Sky Classic is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 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...

 Hall of Fame

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

. A son of U.K. Triple Crown champion Nijinsky

Nijinsky II

The racehorse Nijinsky was one of the greatest horses in Thoroughbred horse-racing history. He won the U.K. Triple Crown of racing. Retired to stud he became the Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland and the Leading broodmare sire in North America.He was bred at E. P...

, in 1989 Sky Classic won the Sovereign Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male Horse

Sovereign Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male Horse

The Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Coltis a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada, it is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top 2-Year-Old male Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada.Past winners: -References:*...

 in Canada but injuries kept him out for the most of the 1990 racing season.

Back racing on grass

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

 in 1991, Sky Classic won six of his nine starts including the prestigious Rothmans International

Canadian International Stakes

The Canadian International Stakes is a $2 million Grade I Canadian stakes race on Turf for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario....

 in course record time. The following year he set a new race record in the Arlington Handicap

Arlington Handicap

The Arlington Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1929 at Arlington Park racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Open to 3-Year-Olds & Up, it is currently a Grade III stakes run in July at a distance of 1¼ miles on turf...

, defeated Fraise

Fraise

Fraise was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1992 Breeders' Cup Turf. Bred by Allen E. Paulson, he was sired by Strawberry Road, the 1983 Australian Horse of the Year which Paulson acquired in 1986...

 in the Turf Classic Invitational

Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational

The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational is an American Grade I stakes race on turf established in 1977 for Thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up. Currently held at Belmont Park, New York at the end of September, it is named in honor of Joe Hirsch, the award-winning racing columnist and...

 at Belmont Park

Belmont Park

Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...

 and was second by a nose to Fraise in the Breeders' Cup Turf

Breeders' Cup Turf

The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...

. However, his five wins that year earned him the 1992 United States Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse

The American Champion Male Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. In 1971 it became part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to a Colt or Gelding, regardless of age, for their performance on grass race courses....

.

Retired in 1993, Sky Classic currently stands at stud

Horse breeding

Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

 at Pin Oak Stud, LLC in Versailles, Kentucky

Versailles, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...

. http://www.bloodhorse.com/stallion-register/sr_sire_page.asp?refno=1141309&origin=BHonline He has sired more than 50 Graded stakes race

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 winners including:

• Thornfield
  Thornfield
  Thornfield is a Canadian Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Regally bred by Steve Stavro's Knob Hill Farm, he was sired by Eclipse and Sovereign Award and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Sky Classic, a son of the English Triple Crown winner, Nijinsky...
  
   (b. 1994) - 1999 Canadian Horse of the Year
• Nothing To Lose (b. 2000) - Multiple stakles winner including the G1 Turf Mile Stakes
  Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes
  The Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1986 at Keeneland Race Course near Lexington, Kentucky. Open to horses three-year-old and up, it is raced on turf over a distance of one mile....
  
  
• Sky Conqueror
  Sky Conqueror
  Sky Conqueror is an Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. Out of the mare, Heavenly Ballerina, a daughter of 1982 United States Horse of the Year, Conquistador Cielo, he was sired by Sky Classic, a son of the 1971 British Triple Crown champion, Nijinsky.Trained by Darwin Banach, Sky Conqueror was sent...
  
   (b. 2002) - Canadian Champion Male Turf Horse
  Sovereign Award for Champion Male Turf Horse
  The Canadian Champion Male Turf Horse is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor that is part of the Sovereign Awards program awarded annually to the top 2-Year-Old male Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada...
  
   (2006) Grade 1 winner in U.S., career earnings $1,720,699
• Hyperbaric (b. 2003) - won G1 Citation Handicap
  Citation Handicap
  The Citation Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. Raced in late November, it is open to horses age three-years-old and up. Contested on turf over a distance of 1 1/16 miles, the event currently offers a purse of $250,000...
  
  , G2 Oak Tree Mile Stakes

Sky Classic was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....

in 1998.