Henry Dwyer Racing is in the enviable position of being able to prepare horses from Victoria’s Premier training centre in Ballarat as well as having the flexibility to switch horses to our beach stable at St Leonards, as the need arises.
HDR BALLARAT
Ballarat has developed rapidly over the past ten years with the innovation and financial support of the Ballarat Turf Club and Racing Victoria. It has a rich history of success with the likes of Noel Kelly and Arthur Smerdon plying their trade in generations past and more recently Darren Weir and Ciaron Maher proving the benefits of training horses in a rural environment.
Ballarat has the advantage of providing a more relaxed lifestyle for horses whilst still providing premium and varied facilities for trainers to build and maintain their horse’s fitness at its optimum level. Along with traditional grass, sand and a new Polytrack option, established in 2018, the Ballarat Hill Track has been a fantastic addition to the facilities at Ballarat since its inception in 2011, and proven a great method for keeping horses sounder, for longer. The hurdle/steeple lane is also a feature of the facilities at Ballarat, the equal or better of anywhere in the world on perfectly undulating ground.
Henry Dwyer Racing’s brand new, state-of-the-art property at Ballarat sits adjacent to the Hill Track and features a custom-built 24 horse barn, 15 open style, larger boxes, stripping shed with tie-ups, wash bays, sand roll and feed and tack rooms. Day yards and paddocks feature prominently throughout the property and are encircled by an 800 metre sand track.
We also have direct access to the facilities of the Ballarat Training Centre including grass gallops and sand tracks, swimming pool, bullring, hurdle lane and barriers.
HDR ST LEONARDS
Nestled on Victoria’s sleepy Bellarine Peninsula, our St Leonards training facility allows us to train horses in a far more natural environment utilising our purpose-built property and nearby St Leonards and Barwon Heads beaches.
Purchased in early 2017 and 90 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD, HDR St Leonards provides us with the flexibility to train horses as individuals and gives us the option of an alternate training regime away from Ballarat, perfect for freshening horses up both mentally and physically.
Set on 35 acres the property sits upon natural, sandy soil which gives us the perfect environment to train horses out of the paddock all year round. Given its coastal proximity the property is naturally temperate all year round i.e. cooler in summer and warmer in winter.
The property features:
- 1400m natural, deep sand track for slow and pace work
- 18 horse American style barn
- 5 covered outdoor yards
- 16 half acre sheltered paddocks
- Purpose built undulating 600m deep sand track – ‘The Dunes’
- Walk to nearby St Leonards beach to wade in Port Philip Bay
- Close proximity to 13th Beach, Barwon Heads and Geelong Racecourse for gallops