A warm early welcome for Little Avondale Stud’s draft at Karaka has further fuelled its New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale expectations.
The Masterton farm has the utmost faith in the quality of its Book 1 consignment and private opinions have been vindicated since the travelling team arrived on site.
“The horses arrived late Sunday morning and they all settled in really well,” farm principal Sam Williams said.
“We were parading on Monday and we had 16 in total, which for a Monday is pretty good, so it was great to get underway and all the horses behaved really well.”
Little Avondale will present eight colts and nine fillies with a son of a multiple champion stallion, Lot 562, a stand-out example.
“The Savabeel colt out of Alam Mo Na is as good a Savabeel colt as we have ever bred,” Williams said.
“I think he is right up there with (Group winners) Addictive Nature and Savvy Nature.
“He’s a beautiful horse with a grouse walk and from a stallion family as well.”
His dam Alam Mo Na is a winning daughter of High Chaparral with his pedigree page featuring the ill-fated Gr.1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) winner Northern Meteor and the Gr.2 Todman Stakes (1200m) winner Smart Missile.
“Another colt who really stands out is the Per Incanto (Lot 265) out of Not A Jaffa and he’s going to create a lot of attention,” Williams said.
The dam is an unraced half-sister by Iffraaj to the former Hong Kong star and multiple Group One winner Werther, the Gr.1 Australasian Oaks (2000m) Toffee Tongue and the Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) winner Gobstopper.
“Per Incanto is flying again in Hong Kong and had another winner (Rattan World) the other night for Jamie Richards, and the Australians are really taking note as well,” Williams said.
“Jimmysstar won a trial on Monday and beat (dual Group One winner) Pride Of Jenni.
“John Sargent’s Photographics is heading toward the Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr.2, 1200m) and the McEvoy’s Rue De Royale is campaigning toward the Golden Slipper (Gr.1, 1200m).
“I think they will head to the Inglis Millennium (RL, 1200m) first-up and then the Todman Stakes (Gr.2, 1200m) so Per Incanto has got some serious horses over there.”
Little Avondale stalwart Per Incanto continues to work back to full health after suffering a serious leg injury in a paddock accident during the winter.
“He’s really good and we’re still treating the wound, it’s not completely healed and is a couple of months away from that, but he looks amazing and couldn’t be any happier,” Williams said.
“He’s been the most incredible patient and we were very lucky that we ended up getting a breeding season with him.
“It could have been a season when he served no mares, but as it turned out we limited his book and he ended up covering 73 mares, which was fantastic.
“It’s all been about the horse and not anything else, first and foremost the horse’s health was paramount.”
Williams also singled out a pair of the stallion’s daughters in the draft as top-quality prospects.
“I think it is the best filly draft I have ever brought to Karaka,” he said.
“The Per Incanto filly (Lot 398) out of Shespending is a first foal and everyone who sees her loves her, she’s got a big action.”
The dam is a daughter of Savabeel and a sister to the Listed Lonhro Plate (1100m) winner Tilianam and a three-quarter sister to the Gr.2 Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m) Splurge.
“The Per Incanto (Lot 457) from Superior Choice is bred on that beautiful Redoute’s Choice-Street Cry line and she’s a stunner. She belongs to my sister Anna so I’m really pleased to be presenting this filly for her,” Williams said.
Superior Choice is out of the dual Group Three winner Bhandara, who is a half-sister to the Gr.1 Avondale Gold Cup (2200m) winner Sharvasti and the Gr.3 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) winner Shastri.
Another filly favourite is Lot 364, a daughter of Farnan and the Pins mare Rosetta, a half-sister to multiple Listed winner All About Magic.