The culmination of near a lifetime studying breeding lines and honing their bloodstock to perfection, Nick and Natalie Savva produced a champion bitch, both on the racecourse and in the breeding paddocks.
Westmead Move was one of a brilliant litter, which included 1987 Grand Prix winner, Olivers Wish, and Bedfordshire Derby winner, Westmead Call, who also held the 640 metres record at Walthamstow for a long while. But the sleek black bitch was the champion of the pack.
While still a puppy, she took the Gold Collar at Catford and then stamped herself as a bitch of outstanding ability when going on to win the Grand Prix at Walthamstow, where she became the first greyhound to lower a track record set by the great Ballyregan Bob.
The pair never actually met in a race but there was plenty of opinions that she could have thwarted Ballyregan Bob’s record breaking sequence had she taken him on.
Westmead Move went on to win the Midland Oaks at Hall Green as well as the Brighton Belle at Hove and countless other one-off events.
As much as she made her mark on the track, her real brilliance shone through in the breeding paddocks. Producing a total of six litters in as many years, 57 greyhounds represented Westmead Move and there has never been a more successful brood.
Although not all of her litters produced champions, they still produced an incredible 277 wins between them, including 12 major championship events. Her January 1990 litter to Daleys Gold was by far the most spectacular, the whelps gaining a staggering 108 open race wins between them.
Westmead Surprise won the Gold Collar and Champion Stakes, Westmead Spirit the Produce, Balligari the Laurels and Right Move the Puppy Derby.
Her following litter, a September 1990 batch by Airmount Grand saw Westmead Darkie emulate his mother by winning the Grand Prix while Next Move won the Bedfordshire Derby and Westmead Mount The Test at Walthamstow.
Westmead Move died of old age in 1996 but she left a legacy through her offspring and her name is sure to figure in pedigrees of future champions for years to come.