Darley's newly crowned British and Irish champion sire Night of Thunder has come a long way since his two seasons standing for £15,000 at Dalham Hall Stud.
The near-15-year-old, now the Kildangan Stud supremo, is following in his own sire's footsteps from 2022 when Dubawi stepped out from Galileo's shadow to claim top honors. Dubawi enjoyed a banner year this term too when reaching the 200 individual pattern winners mark, becoming only the third stallion to reach that figure after fellow titans Galileo (261) and Danehill (209).
Night of Thunder gained a richly deserved first title after a season of high achievements. His 31 individual stakes winners worldwide are led by five individual group/grade 1 winners in Prince of Wales's Stakes (G1) and Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) hero Ombudsman, One Thousand Guineas (G1) heroine Desert Flower, Dewhurst Stakes (G1) winner Gewan, Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1T) scorer Choisya, and Just a Game Stakes (G1T) winner Dynamic Pricing.
The Two Thousand Guineas (G1) and Lockinge Stakes (G1) hero began his stud career at a fee of €30,000 at Kildangan in 2016. That dropped to €25,000 the following year and then to £15,000 for his third and fourth seasons, when he was based in Newmarket.
Night Of Thunder landed the champion first-season sire title in 2019 after supplying seven individual stakes winners, and, since then, the only way has been up. His 2020 fee of €25,000 rose to €75,000 the following term and then hit new territory at €100,000 in 2023. He will now stand the upcoming breeding season at a career-high €200,000, up again from €150,000 this year.
Night of Thunder will finish up around £800,000 clear of runner-up Wootton Bassett, himself crowned European champion sire of 2025, while Dubawi and another former champion, Frankel , were a respectable distance behind in third and fourth spot respectively. The top was completed by fellow perennial leading stallions Sea The Stars, Lope de Vega , and Kingman , as well as Mehmas, Australia, and Blue Point.
Last year's British and Irish champion sire Dark Angel was without his champion older miler Charyn—now ensconced at Sumbe's Montfort et Preaux—and he finished in 11th spot ahead of Gleneagles.
The late, great Galileo's final crop of 3-year-olds hit the track in 2025, with St Leger (G1) third and Lingfield Derby Trial runner-up Stay True proving the best of that small crop, but the Coolmore legend claimed yet another broodmare sire crown to add to his breed-shaping legacy.
Galileo's daughters produced St Leger hero Scandinavia, Pretty Polly Stakes (G1) and Nassau Stakes (G1) heroine Whirl, Prix de la Foret (G1) hero Maranoa Charlie, Irish St Leger (G1) victor Al Riffa, Futurity Trophy (G1) victor Hawk Mountain, and dual top-level-winning juvenile Puerto Rico, among others. It is a division he could continue to dominate on plenty more occasions.
Champion Status for Late Titan
Wootton Bassett will be hugely missed after his untimely death in September, but Coolmore's titan gained deserved recognition for his phenomenal abilities when capturing the earnings-based European sire title.
Iffraaj's outstanding son sired eight individual top-flight winners over a range of distances, headed by French Two Thousand Guineas (G1) and Derby (G1) winners Henri Matisse and Camille Pissarro. His top-level scorers also included Al Riffa, Whirl, Maranoa Charlie, Hawk Mountain, and Puerto Rico; those five out of Galileo mares, plus Prix du Moulin (G1) winner Sahlan.
Following in the footsteps of another Coolmore sire in Camelot to claim the European crown, Wootton Bassett's influence seems certain to last for many years to come.
His legacy will grow as more of his Coolmore crops head onto the track—there are more large crops in the pipeline—while more and more of his sons will be swept up for stud duties. His older sons to stud, Almanzor and Wooded, have come up with group 1 stars of their own in Prix de Diane (G1) and Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) heroine Gezora and Prix Jean Prat (G1) winner Woodshauna, respectively.
Tally-Ho's Star Shines Bright
Tally-Ho Stud's Starman led the way for freshman sires across the categories, from individual winners to overall prize money in Britain and Ireland. His title-winning progeny were headed by Prix Morny (G1) heroine Venetian Sun, being among four individual group winners for the July Cup (G1) hero.
She was joined by Prix Robert Papin (G2) winner Green Sense, Molecomb Stakes (G3) scorer Lady Iman, and Tyros Stakes (G3) winner North Coast, while Starman also supplied a fifth stakes scorer via Radley Stakes winner Leading Dancer.
Starman has supplied 44 individual winners to date worldwide, and there are a number of lightly-raced winners among them, while he in turn claimed group 1 honors at 4. There should be exciting times for the Dutch Art horse in the seasons ahead. Given his sparkling achievements, it is perhaps unsurprising to learn that his 2026 book of mares is already full.
Palace Pier and St Mark's Basilica claimed three individual stakes winners apiece, the former's progeny led by Lowther Stakes (G2) heroine Royal Fixation and the latter with unbeaten Prix Marcel Boussac (G1) heroine Diamond Necklace. Champion performers at 3 (and in Palace Pier's case, at 4 too, as he remained in training), added to the fact that they have had the support of some of Europe's leading breeders, they too should continue where they left off in 2026.
French Title for Aga Khan Star
Sea The Stars claimed French champion sire honors following the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) victory of Daryz, while the equally talented Sosie led the way early on with group 1 victories in the Prix Ganay (G1) and Prix d'Ispahan (G1) before his fine third in the Arc. With earnings of just over €5.6m at the time of writing, the Gilltown Stud resident was over €1.2m clear of Wootton Bassett, with Frankel around €1.5m back in third.
Sea The Stars' challenge was also aided by Aventure, a Wertheimer homebred alongside Sosie. The 4-year-old broke her group 1 duck with a convincing score in the Prix Vermeille (G1), while she also captured group 2 and 3 wins alongside a second-placed finish to Calandagan in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1).
Both Aventure and Sosie return for more in 2026, which is a fine boost for Sea The Stars' defense of his crown. The rising 20-year-old was also aided by the high-class Map of Stars and See The Fire, with the former landing the Prix d'Harcourt (G2) and placing a narrow second in the Prix Ganay (G1). See The Fire added further money to the pot when narrowly denied in the Prix de l'Opera (G1).
The late Soldier Hollow will take the German sire title once more with around £100,000 in hand of Amaron, while in third spot was another much-missed German stalwart in Adlerflug. Polish Vulcano, responsible for this year's German Derby (G1) hero Hochkonig, was close-up in fourth. Both Alson and Japan produced winners among first-season sires.
Soldier Hollow's leading performer by prize money was multiple group-winning 3-year-old filly Santagada, while Augustus landed a victory in the Grosser Hansa-Preis (G2) this summer before heading to Australia.
Italy's title will be taken by Ballylinch Stud-based Make Believe for the second time in a row. He has been chiefly assisted by Klaynn, who was a spectacular winner of her domestic One Thousand Guineas (G3) and Oaks (G2).
