
THE walls of Liverpool’s newest luxury hotel are steeped in history and nostalgia.
Named after the Inglis company’s figurehead, the William Inglis Hotel is a testament to the empire’s proud racing tradition.
Each of the 144 rooms is named after a champion racehorse sold through the Inglis sales rings and furnished with equine themes.
From the carpets, which feature horses, to the arrows on signs adorning the hotel’s walls, signifying horseshoes, every detail has been meticulously considered to reflect the rural roots of the 150-year-old business.
Inglis chief commercial officer Bonnie Connellan said parts of the Inglis’ Newmarket home of 112 years had been preserved at the new site.
“We wanted to make sure that a lot of the history from our old site was retained in this site,” Ms Connellan said.
Sales and marketing director Belinda Thomson said it was about bringing elements of country life to suburban locations.
“Weddings will be a major feature for the hotel. We have a stunning wedding garden and pavilion and obviously they can then have the reception in the big barn or the sales arena,” Ms Thomson said.
FLY OVER OF THE COMPLEX UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Featuring three bars, a restaurant and cafe, a wellness centre with a day-spa and a rooftop pool, the hotel is now open for business.
“It’s for the locals. It’s for people that just want a staycation,” Ms Thomson said.
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