Greyhound Awards: Taylors Sky is top dog
Taylors Sky: Greyhouund Of The Year for 2011
PICTURE: STEVE NASHTAYLORS SKY is the 2011 Greyhound of the Year after a stellar campaign which saw the March 2009 son of Westmead Hawk and Rising Angel land a record-breaking sixth williamhill.com Greyhound Derby title for trainer Charlie Lister OBE in addition to two further Category One successes.
The award was announced as a the culmination of a glittering GBGB gala at a sold-out Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London on Sunday night.
In all, the Steve and Becki Taylor-owned white-and-blue won 12 of 17 races during the campaign with other major successes coming in the Ladbrokes Gold Cup at Monmore and Primus Telecom Derby at Henlow – form which predictably saw the Taylors named Bettor.com-sponsored Owners of the Year having also landed that firm's Scottish Derby at Shawfield with Taylors Cruise.
Eden Star, who overcame fierce competition to finish third in the Standard division behind triple Category One-winning duo Taylors Sky and Mill Bling Bling, was deservedly recognised when name Racing Post-sponsored Best Track Newcomer at last night’s awards.
Trained by Barrie Draper, who owns him in partnership with Vic Atherton and Graham Bacon, the award to Eden Star was something of a poignant one as he was originally part-owned by Draper’s father Albert, who passed away just before the first of the October 2009 dog’s four competition victories at Sheffield in June.
A big night for the Draper kennel also saw Capoley Ash, owned by Maurice Elliott and Edna Slatcher, rewarded for his late season bursting onto the scene over eight bends following his St Leger second by being voted top Marathon performer (sponsored by PA Sport) – he won four of his five races in that sphere.
Silverview Perky was beaten to the punch for Best Newcomer by Eden Star, but she was yet another Lister winner with Toni Tungatt’s young star being recognised for her stunning williamhill.com Oaks campaign with the accolade of top Bitch, sponsored by William Hill.
Chris Allsopp, who was formally recognised as Coral-sponsored Trainer of the Year for the first time, was also up on the podium to collect Top Sprinter honours with Drumcove Lad’s owners James Edwards, Neil Britton and Will Adamson after their dog completed the Scurry and National Sprint double.
The widest-margin Category win of the night was the blowout success of Blonde Fletch as top Stayer, sponsored by Betfair, with the Mark Currell-owned, Mark Wallis-trained greyhound having landed a brace of Category Ones in the shape of the williamhill.com Grand Prix at Sunderland and Coral Regency at Hove plus numerous other victories including Sheffield’s Queen Mother Memorial and Yarmouth’s Derby Purse.
October 2006 veteran Plane Daddy retained his top Hurdler title with the Chris Sliney-owned, Gemma Davidson-trained dog havinglanded the williamhill.com Champion Hurdle at Wimbledon, while Westmead Maldini’s late season unbeaten run through the Coral Essex Vase at Romford was perhaps the catalyst for the Bob Morton-owned, Nick Savva-trained dog taking Best British-bred honours and the his mother, the late Mega Delight, the Dam award.
Ivor Stocker, who stood down as executive director of the Retired Greyhound Trust inJuly, is the first recipient of the newly-titled George Ford Award for Services to Retired Greyhounds.
Other ‘human’ awards recipients on the night were Norah McEllistrim (Harry Lloyd Trophy for Services to Greyhound Racing) and Joanne Crimp (Bags-spnsored Kennelhand of the Year, from Lisa Stephenson’s Sheffield kennel), while Monmore were officially recognised as inaugural winners of the Bags Track Championship.
