About Ridgeport

As Santo and Michele Guagliardo weighed up where to establish a farm befitting their love for the thoroughbred industry, it’s fair to say just about all options were on the table.

They considered north of the CBD, east of the CBD, south of the CBD. The only region not discussed was west of the CBD, which isn’t a shock to those with a grasp of the geography of WA, in particular Perth.

As pleasant as it is, Rottnest Island just isn’t built for a thoroughbred nursery.

Neville Parnham, Santo’s long-time trainer and close friend, recalls many property inspections.

“We went and had a look at a few, that’s for sure,” Neville said.

“One was in Mundijong which he was pretty interested in buying. There were a couple up north, Bullsbrook, Gingin and the Muchea area and I said to him: ‘Mate it’s not quite the right place to buy’. They were all well fenced and nice properties, but there probably wasn’t enough land either.

“Mundijong was a big, huge property and I think he was interested in running cattle also.

“I went down and saw this current property at Waroona with him and as soon as I saw it, it was like ‘yep’. As soon as we got back in the car, I said to Santo: ‘This is the place, this is the place.’ He wasn’t sure.

“A couple of weeks later we went looking at yearlings, Trevor Andrews and Danny Morton were in the car also and we went there and I said: ‘This is the property Santo is looking at.’ They got on to him and said to him that he needed to buy it.

“There was enough acreage – it’s a really top-class property and he should be able to breed a lot of winners off that farm.”

Santo remembers “driving around for months” before settling on the stunning 160-acre property, now trading as Ridgeport Farm which sits 5km north of Waroona yet is nothing more than 15 minutes to the heart of Pinjarra.

“It was a dairy farm 50 years ago and then was set up for beef, so it needed a fair bit of work to be brought up to scratch,” he said.

“We had to replace all the fencing because the safety of the horses is paramount. They have to have good paddocks and good fencing and shelters so we got to work and we’re pretty happy with how it has come up.

“Ron Sayers was great to me. He leased me about 15 broodmares to get started and here we are.

“It was time to move to a farm that would look after every horse and that included Rommel, who is a pretty special horse to me. It’s great to be able to buy a nice horse as a yearling like we did with him, race him and win good enough races to make him into a stallion and then for him to make the step as a stallion.

“We’re very happy with how the farm looks. Everyone has done a great job, there’s still a bit to do but I think people that see how it’s set up, the house, are impressed.”

It’s impossible not to be. The result of Santo’s vision and deep pockets has resulted in a magnificent farm with all the trimmings you’d expect at a Hunter Valley operation.

The horses want for nothing. The staff want for nothing. The best is yet to come.

Those who know Santo are not surprised. He is not one for doing things in halves.

Starting with a solitary truck to establishing a transport regime servicing the Goldfields, Santo has shown what vision and hard work can deliver.

It is why he is so excited about the future at Ridgeport Farm, 20 years on from linking up with Neville to purchase his first yearling, a Scenic filly later known as Bandalera, a winner of four races.

“That’s a long time ago now. She wasn’t a star by any means, but it was the first horse I got with Neville and we’re still going 20 years later,” Santo laughed.

“I love racing. I love the horses, the people and I love a punt. I try to get to the track as much as I can and I love getting down to the farm.

“I am pretty proud of what we have built down there in Waroona. Racing and breeding are passions of mine. Now we can do them both on a farm that I own. Happy days.”