With just six horses in training in Europe, Shapoor Mistry operates on a scale that is dwarfed by the powerhouse operations – but it has proved no barrier to success for the Indian native who, off the back of a dream fortnight stacked full of important winners, could enjoy his greatest success yet when homebred Thundering On (Frankel) lines up in the Betfred Oaks. Bloodstock agent Anthony Stroud has played a massive role in Mistry's excellent run of form. Recent juvenile winners Havana Lightning and Shimmering Sun, along with Group and Listed scorer Rosy Affair, were all sourced by the agent for a combined sum of a little over £300,000. That's serious shooting for three highly rated daughters of Havana Grey who each appear to have even bigger days ahead of them. But it is the story of Oaks contender Thundering On, which began when Stroud purchased the granddam, Cape Castle, almost a decade ago, that beats all. “I first met Shapoor Mistry in Mumbai back in 2006,” Stroud explained. “We were introduced through Roddy Sale and the relationship grew from there. I helped him buy a number of horses, from stallion prospects to broodmares, for Manjri Stud, his farm in India. Our buying strategy remains the same but Mr Mistry, along with his son Pallon, are spending a certain amount of time in Europe. They love European racing and are both incredibly knowledgeable about the pedigrees and form over here, hence their involvement.” He added, “Last week, we had Havana Lightning win at Yarmouth and she will now head to the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot. Rosy Affair won the Listed Cecil Frail Stakes at Haydock and will go for the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot. Shimmering Sun also won at Salisbury on debut, so it was a good week. Having fillies that will ultimately end up in the broodmare band, that's the end game.”Fulfilling that brief, Stroud landed on the well-bred Cape Castle at the Tattersalls February Sale in 2017. She was carrying a foal from the first crop of Night Of Thunder who went on to become Thundering Nights, Mistry's breakthrough Group 1 heroine and dam of his live Oaks player.Anthony Stroud | Tattersalls Stroud recalled, “We bought Cape Castle, who is the granddam of Thundering On, for 32,000gns. She was in foal to Night Of Thunder, who was a first-crop sire at the time. I always really liked Night Of Thunder and Cape Castle's pedigree is very good – she is a granddaughter of Cloud Castle [second in the G1 Prix Vermeille back in 1998], the dam of Queen's Trust, who won at the Breeders' Cup. The page goes back to Lucayan Princess, the dam of Warrsan, Needle Gun and Luso, so it's a great family.”He added, “Thundering Nights did not sell as a foal and went to Tattersalls Ireland as a yearling, consigned by Luke Barry's Manister House Stud. She was again unsold in the ring. Afterwards we received an offer of €18,000 from Andy Oliver, but quite wisely the owner refused it and kept her to race. You just never know, do you? Trained by Joseph O'Brien, she took a bit of time to come to herself. She kept on improving and went on to win the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes in Ireland as a 4-year-old and she was also placed in another Group 1.”There is a huge degree of poignancy to this story, given Thundering Nights has since died of colic. There is a certain level of irony that, for Mistry, the outstanding family of Thundering Nights, whose sire Night Of Thunder was an orphan himself, now entirely rests on Thundering On.“Thundering Nights was the first Group 1 winner for both Night Of Thunder and Mr Mistry in Europe, she was the apple of his eye,” Stroud said. “It was a wonderful story from not being able to sell her, to becoming one of the top fillies in Europe. She went to stud and foaled a Frankel filly, who is obviously Thundering On, who was born and raised at Newsells Park Stud. The mare returned to Frankel but sadly she suffered from colic. Everyone at Rossdales and Newsells did everything possible to save her, but it was not to be. So not only did we lose Thundering Nights, but we also lost her in utero Frankel colt foal. About two weeks later, Thundering On had colic as well, so I thought at one stage the whole family might be wiped out. Thankfully, Thundering On recovered and now carries on the legacy.”There is no doubt that Thundering Nights was at her best over ten furlongs. So the big question is whether Thundering On will stay in the Oaks?Stroud said, “Given that she is by Frankel, you would be hopeful that she would stay, but only time will tell. After she won at Navan, we initially thought about going to Chantilly for the Prix de Diane but, after careful thought and consideration between the trainer and the owner, we decided to give the Oaks a try.”Regardless of the outcome to Friday's race, the one thing certain is that Mistry is an emerging force who has built up a talented team of fillies to go to war with for the rest of the season. What's most impressive about his red-hot run is the precision to the recruitment, given none of his big-race hopes broke the bank.Stroud concluded, “You're always very grateful that people put their faith in you, enabling you to buy horses. Whatever price you buy at, you always try to do the best that you can for your client, irrespective of the budget. There is a lot of luck involved but it is always nice to see your judgement vindicated through results on the racecourse.”The post Small String, Big Results: Mistry’s Homebred Thundering On Bids To Crown Incredible Purple Patch In The Oaks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.