A renowned owner-breeder, the businessman has horses spread across a range of trainers.

That has brought success in some of the sport's biggest events, a highlight being Capitalist's win in the 2016 Golden Slipper.

Read more: Who can - and can't - win the $1 million The Gong at Kembla Grange

While that victory was memorable, triumphs at Kembla Grange have always held a special meaning for Sandblom.

With a farm in Kiama and a relationship with leading trainer Gwenda Markwell that stretches almost 20 years, wins at the track are a fairly regular occurrence.

There is one race, however, that Sandblom is yet to win. The Gong.

Naturally the event is only in its second year, but the businessman recognises its status as the biggest in Illawarra racing.

Sandblom will have a chance to win the $1 million race on Saturday, as a part-owner of John Thompson-trained Purple Sector.

"It's the track I've won the most races at," Sandblom said. "Winning what is now the biggest race run there, it's not an opportunity I'll get very often.

"To get a horse to peak at the right time, the right distance, with a handicap, to pull it off is hard. It's not one I'll be repeating every year, to win it would be big."

Sandblom's journey to The Gong is a lengthy one.

An academically-gifted student at Fort Street High School in Sydney, he started selling race books at Harold Park as an 11-year-old.

A greyhound training licence followed at just 13, the teenager even sneaking a dog on to a train to race it at Lithgow on one occasion.

A reputation at school soon developed and a bookmaking operation quickly popped up in the playground.

"I used to be the school bookie. I'd run a book on the big races, the Epsom, the Melbourne Cup,'' he said. ''One year I took more than 1000 bets, including some from teachers.

"Sometimes it was profitable, other times it wasn't. In 1976 I didn't get the weather information early enough, I adjusted my odds a bit too slowly. Van Der Hum won on a bog, I took some big bets on him so I lost a bit that year."

Sandblom considered moving into professional bookmaking, but instead opted to work with a different kind of books. Textbooks.

A brief stint at McGraw Hill followed, before he set up Pascal Press, today one of Australia's largest educational publishing companies.

With the business proving profitable, Sandblom was able start investing in trotters.

"I started Pascal Press when I was 27,'' he said. ''In my early 30s I started having enough money to buy the occasional horse.

"My first horse was Lord Of The Mist, which I had a fair bit of fun with. It wasn't a great horse, but won around a dozen races at Harold Park."

Slowly as Sandblom enjoyed more success in business, he transitioned to thoroughbreds.

Hollymount Farm in Kiama was purchased in 1997, originally as a home for retired horses.

That soon changed, the dairy farm converted into a stud venue. Today, the location is largely used as a spelling paddock. Sandblom's breeding operation is based in the Hunter Valley.

"As my business became more successful, I was able to buy a few more horses and learn a bit more about the game.

"I bought a few cheap mares from the Inglis sales, bought the farm at Kiama and started thinking about putting paddocks in, then we bred a couple and had a few foals running around.

"The first winner I bred was called Can She Run, it won a race at Kembla. It was a big thrill to have bred the horse as well as raced it.

"It was a learning curve, I did it the hard way. I was trying to do it myself, I didn't know what I was doing, but it was fun."

It was not long after he bought Hollymount that Sandblom met Markwell.

With a recently-purchased yearling that needed a trainer, the owner's farm manager drove to Kembla Grange to consider his options.

Upon meeting Markwell, it didn't take long for a decision to be made. It proved a shrewd move.

"I'd bought a yearling at a sale and the next job was to find a trainer for it. My farm manager at the time went down to Kembla to check out who was the best trainer. Gwenda was around and that was the first horse we gave her.

"Gwenda's pretty straight-forward. She gets a lot of averagely-bred horses, but she'll be patient and get results out of them. She doesn't push horses too hard, she'll tell you if they're not ready and need more time."

The pair have won a number of black-type races together, including the group 2 Shannon Stakes with Purple Sector's half-brother Rolling Pin.

Read more: Former Markwell star Archedemus ready for Kembla Grange homecoming in The Gong

The gelding also placed third in the 2012 Epsom and remains Markwell's favourite horse, the trainer confident he would have won a group 1 had he not broken down.

While she has clashed with some owners, Markwell's relationship with Sandblom has always been smooth sailing.

"I've trained for him for 20 years, he's just unbelievable to train for," Markwell said. "If you think Matthew's a problem, well you've got a problem yourself because he's just too good.

"He's very understanding, he understands racing. He knows what it takes to win a race at country, provincial and city meetings. You wouldn't find a better person."

Pascal Press enabled Sandblom to dabble in horse racing, however it was the launch of Mathletics that took his involvement to another level.

The program's success eventually led to the listing of parent company 3P Learning on the Australian stock market in 2014.

It was a lucrative exercise for Sandblom.

Suddenly the businessman was flush with cash, leading to even greater investment in his breeding operations.

Prior to the float, Sandblom was an early investor in Newgate, a company that has grown into one of the biggest players in the bloodstock industry.

Kingstar Farm was set up in 2016, the breeder hoping to attract a range of partners from all levels of racing.

Three stallions are currently based at the property, Unite And Conquer, Lord Of The Sky and Bull Point.

Markwell is training two Bull Point fillies, with Sandblom hoping Star Point will line up in April's Australian Oaks.

While racing is very much a business, Sandblom still finds ways to treat it as a hobby and passion.

The excitement of experimenting with different combinations was part of his reasoning for establishing Kingstar, while he takes the most joy in watching horses he's bred to race.

Once they arrive at the barriers, there's little Sandblom can do to affect the result. And that's all part of the fun.

"It's one of those things, there's always something happening, something to look forward to," Sandblom said. "There are different races, different horses and conditions.

"With business we try to make it as predictable as possible, racing is much less predicable, that has an appeal."

Sandblom's passion for all levels of racing is unique in an industry so heavily geared towards the riches of Sydney and Melbourne.

So, too, is his desire to play a role in the entire process.

Capitalist's Slipper win was a thrill, but it wasn't the rush he gets when one of his own triumphs in a big race.

Capitalist was bought at the 2015 Magic Millions sales to stand as Newgate's star stallion once he retired.

Read more: The Gong is 'best field' ever seen at Kembla Grange, says ITC boss

It proved a wise business decision, the Slipper win seeing his value at stud skyrocket.

But Sandblom didn't breed the horse, he owned it. It wasn't one of his own.

That is the businessman's next goal. To breed a Golden Slipper winner.

And he's optimistic it won't be long before he achieves it.

"From a breeding point of view, I'd like to win a big race with a two-year-old from one of my own stallions like Bull Point.

"I have Readily Availabull running in the Clockwise Classic at Ballarat on Saturday. Trainer John Sargent thinks it's a smart horse, if it could go on to win black-type, that would be a thrill.

"If I'm combining racing with breeding, that adds the most interest with races for me. I've never targeted races like Melbourne Cup, it doesn't have an impact on the breeding business. I target sprint and mile races."

Given Sandblom's success in business and on the track, a home-grown Golden Slipper winner doesn't seem too far away.