Geelong mansion linked to racing legend to be offered for sale

News.com.au

25-04-2025

A historic Geelong mansion that played a big part in one of the most famous Melbourne Cup stories of all time is being prepared to hit the market.
St Albans Stud has a direct link to 10 Melbourne Cup winners and another 13 through breeding lines, according to the Australian Racing Museum, but the eastern Geelong property's role in Phar Lap's 1930 victory is probably its most famous.
Legend goes that Phar Lap trainer Harry Telford quietly asked then-owners whether he could hide the famous horse in secret at St Albans Stud after an apparent shooting attempt on Derby Day.
That year 'Big Red' had won his first Cox Plate and was looking unbeatable for the first Tuesday in November.
But at Caulfield on the Saturday before the race, the champion thoroughbred was returning to the stables after trackwork when he was apparently shot at from a nearby vehicle.
Whether it was connections to notorious gangster Squizzy Taylor or bookies who stood to lose big time when the short-priced favourite won, or whether there was even a gun has been subject of much debate, but there is no doubting St Albans Stud's early pedigree.
The mansion designed by Melbourne architect James T Conlan and built in 1873 for prominent horse trainer James Wilson and plays a big role in the suburb to this day, from the original gatehouse intact on Wilsons Rd, nearby streets named after Melbourne Cup winners, and several significant trees dotted around the area.
Numerous horses, including Melbourne Cup winner Carbine, were buried on the old farm, leading to a VCAT heritage ruling in 2024 surrounding a landmark tree that marked a gravesite potentially affected by a subdivision proposal in a nearby neighbourhood.
Geelong businessman Dean Montgomery has owned the 30-room brick mansion since 2010.
Whitford, Newtown agent Peter Fort, who is preparing to list the mansion for sale, said it's a special home which the owners had maintained and improved.
'It's just one of those unique properties, the vendor hasn't changed it dramatically, the footprint or anything like that. He really is a true custodian to those period-style homes,' Mr Fort said.
'What he has done is countless amount of maintenance works carried out on the property, on the stalls themselves, as well the stable area and the gardens being improved dramatically.
'It's got a good pedigree and a historical significance, but the house is beautiful. It really is. I mean, if you like period homes, you're going to love this one.'
The home is laced with period details, from the elaborate cast iron veranda, to stained glass windows honouring celebrated horses, it's a rare jewel.
Although not set, the property is expected to hit the market with price hopes circa $7m-$7.5m.