‘Give me a Gold Cup anytime!’ - Amo Racing move for Gigginstown House-bred Night Of Thunder colt at 1,700,000gns

“A good five minutes’ work,” was Eddie O’Leary’s typically understated reaction to seeing back-to-back Lynn Lodge Stud lots bring a combined 2.2 million guineas midway through the second session at Tattersalls Book 1. 

The lion’s share of that sum was generated by a Night Of Thunder colt who was knocked down to Amo Racing’s Kia Joorabchian at 1.7 million guineas. 

Out of the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes third Model Guest, the colt is a brother to Zhang Yuesheng’s smart two-year-old filly Evolutionist. That €600,000 purchase could provide the pedigree with an almost immediate Group 1 update as she is set to contest the Fillies’ Mile on Friday. 

The colt emerged as one of the week’s major talking horses, and O’Leary was effusive in his praise of the strapping youngster. 

“He’s an absolutely beautiful horse with a magnificent mind,” he said. “The sire is obviously very, very good and I hope the filly is very good; she runs in the Group 1 on Friday. He came out of the field in February and looked like this. He’s just a stunning horse. We didn’t prep him, we just brought him up here.

“It’s a great day, we’ve more to sell, but it’s been a brilliant day. You’re never confident, you just hope the people show up, and they did. I hope he’s very lucky for Kia. I hope he’s as good as I think he is. I’d like to thank all the lads at home too, they do a great job and it’s all very much appreciated.”

The 1,700,000gns Night Of Thunder colt in the Park Paddocks ringCredit: Laura Green

The colt was bred under the banner of Michael O'Leary’s Gigginstown House, a name more closely associated with the National Hunt sphere rather than blue-chip Flat breeding. Asked where the productive spell of selling ranked among his best days in the business, Eddie O’Leary grinned and said: “Give me a Gold Cup anytime!” 

The other lot in Lynn Lodge’s big-money brace was the Wootton Bassett filly out of a half-sister to Taghrooda who fetched 500,000gns from Japanese buyer Tsunefumi Kusama. 

Joorabchian delegated media duties to bloodstock agent Ben McElroy after signing for the seven-figure Night Of Thunder colt, but indicated his purchase would head down the road to his base at Freemason Lodge Stables. 

Catch up with all the news on our live blog

“He’s a fantastic-looking horse with great strength and movement,” said McElroy. “Obviously the full-sister can run, she’s entered in the Fillies’ Mile on Friday. Regardless of the sire, he was one of the best physicals here; he’s outstanding. And Night Of Thunder is phenomenal. He started at the bottom and has worked his way up. He goes from strength to strength, and hopefully this colt can add his name to the roll of honour. The sire is at the elite level now.”

Kia Joorabchian deep in discussion with bloodstock agent Ben McElroy Credit: Laura Green

The Night Of Thunder colt was Amo Racing’s second seven-figure pickup of the day, having earlier gone to 2.2 million guineas for the Wootton Bassett half-brother to Crypto Force from Marlhill House Stud. Coolmore’s MV Magnier filled the role of underbidder on both colts. 

“To be honest with you, I was hoping [the price] would be half that,” Joorabchian said after signing for the Wootton Bassett colt. “Unfortunately when you’re bidding against the other big guys, you have to really like the horse and really go for it, and you don’t have much choice. He’ll go to Freemason and we’ll see how he goes." 

He added: "The two colts we paid a lot of money for [over the first two days] have very good pedigrees and are by very good stallions. When you’re talking about Frankel and Wootton Bassett, you’re talking about the cream of the crop. That’s really what we’re looking for. We’re also looking for fillies that can be potential broodmares. I’ve said before, we’re 30 or 40 years behind the big operations. We’re just a baby operation trying to catch up.”

Amo’s spending continued late into the session when another well-related Wootton Bassett colt became the day’s third yearling to make 2.2 million guineas. The youngster was bred by Al Shahania Stud and offered through Newsells Park. He is out of Qabala, a daughter of Scat Daddy who won the Group 3 Nell Gwyn Stakes and was third in Hermosa’s 1,000 Guineas. 

The colt is a sibling to two winners, including the unbeaten Raammee who took his record to two from two with a 12-length romp in a Newcastle novice stakes last month. 

“When the bidding started at zero I thought we might have a chance, but there were three parties out here that were whacking it back and forth pretty quickly against each other," said Alex Elliott. "I think we’ve bought two serious Wootton Bassett colts today, the one from Marlhill and now this one out of Qabala, who was a very good filly for Roger Varian. 

“The Persian King half-brother [Raammee] appears to be a bit of a freak. His performance on debut at Kempton was pretty special and then he came back and won at Newcastle. Wootton Bassett is an upgrade on most stallions, and with the page going back to that huge Juddmonte family, I think he’s got the potential to be a very special horse.” 

That signing took Amo’s Book 1 spend to 11.91 million guineas for eight new recruits. 

More from Book 1: 

'This is my best day in the sales ring, it’s very emotional' - a new high for Luca Cumani as Frankel colt fetches 2,200,000gns

'He’s an unbelievable stallion' - Godolphin and Amo Racing clash over 3,700,000gns son of Sea The Stars 

'If he’s a very good horse he’s going to be a stallion' - Amo Racing outmuscle Coolmore for 3,600,000gns Frankel colt