Andrew Caulfield, May 6- (Ire) And over in Europe the runaway Pretty Polly S. PEDIGREE INSIGHTS success of again highlighted the promise B Y A N D R E W C A U L F I E L D being shown by daughters of the magnificent , who stands at least 16.2. QIPCO 2000 GUINEAS S.-G1, ,450,000, NKT, 5-3, The I am concentrating on today is , 3yo, c/f, 8fT, 1:36.61, gd/fm. who almost single-handedly carries the responsibility for 1--@sNIGHT OF THUNDER (IRE), 126, c, 3, by Dubawi (Ire) passing on the brilliance of his sire . 1st Dam: Forest Storm (GB) (SP-Ire), by (Ire) This son of was one of the few 2nd Dam: Quiet Storm (Ire), by (Ire) horses granted the accolade of a rating as 3rd Dam: Hertford Castle (GB), by (GB) high as 140, but his premature death meant that he left (32,000gns yrl >12 TATOCT). O-Saeed Manana; only 56 foals, of which 35 started. As these 35 B-Frank Dunne (IRE); T-Richard Hannon; J-Kieren included three group winners and a pair of listed Fallon; ,255,195. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0, winners, Dubai Millennium may well have developed ,287,165. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. into a major force, but his other high-class son, the Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. quirky Echo of Light, died as a 10-year-old without Click for the Racing Post result, the brisnet.com PPs or the free siring anything of note, and we are also still waiting for brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, courtesy Racing UK. the first black-type winner out of a Dubai Millennium The saying that Aa good big =un will always beat a . good little =un@ may have some merit in the world of Ironically Dubawi is the polar opposite, physically, of boxing, but how relevant is it to the ? The his sire. Whereas Dubai Millennium developed into an truth is that good horses come in all shapes and sizes, imposing, deep-girthed, leggy individual standing 16.3, but it is possibly informative to take a look at some of Dubawi is neat, muscular and the highest-priced on both sides of the comparatively lacking in range . and scope. But Dubawi=s smaller The top-priced stallions in Kentucky, at $150,000, size hasn=t stopped him shining are War Front and Tapit, who are both listed as 16 very brightly, both on the track hands, and the six $100,000 stallions include the and in the breeding barn. 16-hands Smart Strike and the 15.3-hands Distorted Paradoxically, virtually the Humor. 15.3 is about as small as American breeders are only disappointing moment in prepared to go these days. Dubawi=s racing career came Tapit, of course, added another Grade I winner to his when he started a clear favorite impressive collection when Untapable dominated the for the 2000 Guineas. He owed Kentucky Oaks. In doing so, Tapit initiated a remarkable this honor to his unbeaten Classic double for his sire, the 16-hands Pulpit, who juvenile campaign and to his was also responsible for California Chrome=s sire Lucky Avictory@ in =s private Pulpit. And how tall is Lucky Pulpit? 16 hands, 2000 Guineas trial at Nad Al Night of Thunder according to the Blood-Horse. Sheba. On ground which Racing Post photo Now let=s look at the highest-priced stallions in Timeform considered firmer than Europe. The top-priced proven stallion standing in the official description of good to firm, Dubawi could Britain is Dubawi, a 15.3-hands individual whose fee finish only fifth. The four ahead of him included two has justifiably risen to ,100,000. which started at 100-1, so the race obviously didn=t go Next come the ,95,000 , who stands half an as expected. It wasn=t long before we saw the real inch more than 16 hands, and the ,85,000 Oasis Dubawi again, as he bounced straight back to take the Dream, who is another that hits the measuring stick at Irish G1 2000 Guineas on good ground. 15.3 hands. Over in Ireland, Galileo continues his reign Dubawi later ran with plenty of credit over too long a as easily the highest-priced stallion in the western distance to take third place in the Derby, before world. He is another who stands just half an inch over successfully reverting to a mile in the G1 Prix Jacques 16 hands. le Marois. Three of these European stallions made an impact on Dubawi the stallion has never stopped making the first Classics of the English season. Night of amends for that 2000 Guineas disappointment and Thunder, the surprising but exciting winner of the Night of Thunder is his second winner of the G1 2000 Guineas, was sired by Dubawi from a Galileo Newmarket Classic. His first crop featured the 2010 mare, while Dansili was responsible for the G1 1000 winner , his second included Dubawi Gold, Guineas winner Miss France. runner-up to in 2011, and another son, Could it be that these smaller models help on the Hermival, took third place behind in 2012. score of soundness? That said, you dismiss the big Night of Thunder nearly threw away his advantage boys at your peril. The 17-hands Midnight Lute was over when he swerved markedly to his left in responsible for Midnight Lucky, who was described by the closing stages. Coincidentally, Dubawi also veered trainer Bob Baffert as Aa great filly@ following her markedly off a straight course--this time to his right-- GI Humana Distaff success. when he took the lead in the Irish 2000 Guineas. One of Dubawi=s great attractions is that he has no His fourth dam, , was rated Europe=s blood, and his two lines to both Northern 2-year-old filly of 1986, even though Dancer and are sufficiently far back not was one of her contemporaries. Forest Flower crossed to create any problems for mare owners. His lack of the line first in five of her six juvenile starts, including Danzig blood has contributed substantially to his the Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot and the Cheveley success. Makfi, his first 2000 Guineas winner, is out of Park S. (in which she was controversially disqualified). a mare by Danzig=s son , and so are the Although very small, Forest Flower trained on to take 2000 Guineas second Dubawi Gold and the high-class the Irish 1000 Guineas. The next dam, Leap Lively, won Asian sprinter miler . Night of Thunder also the Fillies Mile at two and the Lingfield Oaks Trial, has Green Desert in his pedigree, as the grandsire of his before finishing a remote third in the . second dam, the listed-placed Quiet Storm. Other It is worth pointing out that Night of Thunder=s dam, Dubawis with a Danzig connection include the top miler with Galileo as her sire and a Green Desert line mare as Poet=s Voice (out of a Chief=s Crown mare) and the her dam, represents a potent combination. Galileo=s first Hong Kong Derby winner (out of a 13 starters out of Green Desert include 12 granddaughter of Danehill). winners. Three of the 12 are group winners, the most Inevitably, Dubawi has also covered plenty of mares accomplished being the Epsom Oaks winner Was. from the Sadler=s Wells line. As yet his record with Galileo also sired the highly promising --a fine daughters of the 14-time champion sire is third to Night of Thunder in the 2000 Guineas--from a comparatively unremarkable, his best efforts being the granddaughter of Green Desert. Group 3-winning stayer Fox Hunt One and the Group Australia now dominates the betting for the Derby, a 1-placed Irish History. race which doesn=t appear to be on Night of Thunder=s However, the Dalham Hall stallion is shaping up well agenda. This is understandable, even though Dubawi with Sadler=s Wells=s granddaughters. He has a has sired numerous good winners over a mile and a particularly eye-catching record with daughters of the quarter and a mile and a half. Providing he continues to GI Breeders= Cup Mile winner , siring the settle well, Night of Thunder should also stay a mile G1 winner , the Group and a quarter. Click here to share this story 1-winning Hunter=s Light and the Group 3 scorer Danadana. Dubawi also has two Group 2 winners and a Group 3 scorer from a small number of foals out of NIGHT OF THUNDER (IRE), c, 2011 daughters of , Imperial Ballet and Old Vic. Seeking the Gold Mr. Prospector Now we have the enticing prospect that sending Dubai Millennium Con Game daughters of Galileo to Dubawi could be a marriage (GB) Dancer (Ire) made in heaven. Night of Thunder is one of only five Dubawi (Ire) Fall Aspen runners so far sired by Dubawi from daughters of the Deploy (GB) five-time champion sire. Another of the five, Red Galileo, Zomaradah (GB) Slightly is also above average. Daughters of Galileo create 4x5 to Jawaher (Ire) Mr. Prospector and 5x4 to . High Tern (Ire) Night of Thunder=s pedigree also includes 5x5 to the Forest Storm Sadler’s Wells Northern Dancer great . Altogether Dubawi has 11 group (GB) Galileo (Ire) Fairy Bridge 6-1-1-0, $58,837 winners which have either two lines to Mill Reef in their 1Fl, 1GSW first five generations or to two lines to Mill Reef=s son Allegretta (GB) Shirley Heights. Would-be buyers clearly didn=t subscribe to the marriage-made-in-heaven theory when Night of Thunder appeared in the sales ring as a yearling. He cost no more than 32,000gns, even though Dubawi=s fee in 2010 had been ,20,000 and had risen to ,75,000 by 2012. Perhaps buyers were deterred by the fact that none of his first three dams had succeeded in winning a stakes race and neither his second nor third dams had managed to produce a stakes winner. However, his dam Forest Storm had been second at listed level over a mile as a 2-year-old and his second dam, Quiet Storm, once went within half a length of winning a listed race over a mile and a quarter, her optimum distance. Needless to say, there are some more accomplished racemares further back in his female line.