Skyvalley (NZ)

Muscle Yankee (US) - Chiolas Lass (NZ

Skyvalley NZ leading trotting sire

15th July 2021 - By Peter Wharton

Skyvalley NZ, the sire of Australia’s pre-eminent trotter Tornado Valley and the outstanding filly Pink Galahs, will again stand at Aldebaran Park in the 2021/22 season at the unchanged fee of $2,000 including GST with discounts for multiple bookings.

Skyvalley NZ, who has been the leading colonial bred trotting season since his first crop raced in 2013/14, is again ranked second on the All Aged sires’ stakemoney list with almost $590,000 (to July 15).

Skyvalley NZ has sired 30 individual winners in Australia and New Zealand this season including top trotters the calibre of Tornado Valley, Pink Galahs, Aldebaran Misty, Aldebaran Poppy and Kyvalley Boomerang.

Overall, Skyvalley NZ is sire of winners of almost $6 million including 14 $100,000 earners, four $200,000 earners, seven Group 1 winners and six Group winning two and three-year-olds including three Vicbred champions. In Australia, he boasts a 68 percent starters-to-winners ratio and in NZ, a 73 percent winners-to-starters ratio.

Skyvalley NZ is now making an impact as a broodmare sire with his credits including the 2020 Australian 2YO Trotting Filly of the Year Banglez and the SA Southern Cross 2YO Final winner Bacardi Bindi.

With his oldest crop currently nine-year-olds there is little doubt that the “skies the limit” for Skyvalley NZ.

Skyvalley NZ is unquestionably one of the best bred and best performed trotters ever to stand at stud in this country.

From 47 starts he won 24 and was 13 times placed for $322,675 in stakes. He won six races at Group level and was placed a further three times and established three national records.

A dual winner as a two-year-old, Skyvalley announced himself as the next big thing in Australian trotting when he trounced his rivals by 15 metres in the final of the $102,000 Breeders Crown for three-year-olds at Bendigo, rating a brilliant 1:59 for the 2150 metres - an all age Australian record.

Skyvalley NZ really came into his own as a four-year-old winning 14 races, the most by any standardbred in Australia that season. His wins included the 4YO Breeders Crown (by 32 metres), demolishing his opposition with Dan Mielicki describing it as the best win by any horse that season, drawing comparisons to the great Maori's Idol. He also won the Melton Trotters Cup on Tabcorp Park opening day beating the best open age free-for-allers over 2760 metres, running his last mile in 2:01, the Cobram Trotters Cup and several metropolitan Free-for-alls.

One of his memorable wins as a five-year-old was the Bill Collins Sprint over 1720 metres at Grand Cicuit level in a track record 1:56.4, beating Sundon’s Gift NZ, and wearing no shoes, such was his impeccable gait and manners. At the same age he won the Scotch Notch Memorial at Tabcorp Park and the Freestone Trotters Cup at Moonee Valley. He also finished third in the Inter Dominion Grand Final after an injury interrupted campaign.

Skyvalley NZ is a rare individual who took your breath away with some of his feats on the racetrack.

Skyvalley is a son of the former world No.1 sire in Muscles Yankee 1:52.4, now champion sire of sires and broodmare sire. Muscles Yankee has sired the winners of almost $100million in stakes and at this stage is credited with in excess of 139 on the 1:55 list. In the Southern Hemisphere Muscles Yankee USA is best represented by 2011 and 2012 Inter Dominion Champion I Can Doosit NZ.

Not only is Skyvalley NZ a son of Muscles Yankee, but on his distaff side he can claim equal distinctions. He is a half-brother to a champion trotting mare in Allegro Agitato NZ Tr 1:57.8 ($529,854), a multiple winner at Group 1 level in New Zealand and Australia and herself being sired by Sundon USA, proving that crossing with Sundon USA mares will undoubtedly work.

Their dam, Chiola's Lass NZ Tr 2:04 ($157,779), was one of the leading daughters of a champion trotting sire in Chiola Hanover USA. She won 10 of her 17 starts including the Victoria Oaks, NZ Great Northern Derby and The Holmfield and was voted the NZ Trotter of the Year at 2 and 3.