Night Of Thunder's progressive daughter, Fortuna Diamond, made the trip to Germany worthwhile when coming with a strong challenge to score in the G3 Kolner Sprint Trophy over 1400m at Cologne on Sunday 27th September.
The three-year-old filly, trained in France by Henri-Alex Pantall was a winner on her first three starts, culminating in Listed victory over one mile at Longchamp in June before placed efforts in Group company at Hamburg and Deauville.
The pace at Cologne was strong as the field jumped from the stalls and, as the two leaders scorched away from their opponents, jockey Martin Protti was content to sit within the chasing pack. As the fierce gallop inevitably fell away, Fortuna Diamond's stamina kicked in and she made up good ground to swoop and ultimately pass the frontrunners with a strong finishing kick, going on to win comfortably by three quarters of a length.
Bred by Godolphin from their Street Cry mare Pure Diamond, Fortuna Diamond is a half-sister to York Listed winner Sapphire Seas (Frankel) and dual Meydan winner Arabian Light (Kingman).
Night Of Thunder, a natural successor to his sire Dubawi, was the only European stallion to have seven-figure sales yearlings in Britain, Ireland and France in 2025. With future Darley stallions and multiple G1 winners Ombudsman and Bow Echo representing him on-track in 2026, the upcoming sales season looks sure to continue this remarkable trajectory.
