Yappy days for the little guys at the corgi races

IF horse racing is the sport of kings, then surely Wellington’s annual corgi race is the sport of queens.

Yesterday, 23 fluffy, huffy – and some quite speedy – corgis battled it out to be crowned the country’s fastest floof.

The compact canines came from as far away as Hamilton to race the 60 metres to the finish line, with colourful bandannas flying, and wet grass grazing their low tums.

About 70 spectators and owners lined the racetrack at Belmont Domain in Lower Hutt as the furry athletes powered towards the finish – though not always taking the most direct route.

The race, which is in its third year, is organised by the Wellington Welsh Corgi Club and specifies that ‘‘corgis with uncontrollable attitudes should not be entered’’.

But that didn’t mean the event was without drama.

The three heats were controlled chaos, with some corgis making a beeline for the competition midway through the race, amid the incessant barking – from both hopeful owners and dogs.

In one sad case, poor Jackson didn’t manage to leave the starting line. And after one heat, the excitement and yelling became too much, leading to an argument between a group of competitors. Luckily, their owners stepped in.

In another heat, Jamie kept running past the finish line, and his owners – Melissa, Samantha and Amanda Lok – had to retrieve the wayward dog from down by the Hutt River.

But in the end there could only be one winner.

A 19-month-old corgi, who recently moved from the UK to Featherston in the Wairarapa, took out the coveted Black Hawk Wellington Corgi Race trophy. He was a very good boy.

Renfield – Excellent Mr Renfield on Instagram – had

speed, as well as smarts, powering for the finish line, before running sideways in what seemed to be a deliberate effort to cut off his opponents.

Proud owners Melissa and Chris Mead were ecstatic. They recently joined the local corgi club and when they heard about the race, they knew it’d be ‘‘noisy, busy chaos’’, Chris Mead said.

Melissa Mead described the drizzly event as ‘‘literally heaven’’ – corgis are (obviously) her favourite dogs.

Despite the average weather, and the pandemic, the event was a success, said organiser

Michael Romanos, adding that the main aim was to bring corgis together, promote the breed, and have a bit of fun.

Unfortunately, Romanos’ dog, Fletcher, wasn’t a winner this time around, but he would be keeping up with his training regime for next year’s event.

Her Majesty would be proud.