Night of Thunder (foaled 12 March 2011) is an Irish-bred, British-trained

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse. In May 2014, he won the

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

. He failed to win again as a three-year-old but finished second in both the

St James's Palace Stakes The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs and 213 yards (1,603 metres). It is schedu ...

and the

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is s ...

and third in the

Prix du Moulin The Prix du Moulin de Longchamp is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is sch ...

. On his four-year-old debut, he won the

Lockinge Stakes The Lockinge Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Newbur ...

Background

Night of Thunder is a

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

colt with a white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

and two white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

bred in Ireland by Frank Dunne. He was sired by

Dubawi Dubawi (foaled 7 February 2002) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. Background Dubawi is a bay horse with no white markings bred in Ireland by Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stud. He was one of the only crop of foals sired by Dubai ...

, a top-class son of

Dubai Millennium Dubai Millennium (2 March 1996 – 29 April 2001) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. The colt was trained in the United Kingdom and Dubai during his racing career from 1998 and 2000. He is notable for winning a series of major ...

, whose wins included the

Irish 2,000 Guineas The Irish 2,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

and the

Prix Jacques Le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile ...

. At stud, Dubawi has been a highly successful breeding stallion, siring major winners such as Monterosso, Al Kazeem,

Makfi Makfi (foaled 4 March 2007) is a British-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 2010 he won the 2000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois. Background Makfi's sire is Irish 2,000 Guineas and Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Dubaw ...

Lucky Nine The Lucky Nine were an English rock band that features members of some other top British rock bands, for instance A, Hundred Reasons and (the now defunct) Cable and Sunna/earthtone9 Earthtone9 (stylized earthtone9) is an English metal ...

, and

Poet's Voice Poet's Voice (7 March 2007 – 17 March 2018) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed very good form as a two-year-old in 2009 when he won two races including the Champagne Stakes. He failed to live up to his promise in the fi ...

. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

, Night of Thunder was sent to the

Tattersalls Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founding It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. T ...

sales, where he was bought for 32,000

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

by representatives of Rabbah Bloodstock. Night of Thunder entered into the ownership of Saeed Manana and was sent into training with

Richard Hannon Sr. Richard Michael Hannon (born 1945), known as Richard Hannon Sr. to distinguish him from his son, is a former British horse trainer. He was British flat racing Champion Trainer four times, achieved more than a century of victories in a season 20 ti ...

at East Everleigh in Wiltshire.

Racing career

2013: two-year-old season

Night of Thunder began his racing career in a six-furlong

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in lat ...

on 13 October 2013 in which he was ridden by Richard Hughes and started the 9/2 favourite against eleven opponents. He took the lead two furlongs from the finish and drew clear in the closing stages to win by six

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

from Nakuti. Two weeks later, the colt started 6/4 favourite for the Listed Doncaster Stakes on soft ground at

Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy. History Doncas ...

. Ridden again by Hughes, he took the lead a furlong from the finish and won "very readily" by three lengths from Aeolus. At the end of the year, the running of the East Everleigh stable was passed from Richard Hannon Sr. to his son Richard Hannon Jr.

2014: three-year-old season

On his three-year-old debut, Night of Thunder contested the

Greenham Stakes The Greenham Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 7 furlongs () at Newbury in ...

, a major trial race for the 2000 Guineas, run at

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat r ...

on 12 April. Starting the 11/4 second favourite in a field which included the

Royal Lodge Stakes The Royal Lodge Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) ...

winner

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, the

Middle Park Stakes The Middle Park Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is s ...

winner Astaire, and the

Solario Stakes The Solario Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is scheduled to take plac ...

winner Kingman. Night of Thunder tracked the leader, Astaire, for most of the race and moved up to dispute the lead approaching the final furlong. At this point, he was overtaken by Kingman and finished second, beaten four and a half lengths by the winner. On 3 May 2014, Night of Thunder started a 40/1 outsider for the 206th running of the 2000 Guineas over the Rowley Mile course at

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

. The other runners included Kingman, Kingston Hill,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Toormore Toormore (19 March 2011 – 22 February 2018) was an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was the champion two-year-old in Europe in 2013 when he was undefeated in all his races including the Vintage Stakes and Vincent O'Brien ...

Outstrip Outstrip (foaled 27 January 2011) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the leading two-year-old in Britain in 2013 when he won the Champagne Stakes and was placed in both the Vintage Stakes and the Dewhurst Stakes. In November he w ...

, and

War Command War Command (foaled 27 April 2011) is an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old he won the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot by six lengths and then won the Futurity Stakes, before going on to record his first Grou ...

. Hughes opted to ride Toormore, allowing 49-year-old veteran

Kieren Fallon Kieren Francis Fallon (born 22 February 1965 in Crusheen, County Clare, Ireland) is a retired Irish professional flat racing jockey and was British Champion Jockey six times. Career Stable jockey to Henry Cecil In ...

to take the ride on Night of Thunder. The fourteen-runner field split into two groups, with Night of Thunder joining the group racing on the far side (the right-hand side from the jockey's viewpoint). In the closing stages, Australia overtook Toormore on the stands side, whilst Kingman took the lead from the Spanish colt Noozhoh Canarias on the far side as Night of Thunder began to make rapid progress. Night of Thunder overtook Kingman inside the final furlong but then veered sharply to the left across the wide Newmarket straight. On the line, Night of Thunder won by half a length from Kingman, with Australia a head away in third. The form of the race was subsequently boosted by the performances of the beaten horses: Kingman won the

, Australia and Kingston Hill finished first and second in The Derby, and

The Grey Gatsby The Grey Gatsby (foaled 14 March 2011) is an Irish-bred racehorse who was trained in Britain and Ireland. In 2014 he established himself as one of the best colts of his generation in Europe by winning the Dante Stakes and the Prix du Jockey Club ...

won the

Dante Stakes The Dante Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 56 yards () at Y ...

and the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a ...

. Night of Thunder did not return until

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

, where he started 3/1 second favourite behind Kingman for the

on 18 June. Ridden by Hughes, he led from the start until the last 100 yards, where he was overtaken and beaten two and a quarter lengths by Kingman. On 5 July, the colt was moved up in distance and matched against older horses for the first time in the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...

over ten furlongs at

Sandown Park Racecourse Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing ...

. He started the 7/2 second favourite but after reaching fourth place in the straight, he weakened in the closing stages and finished eighth of the nine runners behind

Mukhadram Mukhadram (foaled 6 April 2009) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. Unraced as a two-year-old, he showed promise when winning two minor races as a three-year-old in 2012. In the following year he emerged as a top-class performer with a front-run ...

. In September, the colt was sent to France to contest the

over 1600 metres at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

. Ridden by Ryan Moore, he started slowly and raced at the back of the field before making progress in the straight. He finished third, beaten a head and a neck by

Charm Spirit Charm Spirit (foaled 26 February 2011) is an Irish-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old he won one minor race but showed promise when finishing third in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère. In the following year he establish ...

and the favourite, Toronado. On 18 October, Night of Thunder met Charm Spirit again in the

at Ascot and started 2/1 favourite in a field which also included

Integral In mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented i ...

, Toormore and

Kingsbarns Kingsbarns is a village and parish in Scotland lies near the eastern coast of Fife, in an area known as the East Neuk, southeast of St Andrews and north of Crail. The name derives from the area being the location of the barns used to store ...

. Restrained at the back of the eleven runners field in the early stages, the colt was switched to the outside and back to the inside as Hughes attempted to obtain a clear run. He finished strongly but failed to overhaul Charm Spirit and finished second, beaten half a length.

2015: four-year-old season

Before the start of the 2015 season, Night of Thunder was bought by

Godolphin Racing Godolphin (Arabic: جودلفين) is the Maktoum family's private Thoroughbred horseracing stable and was named in honour of the Godolphin Arabian, who came from the desert to become one of the three founding stallions of the modern Thoroug ...

but remained in Hannon's stable. He made his first appearance of the year in the

Lockinge Stakes The Lockinge Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Newbur ...

on the straight mile course at Newbury on 16 May. He started the 11/4 joint favourite with the filly

, winner of the

Falmouth Stakes The Falmouth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,60 ...

and

Sun Chariot Stakes The Sun Chariot Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

. Toormore was again in opposition, whilst the other leading contenders in the sixteen-runner field included Custom Cut ( Joel Stakes,

Sandown Mile The Sandown Mile is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) at Sandown Park in late April. Histor ...

), Here Comes When ( Challenge Stakes), and Mooharib. Ridden by James Doyle, he tracked the leaders before taking the lead approaching the final furlong as the leaders tracked across to the far-side rail (the left side of the course from the jockeys' viewpoint). Night of Thunder held off the late run of Toormore to win by a neck with Arod taking third ahead of Integral. Doyle said, "This is just the start of his campaign and there'll be more to come. He's a big type and went to win his race and had a puff and ground it out nicely. He's got a great attitude", whilst Hannon indicated that the colt would be aimed at the

Queen Anne Stakes The Queen Anne Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and is scheduled to take pl ...

at Royal Ascot. In the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, Night of Thunder started the 4/1 third favourite behind Solow and

Able Friend Able Friend ( zh, 步步友:, link=no foaled 19 September 2009) is an Australian-bred, Hong Kong-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After showing some promise when winning one of his two races in his native country, the gelding was transferred to r ...

. He raced just behind the leaders but was unable to make any progress in the last quarter mile and finished fifth of the eight runners, almost five lengths behind the winner Solow. Night of Thunder faced Solow again in the

Sussex Stakes The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and ...

at Goodwood and started 5/1 second favourite. He reached third place in the straight but weakened in the closing stages and finished sixth of the eight runners behind the French gelding.

Assessment

In the 2014 World's Best Racehorse Rankings, Night of Thunder was rated the 37th best racehorse in the world and the tenth best three-year-old male.

Stud record

Night of Thunder stands at

Kildangan Stud Darley Stud is located at Dalham Hall, the global breeding operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. It is on the outskirts of Newmarket, Suffolk, the internat ...

for a fee of €100,000.

Notable stock

Night of Thunder

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

winners: ''c =

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

, f =

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

, g =

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

Pedigree

References

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Night Of Thunder'' {{2000 Guineas Winners 2011 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 2-n 2000 Guineas winners