Taylors Sky
| Species | Dog |
|---|---|
| Breed | Greyhound |
| Sex | Male |
| Born | 1 March 2009 |
| Occupation | Racing greyhound |
| Known for | 2011 GBGB Dog of the Year |
| Title | Winner of the English Greyhound Derby |
| Term | 2011–2012 |
| Predecessor | Bandicoot Tipoki |
| Owner | Steve and Becky Taylor |
| Parents |
Westmead Hawk (sire) Rising Angel (dam) |
| Appearance | White and blue coat |
Taylors Sky (born 1 March 2009) is a white and blue male Greyhound. He is owned by Steve and Becky Taylor and trained by veteran trainer Charlie Lister. He won the English Greyhound Derby in 2011, and was named the Greyhound Board of Great Britain's Dog of the Year having won thirteen of seventeen races entered during the season. His father was two time English Greyhound Derby winner Westmead Hawk.
Racing career
Taylors Sky was sired by Westmead Hawk, from the dam Rising Angel on 1 March 2009.[1][2] Westmead Hawk was a two time English Greyhound Derby winner.[3] He is owned by Steve and Becky Taylor and has a white and blue coat.[1] His trainer is Charlie Lister.[4]
Only ten races into his career he was entered into the 2011 English Greyhound Derby. During the initial qualifying rounds, he was placed at 100-1 to take the title.[5] He broke the track record in the quarter finals, before going on to qualify for the final.[5] In the final he was placed into trap one, from which no dog had won the race for 26 years. Despite this, he took the lead at the first bend and led from there on out, winning by five and a half lengths from Westmead Guru in a new track record time of 28.17.[3] This was the sixth English Derby win for trainer Charlie Lister.[3] Taylor Sky won the prize fund of £75,000 for his owners.[5] A year ahead of the 2012 Derby he has been placed at initial odds of 16-1, a victory there would make him only the fifth Greyhound to have won the title twice.[5]
During 2011 he won twelve of seventeen races entered, including the Ladbrokes Gold Cup and the Primus Telecom Derby.[1] The Primus Telecom Derby alone came with a prize of £15,000 and despite being pushed by Gold Snapper, Sky was seen as the favourite to become Greyhound of the Year after his victory.[4] This was confirmed on 22 January 2012 at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London, he was named the 2011 Greyhound of the Year by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain.[1][6] His owners also won the title of Owners of the Year, as they are also the owners of Scottish Greyhound Derby winner, Taylors Cruise.[1]
During his 2012 career he reached many category 1 finals including some very close finishes, but never quite managed to win one. The closest he came was in the East Anglian Derby, worth £15,000, but was denied by the great star of the year Bubbly Phoenix. The race panned out as expected with Bubbly Phoenix rising down the back to fly into the lead and hold off all challengers and win the prize for his owners 'The Champagne Club Syndicate' who are the largest and most successful in greyhound racing's history. This gave another super stud success also from the 'Droopys Stud' in Waterford, Ireland, a first Category 1 success in Britain for their Irish Derby Winning stud dog College Causeway.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Kay, Jonathan (22 January 2012). "Greyhound Awards: Taylors Sky is top dog". Racing Post. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- ↑ "Sky's the Limit for Taylors". Sporting Life. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- 1 2 3 Mullin, Jonathan. "Taylors Sky Strikes for Lister". Sporting Life. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- 1 2 Kay, Jonathan (27 October 2011). "Sky scores at Henlow: Star sparkles at Belle Vue". Racing Post. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 "Sky's the limit for former miner following Derby victory". Nottingham Post. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- ↑ "Latest News - Greyhound of the Year Awards - Tickets sold out". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.