Westmead Hawk (May 2003 – 26 May 2014) was a black male

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

. He was a two-time winner of the

English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon Stadium in 1985, and then Towcester Gre ...

in 2005 and 2006, and has drawn comparisons with Mick the Miller and horse

Red Rum Red Rum (3 May 1965 – 18 October 1995) was a champion Thoroughbred steeplechaser. He achieved an unmatched historic treble when he won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977, and also came second in the two intervening years, 1975 ...

. Westmead Hawk was the father to two

winners –

Taylors Sky 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. He won the English Greyhound Derby in 2011, and was named Britain's Greyhound of the Year in 2011, havi ...

2011 and

Sidaz Jack Sidaz Jack (born 8 June 2011) is a white and blue male greyhound. He was owned by Daren Johnson and Simon Wooder, and trained by Charlie Lister. He won the English Greyhound Derby in 2013. His father was two time English Greyhound Derby winner W ...

2013.

Racing career

Hawk was entered in the 2005 English Greyhound Derby. In the final, Hawk started in the fourth trap as the favourite at 5-4 and was lagging behind the leaders after the first bend. A late burst of speed saw him overtake the leader Blonde Mac on the final turn and win the race in 28.56 seconds by a length and three-quarters. This win earned his owners the prize money of £100,000. After his victory, his owners announced that his next target would be the

Irish Greyhound Derby The Irish Greyhound Derby held at Shelbourne Park, is the premier greyhound racing competition in Ireland. First held at Harold's Cross in 1928, the event was unofficial until 1932 and called the National Derby. The first winner in 1928 was Tip ...

. He went undefeated through the five qualifying rounds of the 2006 English Greyhound Derby and entered the final as the 4-7 favourite. Mineola Farloe set the pace during the race with Hawk hanging back behind him. Hawk closed over the final two bends, and won by three-quarters of a length becoming only the fourth dog to have won the English Greyhound Derby twice. This victory won a further £100,000 prize for his owners. In the run up to the Derby he was drawing comparisons with famous racing Greyhound Mick the Miller. Chairman of the British Greyhound Racing Board, Lord David Lipsey, said "We launched a five-year plan for the rejuvenation of the sport this year but Westmead Hawk is doing more to encourage people to come racing than anything us humans could do! He is a canine Red Rum." Lipsey wanted Westmead Hawk to win the Derby for a third time. However, the dog broke his

hock Hock may refer to: Common meanings: * Hock (wine), a type of wine * Hock (anatomy), part of an animal's leg * To leave an item with a pawnbroker People: * Hock (surname) * Richard "Hock" Walsh (1948-1999), Canadian blues singer Other uses: * A t ...

while racing at Hall Green less than a month after the second Derby win and looked to have been retired to stud due to the severity of the injury. At the time Lord Lipsey said, "It is truly awful news. The Hawk really put greyhound racing back on the map – and anyone who saw him race at Wimbledon will never forget being there."

Retirement and later life

Westmead Hawk also had a few famous offspring. Hawk sired

from the dam Rising Angel. Sky went on to win the English Greyhound Derby in 2011. He also sired

, the winner of the English Greyhound Derby in 2013 from the dam Ballaghboy Cool. Westmead Hawk died at the

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...

base of his trainer

Nick Savva Nicolas Savva known as Nick Savva is a greyhound trainer and breeder. He is a four times winner of the English Greyhound Derby and is regarded as Britain's most successful breeder, along with his late wife Natalie Savva (1935–2019) who also hel ...

on 26 May 2014.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2003 animal births 2014 animal deaths Individual dogs Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Racing greyhounds