Grahame Begg has closed up shop in Sydney and heading to Melbourne to continue what has been a highly successful training career in the harbour city.

The closure of the Baramul Lodge Stables, at Randwick, was a huge decision one that was not have been taken lightly, you could imagine a lot of midnight oil was burnt before a finale was reached.

There is so much tradition attached to Baramul that cannot be wiped away with the mere stroke of a pen, it was the name of the stud in the Widden Valley where Todman, the inaugural winner of the Golden Slipper Stakes, was bred.

His decision to leave Sydney for Melbourne is a personal one, he does not have to elaborate further, it can be seen as a simple change of direction.

He comes to Melbourne with an imposing and formidable record, made up of 14 Group 1 races, 16 Group 2 races, 13 Group 3 races, and 26 Listed races.

His father Neville, a highly successful trainer here and abroad, can bust the buttons off his vest with pride, his son Grahame has excelled in about the hardest profession known to man.

The Begg family have had a long association with racing; they mainly concentrated on quality rather than quantity, it payed off as there has never been a shortage of a good horse at any time in the stable at Randwick.

With on course stabling a premium, at both major tracks Flemington and Caulfield, he has selected Pinecliff at Mount Eliza, a boutique training establishment with the best facilities in Victoria.

During the last 20 odd years with a team of about 20 to 30 horses, he has proven his ability time and again, with horses such as Whisked, Mahaya, Fraternity,Monopoliza, Telesto ,Bonanovo, All Silent , Our Egyptian and Secret Admirer, “I like to keep it nice and neat, so everything runs along smoothly, “ he said.

However, he readily agrees with the view shared by many that the face of the industry is entering a new era.

“It is pretty evident racing is changing quite a lot, when you look at what has happened at this year’s Magic Millions, and the Sydney Easter Sales, you see a lot of international money coming into the Australian thoroughbred industry, “he said.

“This is squeezing the local buyers out of the market, that in turn is making it tougher for the smaller stables, while the big trainers seem to becoming bigger and bigger,” he added.  

Grahame Begg has settled in well at Pinecliff, with half a dozen horses at this stage, earlier in the week he had two runners at Geelong.

Emoji was scratched after refusing to enter the starting gate, whilst first starter, Magic Word, finished well back in the fourth race, will gain benefit from the run but it is still early days, a lot of water will flow under the bridge.

Grahame Begg