Night of Thunder

NEWMARKET, UK--A turbulent season of disrupted breeze-up sales has seen many firsts. Goffs UK and Arqana teamed up as allies to stage a combined sale, while Tattersalls stepped in to the breach to host the final 2-year-old sale of the year for its sister company Tattersalls Ireland, which had only a year earlier combined forces with Goresbridge to host this particular auction at its Fairyhouse base. With quarantine rules still stricter in Ireland than in Britain, a late move was made to bring the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-up Sale to...

Twenty-three wildcards have been added to the July 24 Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale which, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, will take place at Park Paddocks in Newmarket this year rather than Fairyhouse in Ireland. The breeze is scheduled for the Rowley Mile on July 22. Among the wildcards are lot 227, a No Nay Never half-brother to stakes winner We Are Ninety (Ire) (Thewayyouare); lot 230, a filly by red hot second-season sire Night Of Thunder (Ire) out of a full-sister to G3 Gladness S. winner Sruthan (Ire) (Arakan);...

Before we go any further, let's just make one thing clear: for all the excitement of Saturday and the fact that the Oaks and the Derby were even able to take place this year, let's not lose our heads and start to think that they should in future take place on the same day in July. They should not. This is an extraordinary year for one big reason beyond our control and it should remain just that. Right, where were we? Ah, Epsom. I'll go to my grave failing to...

Night Of Thunder (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), last year's champion first-season sire who continues to lead his sire crop, will cover a limited book of mares Southern Hemisphere time at Kildangan Stud later this year. Night Of Thunder got off to a fast start last year, registering seven stakes winners in his first season with runners. He now has 12 Northern Hemisphere stakes winners, headed thus far this season by the G3 Jersey S. winner Molatham (GB). His seven European 3-year-old black-type winners this season leads all sires on the continent,...

NEWMARKET, UK—Thunder is indeed expected in Newmarket as the scorching hot snap comes to an end but it appeared early at Tattersalls on Thursday when Darley's up-and-coming sire Night Of Thunder (Ire) was represented by the leading juvenile, at 575,000gns, of the Craven Breeze-up Sale. With Jane Chapple-Hyam one of the early determined bidders, the bragging rights eventually went to Tom Biggs of Blandford Bloodstock, who played the winning shot in a game of ping-pong in the seats between himself and underbidder Mark McStay. Johnny Collins of Brown Island Stables...

Continuing a spellbinding week at Royal Ascot for Shadwell, last year's high-class prospect Molatham (GB) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) came good when it mattered as he emerged on top in a rain-hit G3 Jersey S. on Wednesday. Always travelling strongly halfway down the field despite having no cover, the Listed Flying Scotsman S. winner cruised to the front passing two out and after a battle royal with Monarch of Egypt (American Pharoah) asserted for a half-length success, with daylight back to Symbolize (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) in third. Jockey Jim Crowley,...

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Qaader (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}), a €44,000 Goffs February purchase turned 110,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling, had his supporters as the 10-3 joint-favourite for Friday evening's MansionBet Proud To Support British Racing EBF Novice S. at Newbury. The March-foaled bay was prominent throughout the six-furlong test and gave little cause for concern, powering clear of overmatched rivals to earn 'TDN Rising Star' status in style. Qaader was quickly into stride to race in a leading wave of three spread across the track...

Victor Ludorum. With such a name should we ever have doubted him? Fifteen years after his late sire Shamardal blazed to glory in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains for the first half of his own Classic double, Victor Ludorum (Ire) set up a double of a different kind at Deauville on Monday, passing the Godolphin baton to his fellow colour-bearer and last year's champion juvenile Pinatubo (Ire) to attempt to complete a posthumous Classic double for Shamardal within a week. Should the much lauded Pinatubo resurface in the manner which...

The victory of Night Of Thunder (Ire)'s 3-year-old daughter No Limit Credit (Ger) in the G3 Schwarzgold Rennen propelled her young sire clear of all second-season sires since pattern racing began in 1970. His nine stakes winners by mid-May of his second season-taking into account Northern Hemisphere runners only; he has had two first-crop stakes winners in Australia--hasn't ever been matched before and although a good start doesn't necessarily mean we have a top-class stallion on our hands, you just have to look at the quality of stallions contained on...

Gestut Karlshof's No Limit Credit (Ger) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) entered Sunday's G3 Karin Baronin von Ullmann - Schwarzgold-Rennen with more than a small measure of currency from her 2-year-old days and duly emerged from the Cologne feature with enhanced profitability. Successful by 5 1/2 lengths in Baden-Baden's valuable Ferdinand Leisten-Memorial in October before finishing a distant sixth behind the imperious Wonderful Moon (Ger) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) taking on the colts in the G3 Herzog von Ratibor-Rennen at Krefeld in November, the chestnut was always well placed tracking the...

As the start of the flat season dawns, all eyes will be on Night Of Thunder (Ire). Can the champion first season sire maintain the dizzying momentum with which he rolled through 2019? Will the Guineas winner's first-crop train on as 3-year-olds, and will his second crop pick up the baton? Reflecting back on Night Of Thunder's performance last year-which placed him among the best first-season sires in recent memory-a glaring trend is apparent among his progeny: all four of his pattern-race winners, and six of his nine stakes winners,...

In this TDN series we ask a group of experts for their predictions for the 2020 flat season in Europe. Today we hear from Whatton Manor's Ed Player. TDN: Who do you think will be the leading first-season sire this year? EP: I'm a big fan of Shalaa (Ire). He has it all; good looks, racing ability and he bred a fantastic first crop of mares. TDN: Have you raised/bred many by Shalaa? Does he typically stamp his stock? EP: We sold an outstanding yearling colt by him, out of...