News & Events

LITTLE AVONDALE will offer a half-brother to Hussonet colt Rios at the National Yearling Sales at Karaka in 2008.

Rios starred at the Captain Cook Stakes meeting winning the Group 2 Wellington Guineas (1500m) after a hard fought battle with race favourite Alamosa.

Alamosa turned the tables on Rios when they filled the placings behind The Pooka next time in the NZ Guineas (G1) at Riccarton. Rios (3c Hussonet-Gussy Godiva by Last Tycoon) was a $65,000 yearling at the 2005 Karaka Premier Sale for clients of Cambridge trainer Max Baker.

Little Avondale studmaster Sam Williams is prepping his younger half-brother by Volksraad (Lot 155) for Karaka. Williams is also putting the finishing touches on 11 yearlings by resident sire Towkay including 4 in the Premier Sale.

Towkay has developed into a Premier Sale sire by sheer weight of winners. His strike rate in Hong Kong is particularly pleasing. So much so, the son of Last Tycoon is now part-owned by Hong Kong interests.

Towkay's trailblazer is Armada, a G1 winner of the Stewards Cup at Sha Tin. His Karaka yearlings include Lot 47, a half-brother to the dams of G3 winners Splashing Out (Caulfield) and Grand Dancer (Ellerslie) and Lot 485, a colt from Riccarton stakes winner Aspects of Love (Famous Star).