Picture perfect start for Photographics
Per Incanto filly provides important pedigree update ahead of the sales season
Two-year-old Photographics’ win at Warwick Farm yesterday provided a timely reminder of the potency and versatility of her New Zealand-based sire Per Incanto (Street Cry).
The debut performance of the John Sargent-trained filly, who led throughout in a two-year-old handicap over 1000 metres, was also a welcome one for Little Avondale studmaster Sam Williams who is about to embark on a frenetic month selling at back-to-back yearling sales.
Little Avondale will offer four yearlings at the upcoming Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast, 39 at its home country Karaka Yearling Sale before returning to Australia with a draft of five for the Inglis Classic sale in February.
The sister to the early season Sydney metropolitan winner Photographics, a Karaka Book 2-catalogued yearling, suddenly has more buyer appeal but Williams believes she already did.
Photographics, who won a Randwick barrier trial on December 11, was passed in with a reserve price of NZ$100,000 early this year with her co-breeder, Fusion Thoroughbreds’ Jim Barlow, buying out his partners before leasing her to Sargent, his wife Suzie and children Lucy and Jack.
“She showed a lot of early speed when I started to gallop her, but she has started to harness it now and I think she will be a nice filly in time,” Sargent said.
“I think she will just keep improving.”
The Randwick-based expatriate Kiwi trainer and his filly, a daughter of six-time winner Los Vargas (Fast ‘N’ Famous), has also added some extra Christmas cheer for the Sargent household.
“I put my kids in this horse and they need the money so I was under a bit of pressure to get the horse out and racing,” he said.
“At least they’ve got some back now. We’ve usually got other people in the horses with us, but this is the first time just the whole family. Lucy is here and my son lives in London, so it’s a great thrill for them.”
Williams, meanwhile, could see why Photographics didn’t find favour with the Karaka marketplace in January.
“Photographics was a very physical filly but she was just a touch soft and a touch long in the pasterns and that put a few people off whereas this filly [Lot 818], she’s quite athletic. Actually, she got quite a few comments when NZB were here on Tuesday,” Williams told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“She is definitely the star of our fillies in our Book 2 draft and she is a filly who is very unlucky not to have been in Book 1 – and at the time I made the comment that I thought they were being a bit tough on her.
“But you’re better off being a big fish in a small pond, hence it’s great timing with the [pedigree] update.”
Little Avondale’s resident sire Per Incanto – the sire of last season’s Blue Diamond (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Little Brose and this season’s contender, the Golden Gift (1100m) runner-up Rue De Royale – has 51 yearlings catalogued in Book 1 at Karaka while Williams will take a filly and a colt by his sire to the Gold Coast and three by the Street Cry (Machiavellian) stallion to the Inglis Classic sale.
A champion sire in Hong Kong, Per Incanto’s momentum in Australia, which was started by the now retired top-class sprinter Lost And Running, dual Group 1 winner Roch ‘N’ Horse and Belluci Babe, has made him a commercial success across Australasia.
“You’ve also got Jimmysstar who is with Ciaron Maher who has had two very impressive wins [after winning twice in New Zealand] and up in Hong Kong you’ve got I Give, who is the only horse to win five races this season and I see he was very impressive at the trials the other day,” Williams said of his banner stallion, who returned from a possible stud season-ending injury to cover 75 mares in 2023.
“He’s got some very promising horses coming through again.”
A mainstay of the New Zealand stallion ranks in recent seasons, one led by champion sire Savabeel (Zabeel), Per Incanto has added much-needed depth to the stallions Kiwi breeders have to choose from and it is reflected in various drafts of yearlings catalogued for next year’s sales on both sides of the Tasman.
“I am happy with our yearling draft full stop,” Williams said.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Magic Millions, Sydney–bound or Karaka–bound. We’re very happy with the horses and there’s a lot more Per Incantos than what we’ve had in the past.
“In New Zealand in the past we’ve been so reliant on Zabeel, Savabeel and O’Reilly, just one stallion.
“Now there’s a good number of commercial stallions here. Per Incanto, Proisir, Satono Aladdin, Savabeel, there’s a good number of them.”