Top-level breakthrough in Europe for Night Of Thunder

Night Of Thunder claimed a first European Group 1 winner in his third season with runners via the gallant victory of his daughter Thundering Nights in the Alwasmiyah Pretty Polly Stakes.

An impressive stream of stakes performers from the 2,000 Guineas and Lockinge scorer saw his fee at Darley soar to €75,000 and he will not have many more reliable members of his progeny than Joseph O'Brien's filly from his first crop, who held off the late lunge of Santa Barbara. She was already a winner at Group 3 level and had been beaten a whisker in New York just over three weeks earlier.

Thundering Nights joins one more top-level performer from his sire to date in Chris Waller's Kiwi-bred gelding Kukeracha, who prevailed in a blanket finish to the Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm late last month.

Although Irish-born, the filly has a connection further afield as her breeder is Manjri Farm, one of the oldest and most successful studs in India.

Its long-standing proprietor Shapoor Mistry failed to sell Thundering Nights when offering her at both the Goffs November Foal Sale and Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, but his decision to put her into training has resulted in having a very valuable filly on his hands.

Thundering Nights was bought in utero when her dam, four-time-winning Cape Cross mare Cape Castle, was bought by Stroud Coleman for 32,000gns at the Tattersalls February Sale in 2017. She was exported to India in 2017 after being covered by Dawn Approach.

"I got her through Anthony Stroud as a yearling and she’s been straightforward and done nothing but improve," O'Brien explained on Racing TV. "I’m delighted to have such a talented filly for them and hopefully at some time they'll be able to come over and see her."

Cape Castle's third dam is the tremendous broodmare Lucayan Princess, who produced the Group 1 siblings Warrsan, Needle Gun and Luso, the middle-distance stars for her own trainer and owner, Clive Brittain and Saeed Manana.

Thundering Nights is one of 22 worldwide stakes winners for Night Of Thunder, the Kildangan resident who has already shuttled to Australia.

Velocidad: a ninth individual Group winner for GleneaglesCredit: Patrick McCann

On what was an outstanding afternoon for O'Brien jnr, he also added a ninth Group winner to the record of another third-crop sire in Gleneagles, whom he rode to top-level success himself.

Velocidad took the Airlie Stud Stakes in exciting fashion on what was only her second racecourse start. O'Brien's brother Donnacha had paid just 25,000gns at last year's Tattersalls Book 1 for a filly bred in partnership by Bugley Stud, the famed Dorset nursery responsible for the likes of Sleepytime and Ali-Royal over the years.

She is much the leading performer out of her dam, Astrantia, a maiden for the late Sir Henry Cecil who descends from the family of that trainer's Oaks star Ramruma and is a Dansili sister to Strategic Prince, the July and Vintage Stakes winner for Paul Cole in 2006 who served as a stallion at Coolmore.

O'Brien's father Aidan later embellished the beautiful pedigree of Amhran Na Bhfiann, Coolmore's 1,300,000gns Book 1 purchase who dominated the field for his first Group win in the Comer Group International Curragh Cup.

The four-year-old is by Galileo out of Lodge Park Stud's magnificent Alluring Park, a half-sister of the mighty New Approach who has already produced the same connections' Oaks winner Was.

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