Night of Thunder

Out and about on the opening day of the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail One of the early highlights of the year for pedigree buffs and casual observers, the Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail, got underway with a bang on Friday with heavy footfall reported at over 30 of the stallion farms taking part in the two-day extravaganza.  The TDN Europe team were out and about in the Kildare area on Friday and visited Kildangan Stud, The Irish National Stud, Yeomanstown Stud and Derrinstown Stud before venturing further south on Saturday.  Don't...

By Brian Sheerin and Emma Berry   After a hectic few months perusing this year's foal and yearling crops, we asked the buyers to share their thoughts on the young stallions with first foals and yearlings.  Dermot Farrington, agent: "If you look at the list of people who have bought yearlings and foals by Advertise, it's a long time since a young stallion has attracted the who's who of the bloodstock world, and that's exactly what he has done. Whether it be yearlings to breeze, yearlings to race or foals...

Philipp Stauffenberg broke new ground at the November Foal Sale at Goffs on Wednesday by signing for a Kingman (GB) half-brother to Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy) for a sales-topping €550,000 on a day where the Juddmonte-based stallion shined brightest. The Airlie Stud-consigned colt is not just a half-brother to that 2018 champion 2-year-old filly in Ireland but also the promising Charlie Appleby-trained Victory Dance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and the €550,000 it took to buy him represented a new record for Stauffenberg. The fact that lot 727 boasted a stallion's pedigree...

Sons of Dubawi (Ire) shot the lights out at Goffs on Tuesday as a colt by first-season sire Ghaiyyath (Ire) topped the November Foal Sale at €185,000 followed by a Night Of Thunder (Ire) colt who made €180,000. Ghaiyyath himself was sold at this sale in 2015 for €1,100,000 before proving himself a world-class performer on the track for Godolphin and the Kildangan Stud-based sire has enjoyed a good start at Goffs this week. The Ridge Manor Stud-drafted colt was sold to Pier House Stud, whose Brendan Morrin revealed that...

Dubawi (Ire), the champion sire-elect in Britain and Ireland in 2022, will stand at his highest fee yet of £350,000 next year, making him the most expensive stallion in Europe. For the past six seasons, a nomination fee for the 20-year-old sire has been priced at £250,000. Dubawi is set to be crowned champion this season with more than £1 million in progeny earnings ahead of the reigning champion Frankel (GB), through those places are reversed in the European table. Darley also introduces two new stallions in Britain and Ireland...

NEWMARKET, UK--Sea The Stars (Ire) provided a showstopper on day one and repeated that feat during the second session of Book 2 when Longview Stud's half-sister to the Group 3 winner Feliciana De Vega (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (lot 1048) was bought by Roger Varian for 700,000gns. For an unnamed owner already in Varian's Newmarket stable, the chestnut is a son of the dual listed winner Along Came Casey (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}), who has already been represented by three previous six-figure offspring, including the four-time winner Abnaa (Ire) (Dark...

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin NEWMARKET, UK--And breathe. Book 1 is over, galloping out the door after a three-day bonanza of record returns, the highest-grossing single day of horse trade in Europe, and the world's most expensive yearling of 2022. What this all means for next week and Books 2, 3 and 4 of the October Yearling Sale is anyone's guess, but a safe bet would be that all those potential buyers so frustrated at playing bridesmaid during Book 1 still have rolls of grubby fifty-pound notes burning holes...

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin KILDARE, Ireland--The victory of Blackbeard (Ire) in Saturday's G1 Juddmonte Middle Park S. was really just gilding the lily of his sensational juvenile season which has also given a tremendous boost to his yearling sister, who topped the opening day of the Goffs Orby Sale at €2.6 million. From a start to proceedings at Kildare Paddocks that could be described as relentlessly solid, the auditorium suddenly filled with people around lunchtime on Tuesday as the dark brown daughter of No Nay Never entered the...

Where to begin? The past week has been so wrought with emotion that by the time Sunday arrived with its 15 group races in England, Ireland and France only the dourest of stayers made it through to Doncaster's Mallard Handicap. This is a racing publication, of course, but before we reflect on the action on the racecourse, it would be remiss not to mention the heartbreaking human loss which was so intrinsically entwined with the sport.  Grief engulfed two nations. Wednesday brought the indelibly sad image of Henry de Bromhead...

John Quinn has showered star sprinter Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) with praise and described the G1 Flying Five-bound filly as the best he's trained. Highfield Princess is chasing a third Group 1 win on the spin when she lines out in Sunday's Flying Five S. at the Curragh, one of the feature races of Longines Irish Champions Weekend and Quinn, a native of County Tipperary who has been based in England for the majority of his racing career, is in no doubt that the speedball is the...

BADEN-BADEN, Germany--A German breeder, a British stallion, an American buyer. In a fully reopened world, the international participation that had been anticipated ahead of BBAG's major yearling sale was played out as Jason Litt made a splash on his first visit to Baden-Baden when signing for the sole Kingman (GB) yearling in the sale, offered by the day's leading vendor Gestut Fahrhof and commanding the top price of €450,000. Along with Litt, buyers from Britain, China, Ireland, France, Italy, Dubai, Hong Kong, the Czech Republic, and of course Germany underlined...

The opening day of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale followed a familiar theme with Mark McStay, who was busy at the first European yearling Sale of the year at Arqana just over a week ago, once again opening his shoulders back to secure the top lot at Goffs UK-170, a colt by Night Of Thunder (Ire). The sire of last Friday's breathtakingly-good G1 Nunthorpe S. winner Highfield Princess (Fr), Night Of Thunder was labelled a rock solid stallion by McStay, who felt lot 170-for all that he looked like...