Night Of Thunder rises to €450,000 as Darley sets 2027 fees
Night Of Thunder's 2027 fee rises to €450,000 as Darley confirms new stallions Bow Echo, Ombudsman and Notable Speech for its European roster.
Darley has set Night Of Thunder's 2027 covering fee at €450,000, up from €200,000 this year, following another outstanding season for the Kildangan Stud stallion. The figure is a record for a publicly advertised European stallion fee, although comparisons with British fees need to account for different VAT treatment.
The son of Dubawi has produced six Group 1 winners in 2026 and reached 100 individual stakes winners last month. His leading representatives include Ombudsman, winner of the Champion Stakes and two Prince of Wales's Stakes, and the unbeaten 2,000 Guineas winner Bow Echo, who also won the St James's Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes. The strength of his results has been reflected in the sales ring, where a colt by him made 4.6 million guineas at Tattersalls Book 1.
Darley's announcement on Tuesday also confirmed the introductory fees for three high-profile new recruits. Bow Echo will begin his stallion career at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket at £65,000, while Ombudsman and Notable Speech will stand at Kildangan for €45,000 and €40,000 respectively. Ombudsman is still scheduled to contest the Japan Cup on 29 November before retiring to stud.
Notable Speech, a son of Dubawi, retires with seven Group 1 or Grade 1 victories, among them the 2,000 Guineas, Sussex Stakes and Breeders' Cup Mile. The arrival of both him and Ombudsman gives Kildangan two proven top-level performers alongside Night Of Thunder, whose own rise has been central to Darley's recent breeding success.
Dubawi remains at £350,000 at Dalham Hall. His advertised fee is unchanged, while Too Darn Hot drops from £100,000 to £75,000 and Rosallion from £40,000 to £30,000. At Kildangan, Blue Point rises from €100,000 to €130,000 and Ghaiyyath doubles from €20,000 to €40,000 after productive seasons on the racecourse and in the sales ring.
The €450,000 figure for Night Of Thunder includes Irish VAT, whereas the quoted British fees exclude VAT. That distinction matters when comparing headline prices across the two operations and should not be overlooked in assessing the European record.
The new roster reflects a combination of established stallion performance and the recruitment of recent champions. For breeders, the scale of Night Of Thunder's increase is the clearest indication of how decisively his commercial standing has changed in the space of another season.
By TP Editorial
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