Sixth Group 1 for Tornado Valley - February 2020

By Peter Wharton

SKYVALLEY’s champion son Tornado Valley, the reigning Trotter of the Year, was credited with his sixth Group 1 success when he captured the $50,000 Aldebaran Park The Knight Pistol at Melton.

It was the gelding’s 34th win and sent his stake earnings over the $700,000 mark.

Tornado Valley was one of eight winners in February for SKYVALLEY, who has jumped into second position on the All Aged Sire list for 2019/20.

Kyvalley Finn picked up with second country cup when he overcame a 20 metre handicap to win the Ararat Trotters Cup, increasing his stake tally to almost $190,000, while star three-year-old filly Pink Galahs won a heat of the Need For Speed Princess Series in a career-best 1:59.2 at Bendigo.

Other SKYVALLEY winners in February have been My Skypocket and Myrtle Vale, who both emerged successful at Melton, Skyline NZ, a heat winner of the Trotters Championship at Albion Park, Nerveracking (Kapunda) and Cuchulaim (Wyndham, NZ). My Skypocket, the winner of $120,968, is one of a eleven of SKYVALLEY’s stock to top the $100,000 mark.

SKYVALLEY also picked up his first broodmare credit in the three-year-old Bacardi Bindi, a winner at Kilmore recently.

Aldebaran Leroy, who was bred, raised and sold by Aldebaran Park, notched his first racetrack success in runaway fashion at Melton, while Sun Swinger¸ a mare part-owned by us, posted her second win on the grass at Methven, New Zealand.

The Aldebaran Park bred and owned two-year-olds Aldebaran Zeus – (Muscle Hill Usa – Zoia Boko Swe) and Aldebaran Dianna (Father Patrick Usa – Bromac Aldebaran Nz) impressed at the trials at Melton on 25th February 2020 with the former winning his trial by an impressive 42m and the latter a close second in her respective trial.

On the sales front, Aldebaran Alpha, a yearling colt bred by Aldebaran Park in partnership with Rosedale Farm, fetched the third highest price of $75,000 at the NZ Trotting Sale at Christchurch.