If circumstances had been different, Queen Elizabeth II would have swapped Buckingham Palace for this corner of New Zealand.
The late monarch was reportedly envious of the estate that horse racing legend Sir Patrick Hogan and his wife Lady Justine established in Tamahere.
Now, a 1.12ha slice of that world-famous Cambridge Stud is up for grabs with a price expectation of $2.25 million - almost $1 million below the RV.
Back in 2005, Sir Patrick carved off part of his estate, including his old home, and sold it to people he knew through horse racing.
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Doctor Adam Greenbaum bought the property almost a decade later, deciding it would be the perfect place to raise his two young daughters.
Greenbaum had been in the house just one day when he crossed paths with the Hogans, arriving home from a shift at Waikato Hospital to find his famous neighbours at the end of the driveway.
Sir Patrick Hogan poses with the 2013 Melbourne Cup and racehorse stallion Zabeel at Cambridge Stud. Photo / Christine Cornege
Sir Patrick and his wife, Lady Justine. Photo / Supplied
Queen Elizabeth II visited Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan at their home. Photo / Cambridge Stud
“Patrick came marching up the driveway and introduced himself, then Justine came up. Being English, I called him Sir Patrick and Justine said, 'No, no, no. I’m Justine, and he’s Patrick', and that was the end of that,” Greenbaum told OneRoof.
Over the years, the Hogans proved themselves to be the “most amazing” neighbours. They went out of their way to help the then-single father of two, installing a gate to make it easier for Greenbaum to add a pool for his girls. They even jump-started his car when the battery went flat, and he was late for the school run.
They also shared some interesting snippets about the house, including the time Queen Elizabeth II visited.
“Justine told this long story about how the Queen said she was jealous of Justine. Justine asked why, and she said, 'Ideally, the best place for me to have been would have been to live on a horse stud, and you do that every day.'”
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Greenbaum’s mother had been visiting from England at the time and had been thrilled to see photos of the Queen sitting in their living room, he said.
The Hogans bought the Discombe Road property in 1976 after Sir Patrick imported the star stallion Sir Tristram and spent more than 40 years building the business. They sold Cambridge Stud to Sistema founders Brendan and Jo Lindsay in 2017 before moving to Cambridge. Sir Patrick died in 2023.
The impressive rose garden and a striking water fountain with four outward-facing horses on the circular driveway - a birthday gift from Lady Justine to Sir Patrick - date back to their tenure.
Multiple renovations carried out by the different owners saw the original homestead morph into a spacious four-bedroom, four-bathroom home.
Buyers with budgets from $2.25m are invited to view the property, which has an RV of $3m. Photo / Supplied
The four-bedroom, four-bathroom home has undergone several impressive renovations over the years. Photo / Supplied
The Hogans had been keen tennis players and built a tennis court and tennis pavilion on the property, while Greenbaum added the covered swimming pool, spa, sauna and plunge pool.
He had also converted the Hogans' much-loved tennis pavilion into a two-bedroom cottage for guests.
Greenbaum said 91A Discombe Road had been an idyllic place to raise his family, but decided it was time to sell now that his youngest daughter was off to university.
He recently remarried, and he and his wife, Nicola, wish to be closer to his practice in Auckland. While he wouldn't miss the long drive to work, he would miss the scenery and location.
“My daughters have grown up ranging around this hectare of idyllic land with these amazing horses over the post and rail. I’ve got pictures of them over the years talking to these amazing thoroughbreds,” he said.
“There are cycleways all over the place here, so we go running around here, we cycle. Cambridge is just a lovely place to live.”
Bayleys listing agent Angela Finnigan, who sold the property to Greenbaum, said it was a lovely home that could suit a range of people, including families, extended families or people wanting to work from home.
“It’s got a paddock, so if the kids wanted a pony it would work.”
Buyers with budgets of $2.25m plus were invited, which she said was well below its $3m RV and represented good buying. “There’s a lot there for the value of it… They are motivated sellers,” she said.
- 91A Discombe Road, Tamahere, goes to auction on November 19
