Mark Learn says his Gilderoy property has given him extra enjoyment of nature than any of the seven farms he has owned throughout his life.
A legendary Melbourne bookmaker is promoting his Yarra Valley rainforest retreat for as much as $3.95m as he prepares for retirement and one other Melbourne Cup.
Former bookie Mark Learn has listed The Gamekeeper’s Lodge at 1311 Little Yarra Rd, Gilderoy, a four-bedroom house set throughout 24.77ha of countryside that includes a personal lake, rainforest and towering manna gums.
Mr Learn, who collected $960,000 backing Black Knight to win the 1984 Melbourne Cup, stated he and spouse Shari have been planning to spend a part of their retirement close to Noosa.
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However the former betting ring heavyweight has not given up choosing winners, tipping Ciaron Maher-trained Level Of Legislation for Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup.
The Geelong Cup winner was previously owned by King Charles III and Queen Camilla earlier than being bought to Australian pursuits.
Mr Learn stated his confidence within the horse got here from Maher’s use of expertise, synthetic intelligence and scientific analysis to enhance the efficiency of his runners.
Geelong Cup winner Level Of Legislation is Mark Learn’s tip for the 2026 Melbourne Cup, with the previous bookie backing coach Ciaron Maher’s scientific method to racing. Image: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Photographs
“If I used to be going into that decision the cardboard tomorrow, I’d have these bookies on their knees,” he stated.
The technique is acquainted territory for Mr Learn, who backed Black Knight in 1984 largely due to his confidence in legendary coach George Hanlon.
He recalled difficult bookmakers on the conventional pre-Cup name of the cardboard, in search of bets that may return $1m if the horse gained.
However the victory didn’t go down fairly as anticipated with Hanlon.
Mr Learn stated he encountered the coach at Kyneton the next day and provided to host a lavish dinner for 10 at Melbourne restaurant Fanny’s.
Mark Learn, pictured in 1981, famously collected about $960,000 backing Black Knight to win the 1984 Melbourne Cup.
As a substitute of accepting the invitation, Hanlon berated him for backing the horse after reportedly telling his personal purchasers it was not adequate to win.
“You made me look a idiot,” Mr Learn recalled the coach telling him.
The previous bookmaker’s newest multimillion-dollar property marketing campaign brings one other chapter of his extraordinary actual property historical past in direction of an in depth.
He stated a buddy at Kay & Burton had spent 12 months looking for a big Mornington Peninsula property earlier than introducing him to the Gilderoy property simply two days earlier than its scheduled public sale.
“I went house that evening and I stated, ‘I’ve fallen in love with this property’,” he stated.
“It’s like having an Australian station inside an hour of Melbourne.”
Bookmaker Mark Learn, pictured in 1986, as soon as owned Sydney’s well-known Boomerang mansion, which he purchased in 1982 earlier than promoting to developer Warren Anderson.
Mr Learn initially ran horses and cattle on the a lot bigger holding earlier than promoting about 300 acres and retaining the roughly 61-acre part containing the lodge.
He stated the broader property had additionally been an early water supply for the Mount Franklin bottled water model, with the industrial spring operation persevering with on land he subsequently bought.
The lodge’s monumental glass conservatory has a 12-panel ceiling with remote-controlled shutters, whereas an vintage Italian marble fire opens to an out of doors entertaining space overlooking the lake.
French oak flooring, Belgian home windows and a kitchen with Gaggenau home equipment characteristic all through the European-inspired residence.
The centrepiece of Mark Learn’s Gilderoy retreat is an 8m by 9m conservatory that includes a 12-panel glass ceiling and an vintage Italian marble fire.
The four-bedroom Yarra Valley house features a Gaggenau-equipped kitchen, butler’s pantry and climate-controlled wine storage.
However Mr Learn stated it was the pure setting, together with manna gums reaching about 60m and birdsong from dawn to sundown, that made the property particular.
“I’m a Fitzroy boy, and never many Fitzroy boys change into farmers,” he stated.
“I’ve come to know the facility of nature.”
The house is one other addition to Mr Learn’s extraordinary property historical past, which incorporates Sydney’s well-known Boomerang mansion at Elizabeth Bay.
A double-sided fire connects the lodge’s glass-roofed conservatory to an out of doors entertaining terrace overlooking the encircling rainforest.
The Gamekeeper’s Lodge at Gilderoy options customized glass wall murals depicting the property’s pure environment, together with its rainforest and towering timber.
He stated he purchased the waterfront landmark in 1982 and lived there along with his spouse and kids for 5 years earlier than developer Warren Anderson made a proposal he couldn’t refuse.
Boomerang later modified palms in an $80m transaction and has not too long ago been linked to cost expectations of about $100m.
The couple additionally beforehand owned Magnificence Falls, a sprawling Cooroy Mountain property close to Noosa that bought for $3.3m in 2013.
Former bookmaker Mark Learn is promoting his Yarra Valley property with $3.6m-$3.95m worth hopes as he and spouse Shari put together to spend a part of their retirement close to Noosa.
Mr Learn stated returning to Queensland would enable the couple to take pleasure in a unique way of life, though he was not ruling out one other nation property.
“I actually take pleasure in dwelling within the nation now,” he stated.
Frank Dowling Actual Property agent Anthony Elliott is dealing with the Gilderoy sale by means of expressions of curiosity.
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