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Joseph O’Brien-trained filly becomes the second Group 1 winner for Night Of Thunder
Former Darley shuttler Night Of Thunder (Dubawi) recorded his second Group One winner on Sunday when Thundering Nights (4 f ex Cape Castle by Cape Cross) won the Pretty Polly Stakes (Gr 1, 1m2f) at the Curragh. The filly, under Shane Cross, settled in behind the leaders and took the lead with 200 metres left to travel and held off the challenge of the Aidan O’Brien-trained Santa Barbara (Camelot) in the closing stages to score by a neck.
“She’s a great mare, she’s very tough and every time you ask her a question she rises to the occasion,” said O’Brien.
“She’s never run a bad race really and I’m delighted for Shapoor Mistry, the owner. I’m very proud of her.
“She always has a bit of a look around when she goes to the front and she did that again today, but when the other one came to her she really fought back.
O’Brien will consider further Group One options for the filly.
“She has options back in America, like the Beverly D, and she also has the likes of the Nassau and Matron,” he said.
“She’s a Group One winner now so she’s a very exciting broodmare prospect no matter what happens.”
A Group 3 winner previously, Thundering Nights is the only winner out of four-time winner Cape Castle (Cape Cross) from the family of Grade One winning filly Queen’s Trust (Dansili).
Night Of Thunder has sired 22 stakes winners in total and his first Group 1 winner was the Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Kukeracha. He shuttled to Australia for only one season and has produced 29 winners from 37 runners and has a strike rate of 13.5 per cent stakes winners to runners from that Australian-bred crop.
Wow she’s tough!
A first European G1 winner for #NightOfThunder as Thundering Nights fends off Santa Barbara to land the G1 Pretty Polly Stakes @curraghrace for @JosephOBrien2