Sir Patrick Hogan sells his world-renowned Cambridge Stud

Sir Patrick Hogan poses with the 2013 Melbourne Cup and stallion Zabeel at Cambridge Stud. Picture / Christine Cornege.

New Zealand's famed Cambridge Stud has been sold more than four decades after it was founded by Sir Patrick Hogan.

Hogan announced this morning that the thoroughbred stud farm had been sold to Sistema founder and businessman Brendan Lindsay and his wife Jo Lindsay.

"It is no secret that there has been huge international interest in Cambridge Stud
for some time now," Hogan said. "Many different parties have made approaches to us, however Justine [Lady Justine Hogan] and I were determined to wait for both the right time and the right people - that was non-negotiable for us.

"That right time has now come and the right people have arrived. A new chapter begins for Cambridge Stud and is one that we firmly believe was worth waiting for."

Established in 1976 after Hogan imported the star stallion Sir Tristram, Cambridge Stud is responsible for the most influential staying blood introduced to the Southern Hemisphere in the past 40 years.

It is the pride of the Waikato town and today employs 40 staff, claiming to be the number one nursery in Australasia.

"Cambridge Stud has been our lives for over four decades. We have nurtured it,
been its guardians and have proudly seen it evolve into the globally respected
operation it is today," Hogan said.

"As we pass the ownership baton on, we know that Cambridge Stud could not be in
better hands."

Hogan said he would not be retiring and would take his horses to next year's Karaka Draft before pursuing other racing and breeding interests in the industry -- "An industry I will be fully immersed in until the day I die," he said.

Brendan and Jo Lindsay, owners of Karaka-based Lindsay Racing, have owned racehorses for many years, expanding into breeding in 2003, according ot the company's website.

The couple said in a statement they were aware of the "huge responsibility that comes with assuming the ownership of such a treasured and revered operation".

"Sir Patrick, a member of both the Australian and New Zealand Halls of Fame, is the undisputed king of the New Zealand thoroughbred industry.

"There are no parallels to what he and Lady Hogan have achieved including 31 years
as the national sale's leading vendor."

Sistema founder Brendan Lindsay. Picture / Jason Oxenham.

The couple will assume control of Cambridge Stud in April 2018.