Iconic racehorse sales arena in Randwick to spawn 643 new designer residences

 When Arthur Inglis was a boy, trainers would exercise their horses by walking them around the streets near his family’s thoroughbred sales complex in Randwick every afternoon.

“There were trainers that had stables in the streets between here and Randwick Racecourse,” Inglis says. “Today, they use walking machines, which are like big clotheslines that the horses walk around. Hand walking is still done but in those days it was all hand walking.”

Inglis, now 60, is deputy chairman of William Inglis & Son Ltd, a 150-year-old family business that started selling livestock in 1906 out of rented premises in Randwick. After buying the site for  £50,000 in 1917, the company developed the property to include a sales arena and four stables accommodating up to 620 horses.

In April, the final sale was held at the Newmarket complex. The Inglis empire is about to shift to new headquarters near Warwick Farm Racecourse in south-west Sydney, where there will be plenty of space, easy access for out-of-towners, a new auditorium and luxury hotel.

“In simple terms, we’ve grown out of context with our surroundings,” Inglis says. “In the early days, Randwick was quite a long way from the city centre but it was a horse centre. The University of New South Wales site used to be a racecourse. Now there isn’t a horse between us and Randwick Racecourse.”

Developer Cbus Property bought the five-hectare Randwick site for a reported $250 million in 2015. Next month, the first homes at Newmarket Randwick will hit the market.

By the time it’s finished, the medium-density development will include about 650 residences, more than 2500 square metres of retail or commercial space and 5000 square metres of public open space.

The developer has engaged four architecture firms to design the master-planned community. Bates Smart, Neeson Murcutt Architects, Smart Design Studio and SJB will be responsible for different stages of the development in an effort to ensure each section has its own personality and character.

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The chief executive of Cbus Property, Adrian Pozzo, says the site’s historical significance has been one of the driving forces behind the project.

“We know how important this site is to the local community and thoroughbred racing fraternity so we were determined to design something special that is worthy of a site with such strong history,” Pozzo says.

Grand old fig trees will be retained. The Inglis family has donated items from its thoroughbred business to be incorporated into the public space. Big Stable, a heritage-listed stable built circa 1880, will be given to the council, though its future use has yet to be confirmed. The auction ring is to be transformed into a recreational space.

The first stage, Newmarket Residences, includes nearly 130 apartments across two eight-storey buildings designed by Bates Smart. Ground-floor retail will lean more towards cafes and restaurants than supermarkets, with Randwick’s main shopping strip just one kilometre to the north.

Bates Smart studio director Matthew Allen describes the design of the two buildings as “open, generous and elegant”, with the facade featuring a mix of sandstone-toned precast concrete and dark bronze metalwork.

“The interiors reflect timeless design inspired by an equestrian style in a nod to the site’s past,” Allen says. “The design creates an exclusive clubhouse feel that is refined and elegant, with harmonious finishes and crafted quality. Our scheme establishes a calm neutral palette in natural textures such as timber, leather and stone.”

These materials are designed to be sympathetic to the nearby Newmarket House, Inglis’ childhood home, which is to be renovated and sold as a free-standing house later.

For the agent marketing the project, Colliers International’s residential managing director, Peter Chittenden, Newmarket Randwick’s scale and location – just seven kilometres south-east of the central business district and two kilometres from Coogee beach – are unprecedented.

“It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Chittenden says. “I’ve been selling residential projects for 30 years and the only other one I’ve been aware of with this size and sort of location is Paddington Green.”

Randwick’s popularity – and accessibility – is on the rise, thanks to the light rail, which is due to start in 2019, linking Randwick with Circular Quay via Moore Park and Surry Hills.

The state government is ploughing money into the suburb’s health and education precinct, which includes the Prince of Wales Hospital and University of New South Wales.

Randwick Girls’ High School, Randwick Boys’ High School and Rainbow Street Public School are a few minutes’ walk from Newmarket Randwick, and there are more schools near the main shopping area. Randwick Racecourse, Centennial Park and the Entertainment Quarter are all within five kilometres of the new homes.

Chittenden says the relatively high proportion of two and three-bedroom apartments should attract owner-occupiers to the project. Early inquiries have been mostly from people who live in the area. He is expecting interest, too, from investors who recognise the suburb’s capital growth potential and rental opportunities.

He predicts the strong emphasis on history will be one of Newmarket Randwick’s defining features.

“Apartments aren’t as romantic as horse stables, but to live among these beautiful fig trees, which are 150 years old or more, and what will remain in terms of heritage, is just extraordinary.”

Photo finish: Randwick’s racing history

Crowd scenes from the early days at Randwick. Photo: Photographic

Horse racing moves from Hyde Park to a Randwick track known as Sandy Course because of the soil.

1906

William Inglis and Son Ltd starts selling livestock from rented stables in Randwick, later buying the land.

1929

Phar Lap wins the AJC Derby at Randwick. The champion racehorse wins 37 of 51 races he enters.

1954

The Queen attends the races, returning in 1992 when she puts the “royal” into Royal Randwick Racecourse.

Towering Inferno in action filming the movie Phar Lap at Randwick Race course. Photo: Paul Matthews/Fairfax Media

1983

The film Phar Lap is released, becoming a box-office hit. Some scenes were shot at Newmarket stables.

2017

The final yearling sales at the Newmarket complex are held before the company’s move to Warwick Farm.

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