Skyvalley (NZ)

Muscle Yankee (US) - Chiolas Lass (NZ)

By Peter Wharton

1st July 2024

Skyvalley NZ leading trotting sire

Skyvalley NZ, the sire of one of the greatest trotters raced in NZ and Australia in Tornado Valley ($1,033,977) and an outstanding racemare in Pink Galahs ($333,549), is without question one of the most proved trotting sires available to breeders in this country. 

He is again standing at Aldebaran Park in the 2024/25 season at an unchanged fee of $2,000 including GST with discounts for multiple bookings. 

Skyvalley NZ, who has been the leading colonial bred trotting sire since his first crop raced in 2013/14, is again the premier sire in this category and was ranked seventh on the All Aged sires’ list with more than $300,000 (to July 1 - 2024).  

Skyvalley NZ has sired 22 individual winners this 2024 season to date including the metropolitan winners Aldebaran Sundown, Flash Kyvalley, Patched and Highpoint and is the sire of promising 2024 - 2YO winners Majic Valley and Shes Sky High.

Overall, Skyvalley NZ is the sire of the winners of more than $7.8million including 21 $100,000 earners, five $200,000 earners, seven Group 1 winners and six Group winning two-year-olds and three-year-olds including three Vicbred champions.

Besides Tornado Valley and Pink Galahs, Skyvalley NZ top performers include Kyvalley Finn ($271,397), Sky Petite ($251,015), Kyvalley Boomerang ($246,834), Fear Not ($196,555), Patched ($183,140), Scenic Sky ($175,461), Flash Kyvalley ($175,058), Aldebaran Eve ($158,508) and Blue Sky Commander NZ ($152,536).

Skyvalley NZ boasts an amazing winners-to-starters strike rate of 70 percent and has average earnings of almost $40,000 per starter.

Skyvalley NZ is now starting to make an impact as a broodmare sire including Banglez (2020 2YO Filly Trotter of the Year) and Just A Bit Touchy (2021 2YO Filly Trotter of the Year).

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 $100 million 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.

 

Skyvalley NZ progeny are eligible for Vicbred and the Breeders Crown.