Mitch Cunningham

DIRECTOR & OWNER

E | mitch@ridgmontfarm.com
M | +61438774436

Mitch is the founding director of Ridgmont, as well as Cunningham Thoroughbreds, the family racing arm of the business. He comes from a multi-disciplined background in business, investment and aviation, having spent over a decade in Hong Kong flying the Boeing 747 and 777 as an Airline Pilot for Cathay Pacific. Upon his return to Australia, he jointly founded a health and fitness franchise, as well as seed invested in a series of start-ups in the food and wellness space.

Mitch’s primary focus since 2019, however, has been on the establishment and growth of Ridgmont and Cunningham Thoroughbreds. The two entities are run in tandem, with the Cunningham Thoroughbreds racing portfolio acting as a critical feeder system into the Ridgmont broodmare band. With over 60 racehorses and 35 farm-owned broodmares under management, Mitch and his team are well-positioned to leave an enduring mark on the industry.

Chris Phillips

VETERINARIAN, BVetMed(Hons) CertAVP MRCVS

E | chris@ridgmontfarm.com
M | +61493269812

Chris graduated from The Royal Veterinary College in 2005. After working in primary equine practice, he undertook medicine, surgery and reproductive internships at Rossdale and Partners, Newmarket. In 2011, Chris was awarded the Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice, focusing on equine soft tissue surgery.

Chris spent 7 years as the managing veterinarian for Waikato Stud in New Zealand. Chris's main interests include all aspects of reproductive medicine and yearling preparation alongside stallion reproduction and subfertility examinations, subjects for which he has presented internationally. He is an approved consultant for first-season subfertility insurance and has held an advisory position for the NZEVA. Outside of work, Chris breeds thoroughbreds and has had notable success with breeding the recent Queensland Derby winner.

Jim Clarke

DIRECTOR OF BLOODSTOCK

E | jim@clarkebloodstock.com.au
M | +61400848577

Jim is a a trained lawyer turned bloodstock agent and consultant with over 18 years of experience working in racing and breeding both in Australia and around the world. Throughout his career, Jim has worked alongside and been mentored by some of the world’s leading industry professionals including trainers Peter Snowden, Charlie Appleby, Shaun Dwyer, Bjorn Baker and Mike de Kock as well as bloodstock agents John Ferguson, James Harron and Ed Sackville.

In 2018, Jim began his own bloodstock agency, Clarke Bloodstock, with a career highlight so far being Arapaho’s win in the Group 1 Tancred Stakes. As Director of Bloodstock at Ridgmont, Jim helps to manage our broodmare band and advise on the farm’s portfolio of horses.