QUEEN JONI, the youngest in the line-up, came of age with an awesome display in winning the 77th British Bred Produce Stakes 2023 Final at Swindon.

Reared and trained by Liz and Rab McNair and owned and bred by the KSS Syndicate, the December 2021 daughter of Droopys Sydney and Queen Jessiej emulated her dam’s success in the same event in 2020 when running amok in £13,000 final over 476m.

Having set a new track record after a brilliant runaway victory in the semi-finals, Queen Joni lined up a hot favourite to claim the GBGB Category One prize and, once trapping smartly, was always in the vanguard and on her way to a famous victory.

Still a puppy, Queen Joni defied her tender years by putting her rivals to the sword as the McNair home-bred crossed the line six lengths clear of Irish raider Romeo Hanzo (Graham Holland) and King Capaldi, another McNair home-bred, in 27.80sec (normal).

Liz Mort, chair of the British Greyhound Breeders Forum (BGBF), congratulated the KSS Syndicate and Liz and Rab McNair for their achievement in having three finalists in Queen Joni, King Capaldi and King Ezra – and plundering another Produce Stakes title.

Victory for the youngster added to wins for the Kent-based set-up with King Elvis (2017), King Sheeran (2019) and Queen Jessiej (2020) and Mort had some special words for the husband and wife team for their continuing success in the breeding paddocks.

She said: “We saw another McNair masterclass at Swindon last week – and what a fantastic bitch Queen Joni is. Setting a new track record in the semi-finals, then posting another sub-28 second run in the final was fantastic for one so young.

“Yes, there was some bumping and crowding in behind, but Joni went swiftly clear and was never going to be beaten. Funnily enough, if she was 16 days younger – she was born on December 16, 2021 – she’d have qualified for next year’s Produce instead. What an amazing prospect for the future.

“Having three in that final for the McNairs, Brendan Keogh and Simon Senyk – all from different litters – is testament to the success of their breeding operation and Queen Jono was landing the team a fourth Produce title.

“Third-placed King Capaldi is four days older than Joni, being born on December 12, 2021,  and is by Droopys Sydney out of Queen Beyonce, so is also very much still a pup with

everything in front of him, while fifth-placed King Ezra – a litter brother of Queen Pink – comes from the other end of the Produce qualifying age-group.

“Ezra’s a January 21 dog by their home-bred King Sheeran who won the 2019 Produce Stakes – so that’s another real link to this competition.

“The next big campaign planned for Queen Joni is the (Premier Greyhound Racing) Oaks at Perry Barr. Rab McNair believes she will take the 500m in her stride and certainly everything we saw from her at Swindon confirms that.

“Congratulations to Kinsley-based Kevin Ferguson, who travelled up and down each of the four weeks with his Acomb Alfie and Acomb Felix. They were the only litter brothers in the final this year – that’s some achievement in itself – and come from a great second litter by

Hiya Butt out of Acomb Ruby. Not everyone believes in repeat matings, but Kevin does, and these youngsters are proving him right.

“And, of course, congratulations once again to David and Nic Firmager – Romeo Hanzo was last seen in the UK reaching the quarter-finals of the Derby. Trained by Graham Holland and brought over by Nicky, he’s by their home-bred Romeo Recruit, who

won the British Breeders Stakes at Nottingham in 2012 and was runner-up in the Swindon Produce the same year.

“Thanks, of course, go to the team at Swindon for hosting the Produce – it’s been another

successful year. It was also good to have Jeff Sealey in the presentation with Liz, Rab and Simon as he and his schooling track at Bicester play such an important part in the development of these pups – the McNairs’ especially.

“If we are to keep supporting British breeding we must have schooling facilities – and cannot lose Bicester!”