‘I don't think it's something we should let pass': Prominent owner-breeder Charles Kelly gets on front foot over Rosehill sale proposal
Charles Kelly from famous Newhaven Park Stud has written to more than 100 leading industry figures imploring them to study the ATC proposal which he describes as a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' to secure the future of the NSW racing and breeding industry.
Kelly said ATC members should 'give serious consideration to supporting this proposal'.
'I encourage you to read the 'info', watch the videos and see what opportunities this could provide the industry as a whole,'' Kelly said.
ATC members received a detailed 111-page document from the club last week that outlined plans to spend $800m million to rebuild Warwick Farm racecourse with a reconfigured course proper and grandstands, a new inside course for midweek racing, four training tracks and facilities for 1000 horses.
The document also provided information about infrastructure spends at Royal Randwick and Canterbury, and the club has subsequently confirmed it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Penrith Golf Club with plans to spend more than $370 million to acquire and develop the golf course into a training centre with the capacity for more than 300 horses.
ATC will allocate more than $1.9 billion on racecourse development and infrastructure if members vote 'yes' to the Rosehill sale proposal on May 27.
Kelly said he felt compelled to speak out in support of the ATC Rosehill sale proposal which has the potential to financially future-proof the NSW racing industry for decades.
Revealed: A golf course in Penrith could become the new home of horse racing in Sydney with the Australian Turf Club moving to acquire the site as part of its plans to sell Rosehill Gardens. https://t.co/492O7zQm4j
— Racenet (@RacenetTweets) May 11, 2025
•
'My family has been involved in this amazing industry for over 80 years. We live, sleep, eat, think and drink racing,'' said Kelly whose family owns the iconic Doncaster Hotel near Royal Randwick.
'This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. No racing jurisdiction has ever received this amount of capital anywhere in the world.
'I don't think it's something we should let pass on by, especially given the NSW Government is going to fully support the ATC and their plans.''
Kelly revealed he 'spent all day on the phone talking with people' about the Rosehill sale proposal since distributing his views via text message to many members and industry participants.
The proposal to sell Rosehill to make way for 25,000 homes is a polarising issue which has split the racing industry.
The ATC Vote on Rosehill takes place on 27th May. Members still have no definitive proposal of any sort to justify a sale. Warwick Farm is unsuitable; there is no supporting evidence to say a track can be built, and if ‘yes’ wins then voting members lose all control of Rosehill’s…
— Gai Waterhouse AO (@GaiWaterhouse1) May 13, 2025
There is strong opposition to selling Rosehill as the racecourse is a core asset of the ATC.
Hall of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse has been a passionate and vocal critic of the sale proposal. She is overseas and won't be present at the May 27 meeting but took to social media this week to reiterate why members should vote 'no' to selling Rosehill.
'Members still have no definitive proposal of any sort to justify a sale,'' Waterhouse wrote.
'Warwick Farm is unsuitable; there is no supporting evidence to say a track can be built, and if 'yes' wins then voting members lose all control of Rosehill's fate. We may as well throw our betting tickets away.''
The 'Save Rosehill' group wrote to members earlier this week declaring their position has not changed and provided 10 reasons why they are opposed to the sale despite the release of the ATC's detailed proposals.
This prompted ATC to write to club members on Tuesday night and accuse the group fighting to save Rosehill of 'misrepresenting' key facts around the proposed $5 billion racecourse sale before responding to each of the 10 points in detail.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
South Africa defeat Australia by 98 runs in first ODI in Cairns
A career-best haul from veteran spinner Keshav Maharaj has inspired South Africa to a crushing 98-run win over Australia in the first ODI in Cairns. With Australia cruising at 0-60 chasing the Proteas' 8-296, Maharaj wreaked havoc during a stunning spell as the hosts lost 6-29 in 55 balls at Cazaly's Stadium. The 35-year-old bowled his 10 overs unchanged — at one stage having 5-9 — to finish with 5-33. It was the first five-wicket haul of his ODI career and was aptly named player of the match. Debutant Prenelan Subrayen, a right-arm off-spinner, started Australia's collapse by getting the dangerous Travis Head stumped for 27. Captain Mitch Marsh played a lone hand from the top as none of Australia's middle-order reached double figures. While Marsh remained at the crease, Australia had an outside chance of pulling off a remarkable win. But when Marsh fell for 88 to Nandre Burger (2-54), it was only a matter of time before the Proteas secured victory and bowled Australia out for 198 in the 41st over. Spin, unexpectedly, dominated in Cairns, after Travis Head's part-timers also proved hard to handle. Australia's aggressive opening batter took 4-57, claiming opener Ryan Rickelton (33), as well as Tristan Stubbs (0) and rising star Dewald Brevis (6) within three balls. The Proteas need no reminder of Head's bowling capabilities after he took two crucial wickets in Australia's thrilling World Cup semi-final win in 2023. Rickelton made a productive start with World Test Championship final hero Aiden Markram, the pair putting on 92 for the opening wicket. Markram (82) played flawlessly for his first 80 balls, but fell to a stock-standard delivery from Ben Dwarshuis (2-53) when seemingly headed for a fourth ODI century. WTC-winning captain Temba Bavuma returned for his first match since the historic final at Lord's two months ago, crafting a patient 65 before being bowled by Dwarshuis when trying to lift the run-rate with four overs left. All-rounder Wiaan Mulder, fresh off his extraordinary 367 not out in a Test against Zimbabwe last month, delivered in the final overs with a blazing unbeaten 31. Earlier, South Africa suffered a major blow, losing spearhead Kagiso Rabada for the three-match series. The 30-year-old will miss the 50-over games in north Queensland due to an ankle injury. Australia fielded first after captain Mitch Marsh won the toss and elected to send the Proteas in to bat. When captaining Australia, Marsh has won the toss 21 times and chosen to field every time. Australia opted to play Alex Carey as a specialist batter, electing to use Josh Inglis as the wicketkeeper instead of their Test gloveman. But Carey and Inglis both fell to Maharaj, playing poor shots to get out. The second ODI will take place in Mackay on Friday. AAP
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Resources Top 5: Magnetite Mines identifies REE as potential iron ore value add
MGT will undertake low-cost follow-up work to test a REE find in South Australia Further antimony has been identified at the Reynolds Range project in the NT First phase drilling is underway at RML's Horse Heaven gold-antimony project Your standout small cap resources stocks for Tuesday, August 19, 2025 Magnetite Mines (ASX:MGT) While retaining primary focus on the development of the Razorback Iron Ore Project in South Australia's northeast, Magnetite Mines has uncovered near-surface, clay-hosted rare earth mineralisation right beside the large Ironback Hill magnetite deposit. The rare earths, which grade between 356ppm and 1,153ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO), represent a potential value-add for the iron ore and the company will now undertake low-cost follow-up work to test the find. As a result of the find, which was picked up after re-assaying limited clay-rich samples from archived RC drill samples, MGT hit a 12-month high of 29c, a 308.5% improvement on the August 18 close. Significant results include: 8m at 1,153ppm TREO (215ppm Nd2O3) from 12m within 18m at 866ppm TREO from 10m; 6m at 816ppm TREO (190ppm Nd2O3) from 16m within 20m at 583ppm TREO from 12m; and 4m at 977ppm TREO (64ppm Nd2O3) from 18m within 20m at 608ppm TREO from 14m. The company believes this is the first time that REE mineralisation has been detected at Ironback Hill, which is one of the Razorback deposits. 'As signalled in our August 8, 2025 announcement, Magnetite Mines has commenced a low-cost assessment of its vast South Australian tenement base for gold and critical minerals potential,' Magnetite Mines managing director Tim Dobson said. 'While the development of the Razorback Iron Ore Project remains our core priority, the board believes it is in shareholders' best interests to understand the full potential of the company's extensive tenements in response to favourable market conditions. 'Accordingly, we have tasked our experienced in-house geology team to provide an assessment of mineral prospectivity on our existing ground. 'This announcement provides the first response from that assessment with the identification of rare earth element mineralisation at Ironback Hill, as detected by analysing existing samples from a previous Magnetite Mines drilling campaign. 'We are excited by this early-stage indication of rare earths mineralisation at Ironback Hill and are planning low-cost follow up exploration work to determine if a wider program of work is warranted.' iTech Minerals (ASX:ITM) Antimony is becoming more important for iTech Minerals alongside gold at the Reynolds Range project in the Northern Territory and the identification of more zones of the critical mineral has seen shares increase 150% to a 2025 high of 8.5c. Two high-grade antimony zones overlooked by previous gold explorers have been identified in recent mapping and rock chip sampling. Most historical drill holes were not assayed for antimony or did not test the new zones. The zones at the Sabre and Falchion prospects each extend more than 300 metres and when combined with historical drill results, iTech believes they are at least 14 metres thick. Rock chips have assayed up to 30.6% antimony at Sabre and up to 15.9% at Falchion. These zones bring the total number of high-grade antimony systems at Reynolds Range to three and validate iTech's belief that the project has a significant endowment of the increasingly valuable critical mineral. With both new zones open along strike and at depth, drilling has the potential to increase the scale of the discovery. 'While one high-grade antimony rock chip existed within historical exploration data at Reynolds Range, there was no indication of continuity or extent of mineralisation,' managing director Mike Schwarz said. 'iTech has now identified the source of the high-grade antimony as coming from >300m long veins at both the Sabre and Falchion prospects. 'These veins have been tested with very few drill holes that were analysed for antimony, presenting immediate drill targets for our upcoming drilling program later this year.' iTech is undertaking site visits to potential drill sites over the next few weeks to collect data and assess logistics to assist with planning of the upcoming drill program. iTech has already obtained heritage clearances to drill at the proposed prospects and will now seek government drilling approvals. Drilling will focus on testing the depth extent of antimony mineralisation beneath the highest-grade outcrops which have not been tested by historical drill holes at the Sabre and Falchion prospects. Drilling is expected to begin in late October or early November this year. With first phase drilling underway at the Horse Heaven gold-antimony project in central Idaho, Resolution Minerals reached 6.3c, a lift of 26% on the previous close. The program will comprise 3000m of diamond core drilling over nine holes with an average depth of 300m per hole and will test mineralisation trends at depth and along strike at the Golden Gate target. There is also potential to expand the campaign to 6000m as RML looks to confirm historical shallow drilling results at Golden Gate and assay for antimony and tungsten, which weren't sampled in prior drilling. Horse Heaven has strong gold, antimony, tungsten and silver mineralisation in two known highly prospective mineralised corridors, and further potential in several emerging targets that include a past-producing antimony and tungsten mine. The project is directly adjacent to Perpetua Resources' Stibnite Antimony & Gold Mine and the geological model is a direct analogue to Stibnite, bearing a strong resemblance to its A$3 billion neighbour. The company is also looking to start a stream sediment sampling program, which will be completed in September or October this year, to the east of Golden Gate. Metal Bank (ASX:MBK) An assessment of the development potential of the shallow Kingsley and Homestead deposits could lead to fast-tracked gold production at the Livingstone project near Meekatharra in WA. As a result Metal Bank improved by 60% to a daily high of 1.6c. In March 2025, the Livingstone gold resource increased 75% to 2.81Mt at 1.36g/t for 122,500oz with 30% in the indicated category. At-surface and near-surface resources at the Homestead and Kingsley deposits are within trucking distance to existing processing centres for potential toll-treating. There is also considerable scope for resource growth at Livingstone with several exploration targets untested across 395km2 of granted exploration licences and drilling being planned. Over in Saudi Arabia, MBK continues to advance its exploration strategy with local funding options being considered ahead of the next exploration phase on the Wadi al Junah copper-zinc-gold-silver project. At Livingstone 'we have multiple catalysts to unlock value for shareholders through near-term production utilising nearby third-party processing infrastructure and further exploration,' executive chair Ines Scotland said. Sierra Nevada Gold (ASX:SNX) After identifying an opportunity to retrieve gold from tailings at the New Pass project in Nevada and generate early cash flow, Sierra Nevada Gold continues assessing processing options. Sampling earlier this year returned high-grade gold at four historic tailings dams, opening the window for SNX to tap into a new and potentially lucrative revenue stream. If feasible, this would help fund a plan to bring New Pass back into production in a bullish environment for gold and US mining. With the restart in mind, the company is progressing underground mining options for the accessible high-grade ore within the Superior Mine. Permitting to allow for re-opening the mine is underway and the company is ready to spring into underground drilling once permits are received. 'Reprocessing the tailings has potential to generate revenue in conjunction with the planned trial mining and bulk testing program,' SNX executive chairman Peter Moore said.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Trainer Joe Pride has high hopes for headstrong debutant Gus The Great at Warwick Farm on
Gus The Great is headstrong, can't be told what to do and has a touch of arrogance about him. This was how part-owner and trainer Joe Pride described the three-year-old chestnut making his debut at Warwick Farm on Wednesday before refuting suggestions the racehorse was named after the well-known NRL commentator, former player and coach, Phil 'Gus' Gould. 'My pet corgi is named Gus and the first greyhound I've ever raced, Gus The Jet, who I own with (jockey) Brenton Avdulla, won the Group 1 Vic Peters Memorial the same day Estadio Mestalla won (Listed Winter Challenge, July 5),'' Pride said. 'I'm having a bit of luck with the name so I've gone with Gus The Great with this horse.'' • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Gus The Great, a $100,000 purchase at a New Zealand Ready To Run Sale last year, lines up in the Keeneland September Yearling Sale Maiden (1100m) at the Warwick Farm midweeks. Pride, who also has another first-starter in the race, Isle of Wight, said Gus The Great showed promise with a close second in a barrier trial earlier this month. 'I like Gus The Great, he reminds me a bit of (former Group 1 -winning sprinter) Tiger Tees,'' Pride said. 'You can't tell him what to do, there is a touch of arrogance about him, and a lot of good horses have an arrogance about them. 'He's trialled really well and so has Isle Of Wight. I'm happy for them both to race on Wednesday.'' With the prospect of a very heavy track on Wednesday, Pride has opted to scratch well-bred three-year-olds Attica and Lupa Capitolina from the second race on the card, the Inglis Xtra Bonus Maiden (1300m). Godolphin's Attica is by former champion racehorse and sire Lonhro, and is the first foal out of multiple Group 2 winner Savatiano. Lupa Capitolina, by leading sire Almanzor out of the Shamardal mare Las Brisas, is a half-sister to Pride's stable star, dual Group 1 winner Ceolwulf. However, wet conditions won't deter Pride from starting Investment in the Asahi Super Dry Handicap (1600m) and The Replicant in the Hawaii Five Oh At Vinery Handicap (1400m). 'Those older horses, Investment and The Replicant, are fit and in-form, and they get through the going,'' he added. Pride is also keen for stable star Ceolwulf to resume in the Group 1 $1 million Winx Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday. 'Ceolwulf will run, as long as the races are on,'' said Pride in anticipation of a heavy track Saturday given the forecast for rain most days this week. 'I thought Ceolwulf's last trial was every bit as good as Private Eye.'' Private Eye leads the journey in the opening trial at Warwick Farm with stablemate Ceolwulf not to far behind! ðŸ�‡ @PrideRacing — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 8, 2025 • Ceolwulf, winner of the Epsom Handicap and King Charles III Stakes double last spring, ran second to stablemate and last start Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes winner Private Eye in a Warwick Farm barrier trial earlier this month. Also for Saturday's Randwick meeting, Pride has entered Aberlour (1600m) and Kerguelen (1200m) for benchmark 78 races, and Cosmonova for the Group 3 Toy Show Quality (1100m). 'I might run Aberlour in the Rowley Mile at Hawkesbury on Thursday,'' Pride said. 'Kerguelen will go to Randwick as he's very good on heavy tracks, but I will probably save Cosmonova for another day if it's too wet.'' Pride revealed $12 million earner Private Eye returned to his Warwick Farm stables on Monday morning after a dominant first-up win at Caulfield last Saturday. PRIVATE EYE 🖤ðŸ'š He's a class act! Private Eye shrugs off a pre-race vet check and leads all the way in the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence ðŸ'° @nashhot @PrideRacing @ProvenTbreds — 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) August 16, 2025 'Private Eye is tough and he's done plenty of travelling so he handled the trip back from Melbourne really well,'' Pride said. 'But I'm going to sit back and wait to see what happens with the weather in Sydney this week before deciding what we do with him. 'There's the option of going back to Caulfield next week for the (Group 1) Memsie Stakes or we wait for the (Group 2) Tramway Stakes at Randwick (September 6).'' â– â– â– â– â– Formal Display, the former Irish sprinter, could break new ground for leading syndicators Triple Crown when he makes his Australian debut in the Hawaii Five Oh At Vinery Handicap (1400m) at Warwick Farm on Wednesday. Triple Crown has raced many outstanding horses over the last two decades, most notably dual The Everest winner Redzel, and Group 1 winners like Mazu, Hot Snitzel and Peggy Jean, but they haven't really tapped into the international market – until now. 'We have only had one import before who didn't do much out here but Formal Display does look promising,'' Triple Crown's Chris Ward said. 'He has trialled very well and might be even sharper than we anticipated.'' Formal Display won two of his seven starts in Ireland before being purchased by Triple Crown for about $200,000 at the Tattersall's October Sale in England last year. 'He's been in and out of work a couple of times with Annabel and Rob (Archibald) but he seems to have taken well to the Aussie style of training,'' Ward said. Formal Display led most of the way to win a Scone trial in mid-July then again showed plenty of speed before finishing a close third to Birdman in a strong Randwick trial on heavy ground about two weeks ago. 'He seems to be coming up well but he has a tricky gate and heavy track to contend with on Wednesday,'' Ward said. 'At this stage we are heading to Warwick Farm but we have taken the precaution of nominating him for Brisbane (Eagle Farm) on Saturday.'' Triple Crown also races promising three-year-old Without Peer, a debut winner at Rosehill late last season before his fast-finishing second to Ninja at the same track last Saturday. 'Without Peer has come through Saturday's run really well,'' Ward said. 'I know Ciaron (Maher, trainer) is very happy with the horse and we are looking at the Ming Dynasty Quality (Rosehill, September 13) next for him.''
