Placed in two of her three starts at Listed level, Contract Racing’s homebred Night Of Thunder (IRE) filly River Night chose the right spot to break her maiden in Saturday’s Listed Arrowfield Redoute's Choice Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield.
Taken straight to the front by Damian Lane, the Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra-trained filly led at every call to defeat the Rubick filly Masseuse by a length with the Fighting Sun colt Celestial Sol a length and a quarter back in third.
“She’s pretty quick so in the small field I thought I could dictate and it worked out that way,” Lane said.
Mathew Ellerton said they will consider taking River Night to Sydney.
“It was a well-deserved win,” Ellerton said.
“She’s done a very good job today and I’m sure she still has a bit of improvement in her, so it’s onwards and upwards.
“She is nominated for the Percy Sykes, a 2yo fillies race, but we will let the dust settle and see how she gets through it."
River Night’s dam River Pearl (Helmet) did not place in four starts however she comes from one of David Moodie’s favourite families.
River Pearl is a three-quarter-sister to Group III winner Kulgrinda (Exceed And Excel) and a half-sister to Listed winner River Delta (Al Maher) out of the stakes-placed Belotto mare River Crossing who is a half-sister to Group 1 MRC Oakleigh Plate winner River Dove and to the dams of stakes-winners Cros Current, First Command and Oneworld.
River Dove is the dam of Vinery Stud’s Headwater, a leading first crop stallion.
River Pearl has a yearling filly by Bobby’s Kitten (USA) and a colt foal by Frosted (USA). She was covered by Brazen Beau last spring.
River Night becomes the tenth stakes-winner, and the second in Australia after the Group III MRC Blue Diamond Preview winner A Beautiful Night, for Darley Stud’s Two Thousand Guineas hero Night Of Thunder (IRE).
The leading First Season Sire in Europe in 2019, Night Of Thunder (IRE) did not return to Australia after leaving 58 foals in his only crop.
