Profile of a Champion - Nightwing

This was a horse who always took on the best.

Nightwing never shirked a big race and consistently took on the top horses of his era. He finished with a record of 46-11-13-5 with $6,653,000 in earnings in 3 racing seasons.

He finished first or second in 24 of his 46 starts. All 13 of his second place finishes were in Grade 1 or Grade 2 races against top flight competition.

As a 3yo Nightwing finished second in the following races:

• Wood Memorial Gr2 9 furlongs - Thief of Hearts, the sleek chestnut stallion currently owned by Parklands was the winner. He was speedier at this less than optimum distance for Nightwing.
• Queens Plate Stakes Gr 1 10 furlongs - All-time great Dansilver formerly of Kings Park and now owned by the Long Island Hayburners, won this race. Ten furlongs proved to be about the maximum viable distance for the Silver Streak.
• Alister Clark Stakes Gr 2 8 furlongs - At a distance that proved much too short for Nightwing, Thief of Hearts again used his speed to prevail.
  
• Prince of Wales Stakes Gr 1 11 furlongs - The immortal Thunder Arctic of Rainbow, a horse Nightwing was never to beat, was the easy winner.
• Haskell Invitational Gr 1 9 furlongs - Again, Thief of Hearts, who had a excellent career with 12 lifetime wins, used his shorter speed to beat Nightwing.
• AJC Australian Derby Gr 1 12 furlongs - Bonai Farms Blushing Approval, who just recently dropped out of the top 25 in all-time earnings, prevailed at a distance at which he excelled.
• Oak Tree Derby Gr 2 9 furlongs - Dubai World Cup winner Troll Tower from Gorforwand Stables defeated Nightwing in this Grade 2 affair.
• Breeders Cup Endurance Gr 1 16 furlongs - The black stallion Memcay, he of the unending stamina from Bowen Lodge, won the BC Endurance at Nightwing's expense for the first time in 2003.

As a 4yo, Nightwing had three more second place finishes:

• Gold Cup Gr 1 16 furlongs - Recently acquired by Stonewall Stables, Promised Land, the late charging stayer, bested Nightwing here.
• Pacific Classic Gr 1 10 furlongs - Nightwing was eclipsed by old nemisis Troll Tower.
• Breeders Cup Endurance Gr 1 16 furlongs - Memcay again bettered Nightwing.

In his final season at age 5, Nightwing was to finish second twice more:

• Perth Cup Gr 2 16 furlongs - Winner was Promised Land.
• Sydney Cup Gr 1 16 furlongs - Promised Land again bested Nightwing. She was raced almost exclusively at 16 furlongs and was very good at that distance.
  

Turf or Dirt, 10 to 16 furlongs, this was a horse with an iron constitution and the heart of a champion. Had he been raced against lesser competition, Nightwing almost certainly would have had 20+ wins in his career. He is currently standing stud at Otsego Farms.