Taylors Sky (born 1 March 2009) is a white and blue male Greyhound. He is owned by Steve and Becky Taylor and was trained by

Charlie Lister Charles 'Charlie' Richard Lister OBE (born 1940) is a former English greyhound trainer. He is a four times winner of the Greyhound Trainer of the Year and is regarded as one of the leading trainers of all time. He also holds the record for English ...

. He won the

English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon ...

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, and was named Britain's Greyhound of the Year in 2011, having won thirteen of seventeen races entered during the season. His father was two-time English Greyhound Derby winner

Westmead Hawk Westmead Hawk (May 2003 – 26 May 2014) was a black male Greyhound. He was a two-time winner of the English Greyhound Derby in 2005 and 2006, and has drawn comparisons with Mick the Miller and horse Red Rum. Westmead Hawk was the father to ...

. His half-brother Sidaz Jack also won the

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Racing career

Taylors Sky was sired by

, from the dam Rising Angel on 1 March 2009. Westmead Hawk was a two-time

winner. He is owned by Steve and Becky Taylor and has a white and blue coat. His trainer is Charlie Lister. Only ten races into his career he was entered into the

2011 English Greyhound Derby The 2011 William Hill Greyhound Derby took place during May and June with the final being held on 11 June 2011 at Wimbledon Stadium. Trainer Charlie Lister won greyhound racing's premier event for a sixth time (a new record), one better than the ...

at Wimbledon Stadium. During the initial qualifying rounds, he was placed at 100–1 to take the title. He broke the track record, recording 28.21 seconds in the quarter-finals and equalled the time when winning his semi-final, before going on to qualify for the final. 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 another new track record with a time of 28.17. This was the sixth English Derby win for trainer Charlie Lister. Taylor Sky won the prize fund of £75,000 for his owners. A year ahead of the 2012 derby he was placed at initial odds of 16–1; a victory there would make him only the fifth Greyhound to have won the title twice. During

he won twelve of seventeen races entered, including the

Ladbrokes Gold Cup The Ladbrokes Gold Cup is a greyhound competition held at Monmore Green Stadium. It was revived in 1994 and was originally known as the Midland Gold Cup. Winners have included the 1998 English Greyhound Derby champion Toms The Best and the 201 ...

and the Henlow Derby. The Henlow Derby, sponsored by Primus Telecom, 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. This was confirmed on 22 January 2012 at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London; he was named the 2011 Greyhound of the Year at the Greyhound Board of Great Britain awards. His owners also won the title of Owners of the Year, as they are also the owners of

Scottish Greyhound Derby The Scottish Greyhound Derby was an original classic greyhound competition held at Shawfield Stadium. Held at Carntyne Stadium from 1928 to 1968, after the closure of Carntyne the race appeared at Shawfield from 1970 until 1985. In 1988 the Gre ...

winner, Taylors Cruise. During

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he reached several category 1 finals, including some very close finishes, but never managed to win one. The closest he came was in the East Anglian Derby, worth £15,000, but was denied by a leading greyhound trained by Paul Young called Bubbly Phoenix. The final saw favourite Bubbly Phoenix lead at halfway to win the prize for his owners 'The Champagne Club Syndicate' with Taylors Sky running on for second place. He broke track records at

Henlow Stadium Henlow Stadium is a greyhound track located at Stondon, in the English county of Bedfordshire, slightly to the north of Hitchin. The stadium has a restaurant, a number of bars and a bistro. Racing takes place every Monday and Thursday morning, ...

and Perry Barr Stadium and after retirement to stud was a prolific sire of litters.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2009 animal births Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Racing greyhounds