With the retirement of Stephen McKee as a full-time trainer, there has been a changing of the guard at Sunline Lodge, his South Auckland thoroughbred training facility.

Sophia Orting and Derek Nolan of Lilywhites Lodge have taken up occupancy of the facility, where they will continue their breaking-in and pre-training business and expand into training.

McKee will mentor Orting in the role as the head trainer of a new team and he will also be retaining horses he has a personal interest in, while entrusting them to the capable hands of Orting and Nolan.

“Sophia is originally from Sweden and did eight years for Murray Baker as a foreman and travelling foreman in both New Zealand and Australia. She has also worked briefly in the racing industry in Adelaide and Brisbane,” McKee said.

“Derek is a fine horseman from a racing family and well regarded for his talents in the saddle. Their business specialises in breaking-in, pre-training and educating racehorses.”

Both Orting and Nolan are excited to be able to maximise the use of the property for their services as well as utilising the great training facility that Sunline Lodge presents.

“To have these facilities and the guidance of Stephen is an amazing chance for us to slowly start getting into the training side of things,” Orting said.

“Occupying Sunline Lodge will be a fantastic opportunity for us to do that as we grow our business, and we are more than ready for that challenge.

“We have a good client base in the Auckland area with great support from a couple of big clients – Westbury Stud and Haunui Farm, who gave us the first horses which allowed us to then start our own business, as well as many loyal private clients. We feel confident in taking the next step in growing our business at this time.”

The couple officially took charge at Sunline Lodge in mid-December and Orting has already saddled a handful of horses from the stable, including Breezon, who is likely to present at Ellerslie on Boxing Day sporting the Lilywhites green and blue silks with a white lily.

Twenty-one Group One winners have been trained from the training complex at Sunline Lodge and McKee is looking forward to watching its new occupants add to that tally.