Now they’re talking: Mandarin speaks to Little Avondale Stud
An 18-year-old who had barely touched a horse in his life a few months ago sums up some of the innovation in the new world of selling yearlings at Karaka this year.
The annual sale of New Zealand’s blueblood thoroughbreds starts on Sunday, with more than 900 yearlings on offer over a week at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales series.
This year’s sale will be the first time the yearling sales have been staged with no overseas visitors permitted because of Covid travel restrictions so provides unique challenges.
And while almost all have responded by boosting the information they have made available to potential buyers, Little Avondale Stud have employed a tall, inexperienced secret weapon.
Gus Falloon is not only the grandson of former Minister of Racing John Falloon but the godson of Little Avondale Stud boss Sam Williams.
Having spent most of his life in the more claustrophobic environs of Hong Kong, Gus came down to New Zealand to learn about life on the farm and as Williams describes it “get his hands dirty”.
“He had barely touched a horse in his life before he got here but he is loving learning all about them.”
But Gus didn’t come emptyhanded, he brought with him a skill, the ability to speak Mandarin Chinese and Williams saw an opportunity.
“With the way the sales are this year, with no overseas buyers able to get into the country, we have really tried to up our info game,” he says.
“So we have an e-book detailing everything a buyer could need to know about the horses but we are also lucky enough to have Gus here to do voiceovers for our yearling videos in Mandarin.
“So people can now go online and watch the horses parade but not just with our usual English information but separate videos in Mandarin.
“We are starting to get some really good feedback on it, now that potential buyers are starting to do more research and it is just another service we are trying to provide.
“I think a lot of vendors are working really hard to meet the market demands under the trying circumstances so for us to have Gus available to take it that one step further is great.”
Little Avondale Stud is in its 80th year, itself no mean feat, and stand one of New Zealand’s leading value for money stallions in Per Incanto.
He had another Group 1 winner in Bonham at Trentham last Saturday and is hugely popular in that key Hong Kong market.
“When you consider what he stands for and what his yearlings sell for and then go on and do on the track he is a wonderful stallion,” says Williams.
“He has had 20 individual winners across the world in the last 20 days,” Williams adds.
Little Avondale also bring the first yearling by their new stallion Time Test, a Royal Ascot track record holder by champion European stallion Dubawi, to Karaka this week.
“To already have Per Incanto and now be able to bring the Time Test yearlings to the sales, we feel pretty lucky.”
Little Avondale also bred Avonallo, one of the key chances in tomorrow’s Karaka Million.
A lot of vendors are working hard to meet the market demands. Sam Williams