Jim Hayton experienced the highs and lows of racing life within hours on Friday.
During the afternoon he discovered that his brood Hawks Dutchess had been voted 2014 Dam of best British Bred Litter. Later the same day, Lowgate Zircon, a member of the successful litter, broke a hock in an open at Romford writes Floyd Amphlett.
Hayton said: “That is just racing for you. One minute on a high, and the next . . . Thankfully it wasn’t a bad break. I hope we might get him back. If not he will be retired and have a good home.”
Seven members of the litter out of Hayton’s former open race stayer (Westmead Hawk-Ma Wee Jamie) have won opens and the breeder is confident of achieving the full house.
He said: “Lowgate Amber is the one still to get there but I am confident she will when she switches to marathons. She is decent enough.”
Ironically, Dutchess’s days as a brood bitch had ended a day before fateful Friday when she was neutered.
Hayton said: “She has another litter of nine, a repeat to Windy Millar, who are four and a half months old but neither whelping went as well as we’d hoped and they took a lot out of her.
“It wasn’t fair to put her through another litter. She is a lovely bitch and it took a great deal out of her.”
This year’s award required a lengthy debate among a panel that included this writer and Dutchess beat a field that included the dams of Salad Dodger, King Dec, Take The Crown and King Kane.
