Queen Jessiej crowned best British dam to keep it in family

QUEEN JESSIEJ is the GBGB Best Dam of British Bred for 2024.

A top-class, big-race winning bitch on the track, Queen Jessiej has now excelled in the breeding paddocks and succeeds her kennelmate Queen Beyonce, last year’s winner, as a home-bred winner of this coveted award for the KSS Syndicate.

Her December 2021 litter by the incomparable Droopys Sydney produced Category One winners Queen Joni and Queen Georgia, two real stars of the track, whose success in 2024 has enabled Queen Jessiej to follow her own super-dam Skate On as winner of this award.

With two Category One wins by Queen Joni in 2024 - the Kent Plate at Central Park and the Brighton Belle at Hove - and a range of successful runs by sister Queen Georgia, Queen Jessiej is a worthy winner.

Liz Mort, chair of the British Greyhound Breeders Forum, said: “Queen Jessiej is a very worthy winner of this great award and I am delighted she’s won it.

“A brilliant bitch on the track, Jessiej has passed her brilliance on to her offspring, particularly Queen Joni and Queen Georgia.

"Mother and daughter both winning the BGBF Produce Stakes at Swindon was already something quite special, but Joni carried on that top-class form into 2024.

“Incidentally, Queen Jessiej had a second litter for the KSS syndicate, a batch by Eden The Kid, in October 2023 and we are looking forward to seeing how they develop.

“Brendan Keogh and the McNairs have always had a great understanding of what goes into successful breeding and they so well deserve this prestigious award that means so much - and it’s becoming quite a habit!

"Their super-dam Skate On won this Award four years in a row - and Queen Beyonce and Queen Jessiej have now followed her.”

The GBGB annual awards ceremony takes place at The Milner, York on Thursday.