Sky High (horse)
Encyclopedia
Sky High was an outstanding Australia
n Thoroughbred
racehorse
and sire. Some of his major race victories include the 1960 STC
Golden Slipper Stakes, 1960 VRC
Derby
, 1961 and 1962 VRC Lightning Stakes
and the 1961 AJC Epsom Handicap
.
(IRE) from Flight’s Daughter by Helios
(GB). He was bred and raced by former AJC
chairman Sir Brian Crowley. Sky High was a younger brother of another notable performer Skyline
(AJC Derby
and Golden Slipper Stakes
).
(in 1961). He held the Flemington
track record for 2,000 m until equalled by Let's Elope
in 1992 and broken by Makybe Diva
in 2005.
During his career Sky High raced against quality horses the calibre of Aquanita, Dhaulagiri, Fine And Dandy
and his long-time rival Wenona Girl
.
.
Following two seasons at stud in Australia where he sired four stakeswinners, he was sold to American
interests and shipped to the famous Claiborne Farm
in Kentucky
where he enjoyed a successful career and sired Autobiography, US Handicap Horse of the Year in 1972 and 1973, Flying Fox ($167,653), Take Off and Sky Cast's Double.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
and sire. Some of his major race victories include the 1960 STC
STC
- Education :* S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia, a private school in Sri Lanka* South Texas College* South Thames College* Sha Tin College, Hong Kong* Saint Theresa's College, Philippines- Organizations :* Scarborough Town Centre* Space Transport Corporation...
Golden Slipper Stakes, 1960 VRC
VRC
VRC is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:*Vaccine Research Center*Vancouver Rowing Club, formed in 1886*Vertical redundancy check*Veteran Reserve Corps*Victoria Racing Club...
Derby
Victoria Derby
The Victoria Derby is an Australian Thoroughbred horse race held annually on the first day of Melbourne's annual Spring Racing Carnival, Victorian Derby Day, held at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. A Group One race for three-year-old horses, it is raced on a left-handed turf course at a...
, 1961 and 1962 VRC Lightning Stakes
Lightning Stakes
The Lightning Stakes is a Group 1 Australian thoroughbred horse race at Weight for Age, run over a distance of 1000 metres at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne in February. Prizemoney is A$750,000...
and the 1961 AJC Epsom Handicap
Epsom Handicap
The Epsom Handicap is a Group 1 Australian Thoroughbred horse race held over 1,600 metres at Randwick Racecourse. It is one of the major races of the Sydney Spring Carnival. Many great milers have won the race, including Chatham, Gunsynd, and Super Impose, who was also a dual winner of the...
.
Breeding
Foaled in 1957 he was son of the champion sire Star KingdomStar Kingdom
Star Kingdom was a Thoroughbred race horse bred in Ireland in 1946. Exported to Australia he was an outstanding sire, being the leading sire for five seasons, the leading sire of two-year-olds seven times as well as heading the broodmare sires' list three times.Foaled on 30 April 1946, Star...
(IRE) from Flight’s Daughter by Helios
Helios
Helios was the personification of the Sun in Greek mythology. Homer often calls him simply Titan or Hyperion, while Hesiod and the Homeric Hymn separate him as a son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia or Euryphaessa and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn...
(GB). He was bred and raced by former AJC
Australian Jockey Club
The Australian Jockey Club was founded in January 1842. It morphed from the former Australian Racing Committee set up in May 1840 to set the standards for racing in the colony...
chairman Sir Brian Crowley. Sky High was a younger brother of another notable performer Skyline
Skyline (horse)
Skyline was a notable Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was the best three-year-old of his year. He was a bay or brown stallion foaled in 1955 by the champion sire Star Kingdom from Flight’s Daughter by Helios from Flight by Royal Step...
(AJC Derby
AJC Derby
The Australian Derby also known as AJC Derby, is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run by the Australian Jockey Club at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. Open to three year olds, the race is held annually in the latter part of March or early April...
and Golden Slipper Stakes
Golden Slipper
The Golden Slipper Stakes is an Australian Thoroughbred horse race for two year old horses held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney run over 1,200 metres on turf at set weights. It is the premier two year old race in Australia and is the world's richest race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds....
).
Race Record
A versatile horse he won races over distances ranging from 5 furlongs (1,000 metres) to 12 furlongs (2,400 m) and remains the only Golden Slipper winner to have contested the VRC Melbourne CupMelbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
(in 1961). He held the Flemington
Flemington Racecourse
Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is Australia's richest horse race. The racecourse is situated on low alluvial flats, next to the Maribyrnong River...
track record for 2,000 m until equalled by Let's Elope
Let's Elope
Let's Elope is a Champion Thoroughbred racehorse in Australia.Bred by Highview Stud in Hamilton, New Zealand, Let's Elope was a giant chestnut mare who in 1991 became the first mare in more than 50 years to complete Australia's famed Caulfield Cup - Melbourne Cup double...
in 1992 and broken by Makybe Diva
Makybe Diva
Makybe Diva is a British-bred, Australian-trained Thoroughbred who became the first racehorse to win the famed Melbourne Cup on three occasions: 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2005, she also won the Cox Plate. Makybe Diva is the highest stakes-earner in Australasian horse racing history, with winnings...
in 2005.
During his career Sky High raced against quality horses the calibre of Aquanita, Dhaulagiri, Fine And Dandy
Fine and Dandy
"Fine and Dandy" can refer to:*Fine and Dandy , a 1930 musical play*"Fine and Dandy" , a song by Kay Swift and Paul James , introduced in the musical, which has become a pop standard...
and his long-time rival Wenona Girl
Wenona Girl
Wenona Girl was a leading Australian Thoroughbred racemare that had 27 wins over distances ranging from 4½ furlongs to 1½ miles. She won 22 principal races, 15 of which were later designated group one races...
.
Major Wins
Sky High won the following major races:- 1959 AJC Breeders’ Plate (5f)
- 1960 STC Golden Slipper Stakes (6f)
- 1960 AJC Champagne StakesChampagne Stakes (Australia)The Champagne Stakes is a Group 1 horse race in Australia for two-year-old Thoroughbreds at set weights run at Randwick Racecourse over a distance of 1,600 metres during the Sydney Autumn Carnival...
(6f) - 1960 VRC Victoria Derby (12f)
- 1961 VRC Lightning Stakes (5f)
- 1961 VRC Futurity StakesFuturity Stakes (Australia)The Futurity Stakes is a Group 1 Australian weight-for-age Thoroughbred horse race held at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne. For most of its history it was a 1400 metre race but since 2006 it has become the first leg of the Asian Mile Challenge series, and its distance has changed to 1600 metres...
(7f) - 1961 VRC Lloyd Stakes (1m)
- 1961 AJC All Aged StakesAll Aged StakesThe All Aged Stakes is a Group 1 Australian Thoroughbred horse race at Weight for Age, run over a distance of 1,400 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney in April or May...
(1m) - 1961 STC Canterbury StakesCanterbury StakesThe Canterbury Stakes is a Group 2 Australian Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and upwards at weight for age, over a distance of 1300 metres. It is held annually at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney.-Race History:...
(6f) - 1961 AJC Warwick StakesWarwick StakesThe Warwick Stakes is a Group 2 Australian thoroughbred horse race at Weight for Age that was traditionally run over a distance of 1400 metres at Warwick Farm Racecourse, Sydney in August...
(7f) - 1961 AJC Daily Telegraph Stakes (6f)
- 1961 AJC Epsom Handicap (1m)
- 1961 VATC Caulfield StakesCaulfield StakesThe VATC Caulfield Stakes is now a Melbourne Racing Club Australian Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run under weight-for-age conditions, for three-year-olds and upwards, at Caulfield Racecourse. The race was previously known as the Caulfield Stakes but since 1997 it has been referred to as the...
(9f) - 1961 VRC L.K.S. MacKinnon StakesLKS MacKinnon StakesFrom 1869 to 1936 the LKS Mackinnon Stakes was known as the Melbourne Stakes.The LKS Mackinnon Stakes is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 2000 metre Thoroughbred horse race run under Weight for Age conditions. The race is held at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia on the Saturday before...
(10f) - 1962 VRC Lightning Stakes (5f)
- 1962 VRC Lloyd Stakes (1m)
- 1962 STC Rawson Stakes (9f)
- 1962 AJC Chipping Norton StakesChipping Norton StakesThe Chipping Norton Stakes is a Group 1 Australian Thoroughbred horse race run at weight for age, over a distance of 1600 metres at Warwick Farm Racecourse, Sydney in February or March.-Distance:* 1925 - 1972 held over 10 furlongs The Chipping Norton Stakes is a Group 1 Australian Thoroughbred...
(10f) - 1962 STC Canterbury Stakes (6f)
- 1962 AJC Warwick Stakes (7f)
- 1962 STC Hill StakesHill StakesThe Hill Stakes is a STC Group 2 Australian Thoroughbred horse race at run at Weight for Age over a distance of 1900 metres at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, Sydney in September.-Past winners:*2011 - Trusting *2010 - Descarado *2009 - Miss Marielle...
(8½f) - 1962 AJC Daily and Sunday Telegraph Stakes (7f)
- 1962 VATC Caulfield Stakes (9f)
- 1962 VRC Linlithgow Stakes (1m)
- 1963 STC Rawson Stakes (9f)
- 1963 AJC Autumn StakesAutumn Stakes (Australia)The Autumn Stakes is a MRC Group 3 Australian Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds, at set weights with penalties, over a distance of 1400 metres at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne in February...
(12f)
Stud record
When retired to stud he was Australia's second highest stakes-winner behind TullochTulloch (horse)
Tulloch was a Thoroughbred racehorse, who is regarded as one of the three finest racehorses in Australian racing history...
.
Following two seasons at stud in Australia where he sired four stakeswinners, he was sold to American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
interests and shipped to the famous Claiborne Farm
Claiborne Farm
Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred Horse breeding operation in near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910, by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Farm in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since.-Owners:...
in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
where he enjoyed a successful career and sired Autobiography, US Handicap Horse of the Year in 1972 and 1973, Flying Fox ($167,653), Take Off and Sky Cast's Double.