Pakenham a part of Lindsay Park’s future

David Hayes is looking to consolidate the future of the Lindsay Park empire with plans for a third training centre..

Hayes, who trains in partnership with his son Ben and nephew Tom Dabernig, has set up a country training base at Euroa complemented by a metropolitan base at Flemington.

With some uncertainty over the future of training at Flemington in the years ahead, Lindsay Park has bought two stabling plots at the Pakenham Racing Club’s complex at Tynong.

Hayes says there are no immediate plans to build on the plots which, when combined, are the size of Lindsay Park’s Flemington operation.

He said establishing new stables at Pakenham would fit in perfectly with what the stable already has at Euroa and Flemington.

“There’s going to be 40 or 50 meetings a season at Pakenham,” Hayes said.

“It makes perfect sense to have a stable here, especially with the number of night meetings.

“Cranbourne is not far away and it is as strong as anything. Mornington’s not far away either and Sale’s just down the road.

“It’s a logical place to set up and you’re still not far from the city.

“The training facilities will only improve and they’re clearly going to be racing here more and more and they’ve got the room to grow with the amenities.

“The view is we’ll build the facility here in time and watch the place grow and flourish.

“It’s a very exciting place.”

Hayes said the complex was still in its infancy but would be a benefit to the industry when complete.

There are plans to extend the 1000m chute on the turf track to include a 1200m start which will in turn take pressure off the home turn.

And there are also plans to create a grass training track inside the synthetic track which currently holds the majority of Pakenham’s meetings.

The Lindsay Park operation had a day out at Saturday’s Pakenham Cup meeting winning four races including the day’s feature with Pilote D’essai.

“Every horse gets their chance here and it’s only going to get better,” Hayes said.