Bernie’s back in business with new Middlebrook Valley Lodge role
Kane reenters industry fray with role ‘too good to
Popular Hunter Valley industry stalwart Bernie Kane will join well-known Hunter Valley nursery Middlebrook Valley Lodge as the farm undergoes an overhaul after the departure of the stud’s most familiar face.
Kane, who left Aquis Farm in late 2020, has been enjoying working on the periphery of the thoroughbred industry, one he’s been involved in for a quarter of a century, and he is excited to be back in a full-time capacity at Middlebrook Valley Lodge.
Appointed to the newly created position of sales and bloodstock manager at Middlebrook Valley Lodge, Kane has remained a semi-regular freelancer at the sales, primarily working for Edinburgh Park’s Ian Smith, during his sabbatical.
Kane, who worked for Woodlands and Emirates Park before joining Aquis, described it as an “opportunity too good to pass up” with the new role to have a client communication focus.
“Middlebrook has got a fantastic history. You only have to look at horses like Divine Prophet, Proisir who has just been crowned champion New Zealand stallion, Sejardan is about to start his stud career and he’s a Middlebrook graduate and then there’s Magic Millions winner Military Rose, so they’ve done it all, really,” Kane told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“I’ll be helping clients across all aspects of their bloodstock portfolios, helping with matings, sale selection and all that side, the buying and selling, and working hand in hand with Jenna [Cochrane, stud manager] … she knows the ins and outs.
“The farrier is the same, the vets are the same, the feed’s the same, so not much is going to change. It is just a way for the boss to reboot Middlebrook, I suppose.”
Long-term Middlebrook Valley manager Verna Metcalfe recently resigned, opening an opportunity for a restructure at the Scone operation which was purchased by new investors in late 2020.
“Bernie brings over 25 years industry experience to the role and the team is really looking forward to having him on board to drive that part of business,” Middlebrook operations manager Alex Scott said.
“We conducted a thorough search to ensure we found the right person and the management team are certain that Bernie is the perfect fit for the job.
“Whilst Bernie will work alongside the established team on the farm including stud manager Jenna Cochrane, who has been an integral part of the team here for over 13 years, it’s the business development and client liaison aspects that Bernie will concentrate on.”
Kane said in many respects it’s business as usual at the farm, 15 kilometres north of Scone, but one thing that will change under the new leadership is that Middlebrook Valley Lodge will sell all horses back under its own banner.
In recent years, some horses have been consigned by other vendors such as Bhima Thoroughbreds.
“Everything will come in-house. The only thing we’ll do is, for some external farms, we might foal down for people who need a hand,” he said.
“I have got a couple of smaller farms on board already who can’t justify the cost or can’t find someone to do night watch, but in terms of sales I’d be very surprised if we outsourced to anyone else moving forward as we really want to get the name back out there.”
Kane will still reside in the Lower Hunter Valley but will be a regular on-farm at Middlebrook Valley Lodge while also attending all the major bloodstock sales.
He will officially start in the role on August 14, but Kane said his phone is already on.