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Gelding becomes Night Of Thunder’s eighth winner
Night Of Thunder (Dubawi) added another winner to his Australian record as Cherry Tortoni (2 g ex Tortoni by Strategic) landed the Ladbrokes Back Yourself Maiden 2YO Plate (1200m) at Sale to become the former shuttler's eighth Australian winner - from just 12 starters.
Trained by Patrick Payne, the two-year-old gelding who is out of a half-sister to Tie The Knot (Nassipour), scooted clear after racing three and four wide throughout to easily defeat Not A Zak (El Roca) by a length and a half marking him as a horse to note for the future.
Payne’s association with the family is long established having ridden Tie The Knot (Nassaipour) to three of his 13 Group 1 victories, a record that places the great champion as equal fourth with Sunline (Desert Sun) and only behind Winx (Street Cry) (25), Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) (15) and Kingston Town (Bletchingly) (14) for Group 1 wins. Click here to view the full table at R&S Australian Racing Records website or here to watch some of his career highlights on R&S TV.
Bred by Sandy Tait and raced by Tait and Jill Nivison, the gelding is one of two winners out of winning Strategic (Zeditave) mare Tortoni, who is herself out of Group 1 winner Whisked (Whiskey Road) who, in addition to the aforementioned Tie The Knot, produced Listed-winning duo Hood (Shamardal) and Dream Ballad (Singspiel).
In 2018 Tortoni produced a filly by former Twin Hills Stud resident Bobby’s Kitten (Kitten’s Joy), before foaling a filly by Coolmore Stud shuttler Churchill (Galileo) the following season and she has most recently be covered by Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy).
Night Of Thunder, clearly the leading second season sire in Europe is also firing in Australia with eight winners from 12 runners and is currently firing at an extraordinary strike rate of 60.6 per cent winners to runners, while his southern hemisphere crop is headed by two stakes winners; A Beautiful Night and River Night.
The son of Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) - whose global stakes winners count stands at 11 - stood in Australia for one season in 2016 - leaving 58 foals - and he now resides exclusively at Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland where his fee for 2020 was set at €25,000.
Click here to Blackbook Cherry Tortoni.
