Big move pays off for breeders

UST over three years ago he made the bold move to expand his breeding operation interstate and that has paid dividends for Craig Judd of Benstud.

Judd is the most recent recipient of New South Wales’ highest breeding accolade, NSW Breeder of the Year.

“It’s a bit of a shock to be honest and an honour,” said Judd.

“It’s the first award we’ve received since locating to NSW.”

Judd established Benstud Standardbreds in Victoria in 2007 and a decade later expanded into NSW.

He originally leased 300 acres at Glenferrie Farms in Roslyn and has added to that since, purchasing more land in Crookwell.

“We moved to NSW just over three years ago and repeated what we did in Victoria in NSW,” said Judd.

“We saw NSW as a vibrant place and felt the demand to set something up and it’s worked.”

The operation experienced success last season with pacers including Jay Ok, Spirit King and Patsbeachstorm to name a few.

“Time gets away from you and when you breed the numbers we do you lose touch on where the horses we breed end up until you see them turn up at the trials or at the races and it’s rewarding,” said Judd.

Award criteria:

The NSW Breeder of the Year is based on the Universal Drivers Rating System whereby horses bred must have had a minimum of 25 starts in NSW for the season.

To be eligible the winning Breeder must reside in NSW.

Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) is the controlling body for harness racing in New South Wales with responsibility for commercial and regulatory management of the industry including 33 racing clubs across the State.  HRNSW is headed by a Board of Directors and is independent of Government.

HRNSW CONTACT: 

(02) 9722 6600 

executive@hrnsw.com.au

HRNSW MEDIA | AMANDA RANDO