World-Class Genetics Shape the 2025 New Zealand Trotting Rankings

With the close of the 2025 season, the New Zealand trotting money lists underscored the extent to which world-class genetics from multiple jurisdictions are now firmly entrenched in the local population. Across juveniles, three-year-olds and open-class performers, the leading stallions of 2025 represented a blend of European stamina, American speed and Australasian durability, signalling a breed that has never been deeper or more internationally aligned.

At the two-year-old level, What The Hill emerged as the leading trotting sire by stakes for the first time in New Zealand, topping the table with $159,551. While the aggregate dollar figure was modest in absolute terms, particularly when contrasted with North America where Chapter Seven led the juvenile list with more than $6.2 million, the performance underpinning that result was anything but.

The son of Muscle Hill held a decisive numerical advantage, with 76 foals in the crop, comfortably clear of all bar Majestic Son (53). In a market constrained by limited access to fresh trotting semen, availability still matters, and in this instance it translated directly into results. What The Hill led every key juvenile metric: starters (12), individual winners (4), total starts (47), wins (6) and placings (18), providing a comprehensive illustration of depth rather than reliance on a single standout.

His flagship performer was the progressive filly Petite Amour ($65,076), bred to be smart as a daughter of top race mare and producer Another Love. She improved sharply through the back half of the season, capturing the Group Three Gold Bracelet and finishing within a length of the season’s leading colt in the only Group One juvenile trot of the year, the Sires Stakes Championship. Depth was further reinforced through The Four Aces, whose dam Regal Volo continued her remarkable affinity with Muscle Yankee line stallions, producing her seventh juvenile winner overall and fifth with that sireline on top.

Bold Eagle occupied second on the juvenile table via a markedly different path. Represented solely by Kyvalley Ray from a crop of just 15 live foals, the world-class French champion again demonstrated that elite genetics require little volume to make their presence felt. Given Bold Eagle himself did not hit his straps until later in his three-year-old season, there remains every reason to expect this first New Zealand crop to continue developing into stronger three-year-old and all-age performers.

Father Patrick once again produced one of the cleanest juvenile profiles of the season. Three starters, three winners, and a perfect strike-rate that remains difficult to match in any code, let alone in a trotting environment where early success is traditionally harder to achieve. He was arguably one healthy Duchess Maria, his four-time Group Three winner, away from claiming top honours for a fourth straight season. His results when crossed with Muscle Hill mares continue to border on extraordinary, both here and abroad, with North American data showing averages of $111,000 per foal and 57 percent two-year-old winners from that cross.

In a market increasingly shaped by North American speed and European stamina, Elite Stride deserves specific mention, with his son Whose Ya Daddy a constant presence at the pointy end of juvenile features. Royal Aspirations also made his mark, producing two individual winners from just 22 foals, good enough for fourth on that measure. As a footnote, 2025 marked the first time in New Zealand history that four trotting stallions banked six-figure totals at the juvenile level.

For the third time in four seasons, the juvenile broodmare sire list was headed by Love You, who continues to exert a powerful influence at the foundational end of the trotting pyramid. His daughters produced the highest aggregate stakes ($208,692) and five individual winners, including Petite Amour, reinforcing the growing belief that his most enduring legacy in New Zealand may ultimately be realised through his mares rather than his direct male line.

Notably, the juvenile broodmare sire table now looks markedly different to that of just four years ago. In 2021, it was headed by Sundon and populated by the likes of SJ’s Photo, Bettor’s Delight, Monarchy, Muscles Yankee and Earl. In 2025, the top ten reflects sustained investment into elite bloodlines, dominated by daughters of Love You, Dream Vacation, Muscle Hill, Orlando Vici and Ready Cash.

As the focus shifted to the three-year-old ranks, Father Patrick edged out strong competition to claim his first New Zealand three-year-old sire title, banking $685,501. That result was underpinned by the same crop that dominated the juvenile ranks last season, led by dual Derby winners Meant To Be ($241,081) and Habibti Pat ($169,335), and supported by the ever-reliable Higher Power ($88,148). From just 34 foals in the crop, he produced 11 individual winners, 14 starters and a depth profile that again belied his relatively modest numbers.

That depth was reflected across the broader list, with eight different sires represented among the top 15 three-year-old money earners. Love You was buoyed by Tracy The Jet winning the $500,000 Ascent on Cup Day, Trixton by Dash Dosh’s Group One NZ Trotting Oaks success, while New Zealand-bred Marcoola and One Over Da Moon continued to fly the local flag, the latter courtesy of Mor Moonlight’s Listed success in the Harness 5000 three-year-old fillies final.

The three-year-old broodmare sire list again highlighted the growing importance of maternal influence in modern trotting success. While it remains disappointing that the overwhelming majority of New Zealand-bred sons of Muscle Hill were gelded during his most dominant window, his daughters are now beginning to exert genuine influence. Having led the juvenile broodmare sire list last season, the same crop graduated and repeated the result at three, headed by performers such as Meant To Be, out of Group One Derby winner Luby Lou, alongside classic-placed fillies To The Moon And Back and Have A Little Faith.

While Sundon finished as far back as fifth on stakes, his daughters still led the individual winners tally with 16, almost double that of second-placed Love You with nine, a reminder that his influence remains deeply embedded despite a shrinking active population.

By the time the all-age money lists were considered, many though not all of the earlier patterns had crystallised. Majestic Son’s presence at the top felt almost inevitable. His longevity as a sire is now mirrored by the durability of his stock, and in a code increasingly shaped by attrition, that consistency remains a defining asset.

2025 marked the eighth consecutive season Majestic Son has led the all-age table, moving him equal fourth all-time with Quite Sure, though still trailing Game Pride (13), Light Brigade (15) and Sundon (16). His $2,944,532 in stakes represented the highest single-season total ever recorded by a trotting stallion in New Zealand, eclipsing Sundon’s long-standing 2009 mark. His 83 individual winners were the second-highest tally across his eight titles, underlining both depth and durability.

The Cup Week heroics of Gus, who completed the Dominion and FFA double, marked the second time a son of Majestic Son has achieved that feat, following Oscar Bonavena in 2023. Father Patrick finished second and became just the third trotting sire in the studbook to eclipse $2 million in a single season, and the first to do so without winning the title. Nearly half of that total came via his age-group performers, but was bolstered by the late emergence of Group Three South Bay Trotters Cup winner Father Time as his stock continued to make the leap into genuine open-class company.

What The Hill again featured prominently, with his older progeny collecting stakes across a broad range of conditions and distances, highlighted by Bet N Win’s Group One Rowe Cup victory over 3200 metres, his sire’s first Group One success at staying level.

The all-age broodmare sire list once again pointed back to Sundon, who claimed his 15th title, though the margins continue to narrow as his population naturally recedes. While still producing a healthy 166 starters through his daughters, his dominance is no longer absolute. His $3,031,303 total, while still clear of second-placed Monarchy, was closer than in years past, reflecting a gradual but inevitable shift.

From a numerical perspective, Love You’s daughters continue to underpin a remarkable share of New Zealand’s trotting success. With 50 starters, 34 individual winners and progeny effective across age groups, distances and classes, his maternal influence now defines the modern benchmark, particularly as it continues to be blended with North American speed and athleticism.

Taken as a whole, the 2025 trotting money lists tell a broader story than simple dominance at the top. They point to a breed that is evolving, one where the next generation of sires is beginning to assert itself, not by displacing the greats overnight, but by steadily layering depth beneath them. Stallions such as What The Hill and Father Patrick are now firmly entrenched, while emerging local influences continue to close the gap. At the same time, the shadow of Sundon still looms large, particularly through his daughters, even as the chase for all-age broodmare sire honours becomes increasingly competitive. From a genetic standpoint, New Zealand trotting is no longer reliant on a single pillar. Instead, it is building something broader, deeper and more sustainable, a platform that suggests the strongest years may still lie ahead.