Cover image courtesy of Darley
Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) is out of Folk Melody (Ire) (Street Cry {Ire}), while Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) is out of Missy Moo (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}), with Per Incanto (USA) a son of Street Cry (Ire). That influence was further reinforced on the Sprint card, with Per Incanto also the sire of runner-up Raging Blizzard (NZ) and of another winner on the undercard in the Jamie Richards-trained 3-year-old gelding Cool Boy (NZ).
Thriving in the Hong Kong jurisdiction, Per Incanto continues to deliver at the highest level for Little Avondale Stud’s Sam Williams and is no doubt going to be a source of the Street Cry blood that plays its part in elite, tough, durable gallopers.
Per Incanto continues to have an influence on the big days in Hong Kong
“He is the gift that keeps on giving,” Little Avondale Stud’s Sam Williams said as he reflected on the G1 Hong Kong Sprint result.
It was a fantastic day for Per Incanto and his sire Street Cry, with Per Incanto achieving the quinella in part as broodmare sire of the champion Ka Ying Rising and as sire of the runner-up Raging Blizzard.
“He is having an amazing trot. I don’t mind talking about him at all - I can talk about him all day. It was great to see that Per Incanto influence in the sprint, both as a damsire and a sire.
“Ka Ying Rising is clearly a horse of a lifetime. Per Incanto is our stallion of a lifetime - he has given us so much.”
Per Incanto | Standing at Little Avondale Stud, NZ
The significant result left Williams very pleased, and his faith in Raging Blizzard also provided a financial windfall for a group of friends enjoying the Hong Kong raceday experience.
“Someone had to run second to Ka Ying Rising. I have a good group of mates that try to go to the Hong Kong International Races every year, and I told them to make sure they included Raging Blizzard in multiples.
“They have a great time and a big punting day, and the sounds they were making when they rang me up - they had a great result backing him for the place, so they did very well.”
Sam Williams | Image courtesy of Little Avondale Stud
Williams also noted further success on the card.
“Jamie Richards got a winner by him as well. Cool Boy was very impressive - he really has become a very good sire in Hong Kong.
“To do that on the big stage for the New Zealand-breds was fantastic. Shamexpress is a fast Group 1-winning son of O’Reilly. We bought a Group 1-placed Shamexpress mare to go to Per Incanto (Express Yourself) so the cross is being worked with both ways.”
Longevity of the Street Cry line
For Williams, Per Incanto’s continued success is part of a much broader pattern associated with the Street Cry line - toughness, constitution and longevity at the elite level both through the sireline or the damline.
Discussions around longevity in racing often invite debate, and even the sources can be imperfect. There’s a meme doing the rounds poking fun at how often generative AI can hallucinate facts, with the punchline: ‘If I’m going to find wrong facts, I want to be misinformed by the people.’ In that spirit, even crowd-sourced references such as Wikipedia - an encyclopedia written and edited by the people - highlight just how rare true longevity at the top level really is.
The late Street Cry (Ire) | Image courtesy of Darley
On its list of repeat winners, only 10 horses are recorded as having won the same race five times, with just two achieving the feat at Group 1 level. Further Flight (Ire) (Pharly {Fr}) won the G1 Jockey Club Cup - now the G1 British Champions Long Distance Cup — at Ascot five years in succession from 1991 to 1995, while Kelso (USA) captured the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga five times between 1960 and 1964.
Manikato (Manihi) narrowly misses inclusion, having won the G2 William Reid Stakes five times from 1979 to 1983, although only one was at Principal level and four at Group 2 level before the race was upgraded to Group 1 status in 1989.
Closer to home, few horses have demonstrated sustained excellence like Winx (Street Cry {Ire}), whose four successive G1 Cox Plate victories from 2015 to 2018 stand as a modern benchmark for durability and class. That same trait continues through the line, with another son of Street Cry, Pride Of Dubai, having sired elite, durable mares in Bella Nipotina and Pride Of Jenni.
Winx | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Williams has seen that resilience time and again.
“The horse has had a significant impact across the Australasian breeding industry,” he said. “I still remember he had the likes of Shocking, Predatory Pricer and Whobegotyou, and they trained on to be good older horses.
“The same with stallions like Pride Of Dubai, who has left tough horses like Pride Of Jenni and Bella Nipotina, who run year after year at the top level.
“Look at what Street Boss has been able to do, as well as the impact Per Incanto has had as a sire and a broodmare sire.
“Per Incanto’s progeny go early, but they also train on. It really is a tough line with great longevity - he can do it both ends. That genetic base is so important. When they have that constitution, it sets them up. That base makes the difference.”
Little Brose the next to carry on the line in New Zealand
Williams’ belief in the Street Cry bloodline is central to the decision to stand Little Brose, Per Incanto’s Group 1-winning son, at Little Avondale.
“I was looking at getting out of the stallion game with the health issues I had and a few other things,” he said. “But I couldn’t get my head around anyone else having Per Incanto, or even Little Brose for that matter.
“I didn’t want to get a new stallion, but Little Brose was an opportunity. I have so much faith in the blood, so to get Per Incanto’s Group 1-winning son was great.
“To be able to stand the horse alongside his father makes it very easy to market him. He’s Danehill-free, and one of the most successful crosses for Street Cry blood is with Danehill.”
Little Brose | Standing at Little Avondale
Little Brose has made an encouraging start at stud.
“He has made a great start. He has served 139 mares, has 121 in foal and another 13 to go through the scanner, so he is on target to be around 95% fertility, which is outstanding.”
“What’s really exciting is that Little Brose is owned by a syndicate made up of the majority of New Zealand’s top studs and breeders, so he has been well patronised and served a good book. His foals are going to be very well marketed right around New Zealand.”
“People have become very clever at breeding Per Incanto. They know the crosses, and with Little Brose also free of Danehill, a lot are going to Per Incanto’s son.”
Karaka 2026 not far away for Per Incanto to shine
Little Avondale will offer 20 lots at the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Sale, including seven by Per Incanto, and 31 by the son of Street Cry across all vendors over the week, and Williams believes timing is everything.
“It’s the silly season,” he said. “There’s nothing quite like stallions being in form at the right time with sales around the corner.
“Timing is everything. Stallion popularity can be worse than women’s clothing — the way they can be chucked out if they’re not in fashion.”
“Timing is everything. Stallion popularity can be worse than women’s clothing — the way they can be chucked out if they’re not in fashion.” - Sam Williams
Per Incanto, however, remains firmly in demand.
“With Per Incanto we have a great foundation to our draft, but we also have a lovely Russian Revolution colt out of Belluci Babe, who we sold a colt out of for $1.7 million at Easter, and a nice Ardrossan colt - and he’s on fire, with two stakes winners the other weekend.”
“We’re really looking forward to showing off what we’ve got at the 100th New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Sale.”
