Exciting galloper All Roads (NZ) (Road To Rock), a Little Avondale graduate of the 2013 Select Sale, scored the biggest win of his career to date in Saturday's $100,000 Group 2 Windsor Park Stud Japan-NZ International Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga.
Purchased at Karaka for $40,000, All Roads has earned more than three times that amount in prizemoney – most of it in a remarkable last 12 months.
After recording four wins in five starts in the late winter at spring at his home track of Ruakaka, All Roads has started to take on tougher assignments including a second-place finish in the Group 2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) at Ellerslie in January.
On Saturday he claimed his first black-type win, powering out of midfield under rider Kelly McCulloch and opening up a big lead. Scapolo (NZ) (Bachelor Duke) produced a big late run down the outside, but All Roads fought him off and scored by a short neck.
"I knew from the first time I rode him that he was a pretty exciting horse," McCulloch said. "He just gives you a really good feel and he's got gears.
"He did it well today. The most important thing with him is to get him off the bridle, because he can sometimes over-race, but today he relaxed beautifully. We were lucky to get a beautiful run through them, but when you're going as good as he was, you can get a run wherever you like.
"He pulled himself up a bit when he hit the front today, but he held on. He's very exciting."
Trained by Donna Logan and Chris Gibbs, All Roads has now had 19 starts for six wins, five placings and more than $160,000 in prize-money. He is raced by BF and Mrs F Broom, TW Cole, AA Fraser, DJ Gordon, JC MacLeod, RW McDuff, DS & ML Shuker.
Bred by DJ Gordon, All Roads is by the in-form Wellfield Lodge stallion Road To Rock – sire of last week's Listed New Zealand St Leger winner Rock On (NZ) and HK-1 Hong Kong Derby runner-up Montaigne-Beauty Generation (NZ).
The dam of All Roads is the Dance Floor mare Dancing Daze (NZ), who herself won six races including the Group 2 Championship Stakes and the Listed Levin Stakes. She is the dam of three winners from four foals to race.
All Roads was offered by Little Avondale Stud at the 2013 Select Sale, where Argonaut Racing & Breeding secured him for $40,000.
| Vendor | Little Avondale Stud |
| Purchaser | Argonaut Racing & Breeding (Te Kauwhata) |
| Breeding | Road To Rock – Danzing Daze |
| Sale | Lot 552, 2013 Select Sale, $40,000 |
