MY ITM Stallion Trail itinerary on Saturday included a visit to Kildangan Stud, home to a fantastic roster of nine sires. There was naturally a great interest among breeders in the newcomer to the stud for this season, Shadow Of Light (Lope De Vega). The European champion juvenile after victories in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes and the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes goes into battle at a tasty fee of €17,500, and is being well received.

Though I had seen him on many occasions, the appearance of Night Of Thunder this time took on an added significance, given that he has been crowned the champion sire of 2025. He stands for a high of €200,000, having jumped by €50,000 now for each of the past two seasons, and it seems hardly believable that for his third and fourth season at stud, when he relocated to Dalham Hall Stud to make him more available to British breeders, he stood for just £15,000.