Night Of Thunder equals European record for Stakes winners by a first-season sire

Keep Busy lands Prix Yacowlef at Chantilly to become her sire’s seventh Black Type winner

Night Of Thunder has made an extraordinary start to his stud career and on Tuesday, 12 November he reached a new milestone when equalling the European record for Stakes winners by a first-season sire.

His two-year-old daughter Keep Busy made a successful trip to France to land the Listed Prix Yacowlef, run over five and a half furlongs at Chantilly, winning by three quarters of a length. She now has three wins to her name.

Keep Busy was bred by Hackcanter Ltd and Peter Gleeson and is out of the G2 Temple Stakes winner Look Busy. The mare is also dam of the Stakes-placed winner Looks A Million and is herself a half-sister to G1 Darley Prix Morny winner Unfortunately.

Night Of Thunder has made the best start at stud by any stallion for 20 years. He is also sire of G2 winner Night Colours, plus G3-winning duo Pocket Square and Under The Stars.

He has sired an outstanding 16% Stakes winners to runners this year – by some margin the best of any first-season sire in many years. His strike rate for winners to runners is also hugely impressive, standing at over 61%.

Night Of Thunder will return to Kildangan Stud for the 2020 season, where he will stand at a fee of €25,000, Oct 1, SLF.