Dubai Love strikes in UAE 1,000 Guineas for Night Of Thunder

Night Of Thunder broke new ground on Thursday as the Godolphin-raced Dubai Love struck in the UAE 1,000 Guineas at Meydan by three and a quarter lengths, to become his eighth stakes scorer and first this year.

Dubai Love was purchased by Godolphin for 120,000gns at the 2017 Tattersalls December Foal Sale, and was ridden by Pat Cosgrave for Saeed bin Suroor, who also trains the third home Final Song, a Dark Angel filly bred and raced by Godolphin.

The Petches Farm-bred filly is out of the Dylan Thomas mare Devotion, who was runner-up in the Derrinstown Stud Irish 1,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown in 2012, and shares her page with the Group 1 winners Make Believe and Tante Rose and the top-class hurdler Celestial Halo.

Dylan Thomas is also noted as the damsire of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains scorer Persian King, a son of Kingman who Godolphin bought into ahead of his Classic campaign last year.

Dubai Love won a back-end maiden at Nottingham over an extended mile on her debut last October and was third in a Kempton novice on her only other start in Britain, before finishing fourth in the UAE 1,000 Guineas Trial at Meydan earlier this month.

Night Of Thunder had two representatives in the race with the Swedish-bred filly Silent Night fading into sixth.

The nine-year-old son of Dubawi sired 28 first-crop winners last season which came at an impressive 63 per cent clip, leading him to be crowned the leading first-season sire in Europe by prize-money earnings.

His European yearling average subsequently rose from 62,136gns in 2018 to 82,880gns last year, led by a 425,000gns filly bought by Charlie Gordon-Watson at Tattersalls Book 2.

Night Of Thunder was a two-time Group 1-winning miler having won the 2,000 Guineas from Kingman and Australia despite veering markedly across the track before following up in the Lockinge Stakes at four.

He stood his first two seasons at Kildangan Stud, his fee dipping from €30,000 to €25,000 in the second year, before relocating to Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket, where he stood the past two seasons at a £15,000 fee.

Following the exploits of his progeny on the track and in the sales ring, he has returned to Kildangan where his fee has risen to €25,000.

His leading lights to date include the Italian Group 2 scorer Night Colours and fellow Pattern winners Pocket Square and Under The Stars. Having shuttled to Darley Kelvinside in Australia, his southern hemisphere runners are led by River Night, who was third on debut in Listed company at Sandown Hillside last November.

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