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Catriona Williams seems drawn to the racing and breeding industry from being around since she was four as a show jumper. Williams competed at both Grand Prix level Showjumping and Advanced level Eventing, a rare feat also achieved by the likes of Olympians Mark Todd, Blyth Tait and Vaughn Jefferies.
Along with her husband Sam Williams, they own and manage Little Avondale which is not only home to a quality broodmare band but also three top resident stallions, Per Incanto, Nadeem and Time Test.
Here, WIlliams describes Little Avondale’s Karaka draft highlights, their plans to attend other Australian yearling sales and what’s special about their top-performing graduates.
Q: Your draft consists of some amazing horses. Could you please share your pick of the top five headline horses and tell us more about why they are special? A: Our draft comprises of 11 spectacular horses in Book 1 and 13 outstanding yearlings in Book 2. Our highlight Lots are as follows:
Q: Please tell us about your sale-toppers for this sale in 2020?
A: We had a number of yearlings that sold well. Cambridge Stud purchased two of which one is first on the ballot for the Karaka 2YO race and the Per Incanto filly out of Second Obsession has trialled very well. Syndicators ‘Go Racing’ are very happy with the two Savabeels they purchased off us. The Baradevi colt was very impressive in his trial and the Drapier colt is doing well with Chris Waller.
Q: Which sires do you expect to see do well in the 2021 edition of the Karaka Yearling Sale?
In our objective unbiased opinion, our new stallion Time Test is exciting…both for us, the quality Australasian breeders that supported us with syndicating him and the buyers. His yearlings are superb, full of classic quality and interestingly a bit more forward and muscled-up than we’d have expected from his profile. Savabeel, Per Incanto, and Tavistock will also do well.
Q: What are the other sales you will be attending over the next few months and could you tell us about the highlights of your 2021 combined drafts?
A: We’ve got two lovely Time Test yearlings at Sydney Classic and another three at Melbourne Premier. There’ll be a Per Incanto colt at each sale but one of the highlights will be a half brother by Almanzor to Bonham going to Sydney Classic. We have two yearlings heading to Sydney Easter. The number of horses LA will have an offer in Australia is the same as in previous years.
Q: Please tell us about your top-performing graduates and what makes them special.
A: More often than not, they stand out on type and temperament. Last year we had a Belardo colt. He was just a nice neat horse and he carried himself beautifully. When as good a judge as Chris Rutten bought him I knew I needed to stay in the colt so we kept 50%. Now named Avonallo, he’s already a stakes winner and one of the better-backed runners for the Karaka Million. 2000 Guineas runner-up Bourbonaire and Bonham came from our 2019 draft. Bourbonnais was a bit like Avonallo on type and Bonham was all athlete, she moved exceptionally well and if you look at her now, you can see how that’s translated to her way of going.
Click here to view Little Avondale’s draft - BOOK 1 and BOOK 2