The champagne glasses were still clinking as a happy band of revellers celebrated the tremendous victory of this year's Crufts Best in show winner Ch/Am Ch Araki Fabulous Willy, marking the culmination of a truly breathtaking show career for one truly remarkable dog.
Just seven hours earlier, watched by a capacity crowd of 6,600, Best in show judge Zena Thorn-Andrews had marched purposefully across the green carpet in the new Main Arena and pointed towards Tibetan Terrier 'Willy', handled to perfection throughout that day by Californian Larry Cornelius.
Five year-old 'Willy' was bred by consummate professional Ken Sinclair and was jointly owned by Neil Smith and John Shaw from Brockworth, Gloucestershire.
Earlier that afternoon, Utility group Judge Albert White selected Willy as his pick, a decision vindicated later by Zena Thorn-Andrews and one immensely popular with the watching capacity crowd - even those outside of the Utility group breeds.
'Let's just say it's been quite an experience,' breeder Ken Sinclair told OUR DOGS. 'Willie is a truly unique dog, a once-in-a-lifetime dog. He was handled brilliantly by Larry at Crufts, but he is happy to be handled by other people too - he's had four different handlers, including myself, when he went Best in show at Birmingham, and he never shows at anything but his best.'
Legacy
Certainly Willy has an impressive track record, which has already cemented his legacy within the breed and also in the wider world of show dogs. As well as taking five Best in shows (including Crufts), he has attained 16 Group wins, which included Group 1 at Crufts in 2004, Group 3 in 2006 ('he was freaked out by the cameras on that occasion,' says his breeder Ken Sinclair) and Group 1, of course, in 2007. He was the Top Sire in the breed in 2006 and is the greatest Tibetan Terrier winner of all time with no fewer than 45 CCs to his name.
Ken is himself the top Tibetan Terrier breeder of all time, having bred over 100 champions worldwide; at least 50 in the UK.
Willy 'emigrated' to the United States last summer shortly after taking Reserve BIS at East of England Championship show. Soon thereafter, he went on to take Best in show at his first American All-Breed Championship show and then added another four Championship show BIS wins to his roster. He had been booked in for this year's Westminster show but in the event, he wasn't shown and returned to the UK to compete in Crufts.
So what next for Willie?
'Retirement!' laughs Ken. 'And by that, I mean retirement for Willy, not for me, just in case anyone gets the wrong idea! How can you top all of that? How can you top Crufts? We are all just so proud of him. He's a 10th generation Araki dog and his close relatives are already making their mark in the breed. He'll not be at public stud though - he never has been. Willie is only available to Araki bloodlines.'
So the obvious question: how had Ken felt on Sunday night, sitting in the audience, watching Willie go through his paces with the six other Group winners? Had he felt that Willie was 'in the running'?
'There were a couple of dogs there that I knew were performing well,' says Ken, 'particularly the Wire Fox Terrier (Ch Travella Show Stopper). Funnily enough, I'd given him a Reserve Best in show myself only recently when I judged him, so I knew he was one to watch. Zena Thorn-Andrews had given Willie his first ever CC and Group, so I'm bound to say she has a good eye! When she pulled him out as Best in show I was ecstatic - it was the crowning moment of 30 years of breeding. We all just went wild!
'Needless to say, we celebrated somewhat afterwards at the Hilton. There were quite a group of us; Ken, John, Larry, Marcello, Willie's groomer, Neil, Patsy Hollins and your MD Vince Hogan!'
(Here OUR DOGS would like to point out that Vince stuck to orange juice all evening, ever the consummate professional!)
But just when Ken thought his happiness couldn't be greater, there was one more surprise in store: John and Neil made a present of Willy to Ken! 'I couldn't speak, I was so emotional,' says Ken. 'They said to me that there was nothing else this marvellous dog could do, so he was mine again - he was coming home to live with me. Well - after he'd been on Blue Peter and Richard & Judy, of course.'
And even there, Willy has left his mark - one of Richard Madeley's own Tibetan Terriers is an Araki dog - Willy's uncle in fact, whilst Willy himself is Grandfather to Crufts presenter Clare Balding's Tibetan.
A star to the stars then... It's obvious that Willy is a star through and through. In fact... he's Simply Fabulous!
Visit www.ourdogs.co.uk
for more dog show reports.
Jeff Whitfield
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