ELDERBERRY SKY completed an unbeaten run through the event and extended his winning sequence to a magnificent seven with a determined victory in the BGBF British Bred Derby at Sheffield on Tuesday.

One of the showpiece competitions in the burgeoning British Greyhound Breeders’ Forum calendar of events, Patricia Cowdrill’s dog was soon in contention after a slick break and headed the field into the first bend on his way to taking the honours.

However, market rival King Louis (Liz McNair) soon launched a challenge and, while drawing upsides rounding the last two bends, a wider course than the eventual winner proved costly as Elderberry Sky kicked again to win by a length in 28.74sec.

Owned and bred by Cowdrill and Pete Richards, the January 2018 son of Superior Product and Butts Mott – the dam herself a top open racer for the Cowdrill camp – claimed the £6,500 first prize ahead of the McNair runner and third-placed Boca Junior (Kevin Hutton).

Richards, who paraded the two-year-old, is well known for the ‘Elderberry’ prefix he first shared with late trainer Pat Ryan and which has been a feature on the tracks for over 30 years now. And he sees plenty of Butts Mott in this latest British-bred star.

“She had a fantastic will-to-win and Sky’s the same,” he said. “It was a good battle between him and King Louis but he’s so determined to win. In fact, since his winning run he’s changed his style of running and certainly has the winning habit!

“Butts Mott won four or five bitch competitions and had the same attitude to racing and really wanted to win. I wondered how he might react once put under pressure in his races – but he came through it really well.”

Looking ahead, Richards added: “We’ll go for the Winter Derby next at our home track Monmore which has moved from Hove. I know our racing office will be keen to have a strong local entry in it so hopefully we can help with that.

“I thought they were six fantastic British-bred finalists at Sheffield and my advice to anyone is to breed British!”

BGBF chair Liz Mort congratulated connections, commenting: “What a great final! Well done to Elderberry Sky, who richly deserved to win after his consistently impressive performances throughout.

“Our congratulations also to Pat Cowdrill, who bred, owns and trains him – and of course Pete Richards, ‘Mr Elderberry’ himself, who has been a stalwart of British breeding for so many years and who was there last night with Sky to collect the trophy.

“It’s really good to see them win this prize – and what a lovely stamp of a dog. He came from a small litter of there – one dog and two bitches – by Superior Product out of Butts Mott and we should see more from him in the future.

“Incidentally, I love that as a British-bred litter, the two bitches are called Elderberry Hope and Glory!

“Congratulations to the McNair/Keogh team as well. King Louis’s time in the heats was only a spot off Elderberry Sky’s and they really battled it out in the final for a really exciting race. And the others were not so far behind them, headed by Kevin Hutton’s Boca Junior.

“He’s from that Taylors Sky-Terminator litter bred by the Burtons which has been fantastic to watch this year. I’d also like to congratulate the Draper team and owner/breeder Phil Milner for Keefill Finn’s efforts throughout this event.

“It’s rather surprisingly the only British-bred litter we have had by Jaytee Jet. I’d have expected him to attract more breeders given he won the 2016 Derby here.

“The other two finalists were litter brothers bred, owned and trained by John Sharp – what a great achievement! The ‘Sharpys’ dogs have made a great impression on British-bred comps in the last year or so, so congratulations to him.

“The whole British Bred Derby has been inspiring. We’ve seen some super performances and some very good times clocked, too.

“It was good to see a nice British-bred sprint before the main event. It went to Acomb Fatima, another of the amazing Hiya Butt-Acomb Ruby litter we’ve seen so much of this year from owner/trainer/breeder Kevin Ferguson.

“Well done to her for leading home Carl Perry’s home-bred Geelo Davey, albeit only by a length, with Angela Harrison’s Alnwick Alan, who won our sprint at Newcastle earlier this year, in third.

“I’d like to thank Dave Perry and the team at Sheffield again for hosting the competition in these trying circumstances. Last year we were there cheering them on – and I’m sure we’ll be there again next year!

“However, it isn’t quite the end of our BGBF year, though. Our British Bred St Leger at Central Park, which is normally earlier in the year, has its final on December 27 and we’re looking forward to that.

“The British Bred Graded Series is well under way and has been received very well and it’s very satisfying to see different trainers, breeders and owners being able to take part in British-bred competitions and picking up the prizes!”

Results: www.gbgb.org.uk/meeting/?meetingId=368882&raceId=698299