CHAMPION sire of 2025, and with a slight lead over Frankel in this year’s race, Darley’s Night Of Thunder (Dubawi) has his eighth European crop of two-year-olds racing now. He went to stand for a season in Australia, and that single crop there gave him a Group 1 winner in the shape of Queensland Derby hero Kukeracha.
Night Of Thunder made an outstanding start in Europe with his first crop, as it contained two fine racemares in four-time Group 1 winner Highfield Princess, and Pretty Polly Stakes winner Thundering Nights. If the latter’s race record did not match that of the ill-fated Highfield Princess (who died at the age of seven without having any offspring), Thundering Nights managed to have a single foal, this year’s three-year-old Thundering On (Frankel), winner of the Group 1 Oaks. Strangely, Thundering Nights also died at the age of seven.
The second and third crops failed to yield a Group 1 winner, but since US Grade 1 winner Choisya in crop number four, a trickle has turned into a stream. The 2021 crop contained Ombudsman, Dynamic Pricing, Ten Bob Tony, Economics and Estrange, Desert Flower and Portfolio Duration headlined the 2022 cohort, while the ill-fated Gewan and the marvellous Bow Echo starred among those born in 2023. Now we await the first Group 1 winner among his two-year-olds.
With better books of mares in recent years, on the back of his early successes, Night Of Thunder’s percentage of blacktype juveniles has improved considerably in the recent years, getting back to the levels of his first two crops. This year’s group contains three stakes winners and five stakes horses, his daughter Kosuma winning at Group 3 level and placing in the Group 1 Prix Morny.
Notable one
Last weekend was a notable one for Night Of Thunder’s two-year-olds, with two pattern winners. Silent Beauty won for the third time in four outings, adding the Group 3 Firth of Clyde Stakes to an earlier listed success. Amo Racing’s €1 million yearling purchase at the Goffs Orby Sale last year is well on her way to justifying that investment. She is the first winner for the classic-placed, Group 1 Matron Stakes winner No Speak Alexander (Shalaa). Her Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) yearling half-sister is sure to light up the Tattersalls sale ring next month.
This family came into the possession of Noel O’Callaghan 11 years ago when he purchased Rapacity Alexander (Dandy Man) for 90,000gns as a yearling. She would go on to win the Listed Prix La Fleche at Chantilly at two. No Speak Alexander is the best of her two winners to date, but that tally is likely to increase as she has a two-year-old filly Rebel Dance (Starspangledbanner) with Joseph O’Brien, a yearling filly by Paddington (Siyouni) set to go under the hammer at Goffs this coming week, and a colt foal by Wootton Bassett.
When O’Callaghan bought Rapacity Alexander, her full-brother Peniaphobia (Dandy Man) had yet to win a Group 1, something he would do shortly afterwards in Hong Kong. He would go on to become a great favourite there, adding nine wins to his earlier record at two when trained by Richard Fahey. As a juvenile he won three of his four starts, going on to race from Tony Cruz’s stable in Hong Kong where he would amass winnings of £3.375 million.
Breeders’ Cup
One candidate to be a Group or Grade 1-winning two-year-old this season for Night Of Thunder could be Nabati, with the Breeders’ Cup a stated likely option. This Godolphin juvenile, trained by Charlie Appleby whose stable is in flying form, put in a career-best performance to land the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes, his third win in five starts, and both his placed efforts were in listed races. Bred by Tony Smurfit’s Forenaghts Stud, Nabati sold for 850,000gns last year.
Pronouncement (Declaration Of War), the dam of Nabati, was a Keeneland yearling buy through BBA Ireland for $115,000. Tony Smurfit put her in training with Johnny Murtagh and she won a maiden at her owner’s local track, Naas, on her three-year-old debut. This was after she had been beaten less than a length when third in a listed race at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend at two. She would go on to run second to Group 1 winner Millisle in the Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes at Naas.
The first offspring of Pronouncement is the three-year-old Chicago Call (Oasis Dream), who Smurfit failed to sell as a yearling. He instead joined Johnny Murtagh and won a maiden on his second start at two, later being beaten a neck in the Listed Blenheim Stakes at Fairyhouse, the scene of his win. After missing a year, Pronouncement now has a filly foal by Mehmas (Acclamation).
I AM sure that a quick call to the Aga Khan Studs would confirm if my next statement is correct, but the demands of being all week at the Tattersalls Ireland Yearling Sale precluded me from doing so. When the stud’s homebred Zakkan (Siyouni) captured the Group 3 Prix des Chenes over a mile at Chantilly, confirming his progress, he was actually winning for the first time.
By my reckoning, he is the nineteenth individual blacktype winner to carry the silks of The Aga Khan Studs this year, all have been homebreds, while victory was a 29th blacktype success for the season. The most impressive roll of honour is headed by Daryz (two Group 1 wins and a Group 2), Calandagan (a pair of Group 1s), classic winner Rayif (two Group 1 wins), Group 1 and listed winner Erdenali and Group 1 winner Samangan. All bar one of the winners have been trained by Francis Graffard.
Zakkan is the first foal and winner for his dam, and he comes from a family that, while it was good, has blossomed in the last decade. Zakkan’s dam Zarka (Dubawi) is a full-sister to Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris winner, French Derby second, and now successful sire Zarak. Their half-sister, the Group 1-placed, listed winner Zarkamiya (Frankel) bred last year’s Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches-French 1000 Guineas winner Zarigana, who like the weekend’s winner is by Siyouni (Pivotal).
Simply brilliant
Zakkan’s grandam is the simply brilliant Zarkava (Zamindar), the unbeaten dual champion whose seven wins had five Group 1s among them, two classics, and a grand finale when she captured the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Three of Zarkava’s four winners won blacktype races, four of her daughters have bred pattern winners, and a third Group 1 winner of recent times also appears under her. Her granddaughter, the unraced Zeroua (Siyouni), is responsible for the National Stakes winner Zavateri (Without Parole).
Siyouni, who stands at Haras de Bonneval, has a dozen Group 1 winners, and it would be fair comment that when he gets one, he tends to get a very good one. Paddington, St Mark’s Basilica, Sottsass, Laurens, Ervedya, Mqse De Sevigne and Tahiyra all have one thing in common; they have each won between three and six Group 1 races.
Few sires in the world can claim such an achievement.