Per Incanto continues his rise for Little Avondale
Per Incanto (Street Cry) will stand for an elevated service fee of $75,000 (plus GST) at Little Avondale Stud in 2026, with the $15,000 increase on last year’s figure reflective of his remarkable record both on the racetrack and in the sales ring.
Given Per Incanto’s advancing age and his importance to Little Avondale, proprietor Sam Williams is keen to ensure the longevity of the farm’s flagbearer and so this year he will only serve a limited book of mares at the Masterton property alongside his son and fellow resident Little Brose, whose opening fee of $15,000 (plus GST) remains unchanged for his second season.
After starting from humble beginnings with an introductory service fee of $4,000, Per Incanto has steadily risen through New Zealand’s stallion ranks and is now firmly established in the upper echelons, having produced nine individual Group 1 winners on both sides of the Tasman Sea.
Jimmysstar became his sire’s most successful elite-level performer when he claimed his third Group 1 as the odds-on favourite in the C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield last spring, in the process taking his prize-money tally past the $8 million mark.
Jimmysstar’s feats, allied to the remarkable consistency of his stakes-winning stablemate Gringotts, have helped Per Incanto climb into the top five of the Australian Sires’ Premiership, with Williams quick to point out that the rising 23-year-old boasts an unrivalled strike-rate among his peers.
“Per Incanto is currently fifth on the Australian Sires’ Premiership and the only sire in the top 20 with a runner-to-winner percentage over 50 per cent,” said Williams, who operates the famed farm in partnership with his wife, Dame Catriona Williams.
“Three-time Group 1 winner Jimmysstar has been his flagship performer, and he’s had five stakes winners this season and another five stakes placed.
“He’s also had three individual black-type two-year-olds, Eurocanto won the first juvenile stakes race in Victoria when he claimed the Listed Maribyrnong Trial Stakes. In addition, Oak Lightning ran second in the Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes and Spellbound was third in the Listed Challenge Stakes.”
Per Incanto’s sales returns in 2026 also make for impressive reading, with his five yearlings having averaged $371,000 at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale – highlighted by the $675,000 sale of his colt out of Bridgewater (Written Tycoon).
Across the entire sales season, Per Incanto’s 32 yearlings averaged in excess of $165,000, giving breeders ample opportunity to make a significant profit on his service fee.
Williams was rightly proud of those figures, and he also lauded the highly promising start Little Brose has made to his stud career.
“Little Brose covered 140 mares last year and is super fertile with 129 of them in foal,” Williams said.
“He was supported by the vast majority of all the leading breeders in New Zealand, so we couldn’t have been happier with the welcome he received and the quality of mares he attracted.
“His Street Cry bloodline is dominant in Australia at the moment through Street Boss and Per Incanto. Their popularity and commercial success were further highlighted recently when Street Boss’ Group 1-winning son Tentyris was retired and will stand at an introductory fee of AU$88,000.”