Galileo and Dubawi, two titans of the sport whose fates have been so entwined for the past two decades that the marrying of their superior bloodlines to one day give us a champion sire was perhaps as inevitable as it is satisfying for us bloodstock nuts.On 12 occasions, in 2008 and then every year between 2010 and 2020, Galileo topped the end-of-year sires' table in Britain and Ireland. On four of those occasions Dubawi filled the runner-up spot, before the Darley stalwart finally enjoyed his day in the sun when crowned champion for the first time in 2022.In 2021 and 2023, Frankel ran away with the sires' championship to give Galileo the early bragging rights over Dubawi in what promises to be an enduring battle between their many stallion sons, long after their own reigns among Europe's best have come to an end. For Galileo, who died in July 2021, that time is sadly upon us, with him having fallen to 26th position in the 2025 rankings. His 53 individual runners in Britain and Ireland did still include a Group 1 winner, though, namely the Coronation Cup scorer Jan Brueghel, who was ably backed up by the G1 Gold Cup and G1 Goodwood Cup runner-up Illinois.As for Dubawi, having been second in 2024 to Dark Angel, he dropped one place further to third this year, with the dual Group 1 winner Delacroix and G1 Lockinge Stakes hero Lead Artist leading his domestic challenge, as Rebel's Romance and Notable Speech added to their impressive top-level hauls on foreign soil.Soon to enter his 24th year on Earth, Dubawi will find it increasingly difficult to topple those at the very top of the table as the team at Darley move to carefully manage his workload, but there's time yet for him to give us another Delacroix, new to Coolmore for 2026, or Lead Artist, who is preparing to embark on his first season at Banstead Manor Stud.Already, Dubawi's record as a sire of sires is a formidable one, with the ultimate confirmation of his breed-shaping capabilities being delivered in 2025 by his 2,000 Guineas-winning son Night Of Thunder. No longer is Galileo one step ahead of his old sparring partner in having produced a champion sire in Britain and Ireland, albeit he can take a deal of the credit in this instance, too, as the sire of Night Of Thunder's dam, Forest Storm. Incidentally, it's the same cross that has also given us Dubawi's highest-rated runner, Ghaiyyath, and the Group 1-winning two-year-old Henry Longfellow.Night Of Thunder himself produced a Group 1-winning juvenile on his march to the title in 2025, namely the Dewhurst Stakes scorer Gewan, as well as the third-place finisher from that Newmarket contest, Distant Storm. The G2 Royal Lodge Stakes winner Bow Echo, G3 Autumn Stakes victor Hankelow and G1 Fillies' Mile third Evolutionist also rate as potential Classic prospects when Night Of Thunder is tasked with trying to defend his crown in 2026.Just as exciting a prospect is the return at five of Ombudsman, the horse who did more than any other to propel Night Of Thunder to this maiden championship, earning just shy of £1.9 million with victories in the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes and G1 Juddmonte International, as well as runner-up efforts in the G1 Coral-Eclipse and G1 Champion Stakes.Unbeaten in four starts as a three-year-old in 2024, culminating with a first Group-race success in the G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange, Ombudsman's rapid rise from promising talent to headline act rather mirrors that of Night Of Thunder the stallion. After all, it was only last year that the Kildangan Stud resident finished eighth among the leading sires in Britain and Ireland, his first entrance into the top 10.Night Of Thunder's ascension to the top of the tree has been swift and no less surprising when you consider that his headline performers from 2024, Economics and Desert Flower, both missed much of the latest campaign. The latter, for example, ran only twice, though her triumph in the 1,000 Guineas and third-place finish in the Oaks still saw her feature as one of her sire's leading earners, along with the G2 Hungerford Stakes winner More Thunder and high-class older filly Estrange.Having also produced the American Grade I-winning fillies Choisya and Dynamic Pricing, it's fair to say that Night Of Thunder is thoroughly deserving of his significant fee hike to €200,000 for next year. Lest we forget, he once stood for a fee of just £15,000 when briefly based at Dalham Hall in 2018 and 2019. Similarities can be drawn there with Dubawi, who was likewise dropped to £15,000 for his fourth season in 2009 – a far cry from the £350,000 he will command for the fourth consecutive year in 2026.Splitting Night Of Thunder and Dubawi among the top three stallions of 2025 was Wootton Bassett, whose even more remarkable rags-to-riches tale was brought to a premature end when he died from pneumonia in September this year.Having once stood for just €4,000 at Haras d'Etreham, Wootton Bassett's star had soared so high that his fifth and final season at Coolmore in 2025 saw him command a fee of €300,000, underlining his standing among Europe's elite.Further proof of the loss that Wootton Bassett will be to the industry was provided throughout the year. At its end, the son of Iffraaj was comfortably clear of Sea The Stars and Night Of Thunder at the head of the European sires' championship with nearly €12 million in progeny earnings. French Classic winners Henri Matisse (Poule d'Essai des Poulains) and Camille Pissarro (Prix du Jockey Club) both contributed significant sums before retiring to Coolmore for 2026, while the G1 Prix de la Foret scorer Maranoa Charlie will shortly embark on his first season at Tally-Ho Stud. Whirl, too, was a flagbearer for her late sire, having followed her runner-up finish in the Oaks with top-level triumphs in the Pretty Polly Stakes and Nassau Stakes.With Group 1-winning juveniles Hawk Mountain and Puerto Rico, plus the highly-touted Albert Einstein, headlining a long list of Classic hopefuls for Wootton Bassett, it would be folly to bet against him landing a posthumous title in Britain and Ireland in 2026. With three more bumper crops of bluebloods still to come from his time in Ireland, it's likely to be a case of when rather than if the prize returns to Tipperary, previously home to the champion sire every year between 1990 and 2020.Frankel, the horse who ended the reign of Coolmore dominance in 2021, had to make do with fourth this year, finishing with total prize-money around £2.3 million shy of that amassed by Night Of Thunder's progeny (£6.9 million). Wootton Bassett, meanwhile, was roughly £550,000 behind Night Of Thunder in second, with another £1.6 million back to Dubawi in third.The National Stud newcomer Diego Velazquez (Prix Jacques le Marois) and Lake Victoria (Irish 1,000 Guineas) featured among Frankel's Group 1 winners in 2025, but star billing went to the triple Oaks heroine Minnie Hauk, whose final start on European soil saw her fill the runner-up spot in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. She was beaten just a head there by Daryz, who became the first winner of Europe's richest race for his sire, Sea The Stars. The Gilltown Stud inmate, who finished one place behind Frankel among the leading sires in Britain and Ireland, enjoyed a particularly good time of things in France, with the top-level winners Sosie (Prix Ganay and Prix d'Ispahan) and Aventure (Prix Vermeille) helping to bankroll his bold bid for the European sires' championship.In addition to Frankel, Australia and Gleneagles further burnished the legacy of their sire, Galileo, by enjoying banner years in 2025. Derby winner Lambourn and Coronation Stakes scorer Cercene carried Australia to an eighth-place finish in the sires' table with their Group 1 victories, while Cartier Horse of the Year Calandagan continued to fly the flag for Gleneagles, whose 13th-place finish was the highest of his stallion career to date.Three other Coolmore sires occupied a place in the top 20, namely Starspangledbanner (12th), No Nay Never (15th) and Camelot (17th). Starspangledbanner was responsible for both the Cartier Champion Two-Year-Old Colt (Gstaad) and the Cartier Champion Two-Year-Old Filly (Precise), while Cheveley Park Stakes heroine True Love was a Group 1-winning juvenile for No Nay Never and Pierre Bonnard likewise for Camelot. The latter heads the ante-post betting for next year's Derby after his two-length win in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud.The G1 Champion Stakes third Almaqam and G2 Celebration Mile winner Jonquil starred for Ballylinch Stud's Lope De Vega as he narrowly missed out on a spot in the top five. Jonquil also suffered a narrow defeat in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, providing the Juddmonte team with a second near-miss in as many weeks after Field Of Gold's unlucky run in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket. Field Of Gold went on to confirm his standing as the outstanding three-year-old miler with Group 1 wins in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes, helping his sire, Kingman, to a seventh-place finish in the sires' table.Ranked eighth by prize-money, Tally-Ho Stud's Mehmas was responsible for more individual winners in Britain and Ireland than any other sire in 2025. His 120 winners included the G1 Middle Park Stakes scorer Wise Approach, with Wootton Bassett (111) and last year's champion, Dark Angel (105), the only other stallions to make it to three digits. Tally Ho veteran Kodiac and Whitsbury Manor Stud's rising force Havana Grey also ranked highly by that measure, with 94 and 93 winners, respectively.Not to be outdone by Galileo, Dubawi also had two other stallions finish in the top 20 by prize-money, with Fallen Angel's three Group 1 triumphs helping Too Darn Hot to 16th and dual Group 2 winner Pride Of Arras played a starring role as New Bay finished 19th. Meanwhile, Too Darn Hot's fellow third-crop sire, Blue Point, rounded out the top 10. He is now responsible for two stallion sons, with Rosallion retiring to Dalham Hall after he finished second in a trio of top-level events in 2025.Finally, a word too for Awtaad who, along with Gleneagles (83), was one of only two stallions in the top 20 to be represented by less than 100 individual runners in Britain and Ireland. Of his 57 runners, 27 won at least one race, including Ethical Diamond, who had advertised Awtaad's talents long before his victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar, having preceded that remarkable display with wins in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes and Ebor Handicap.The post Champion Night Of Thunder Leads Next Wave of Elite Stallions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.