MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Who is Wasabi? Pekingese who won Westminster Dog Show has a bloodline of winners

Wasabi the Pekingese won Best in Show award at the Westminster Dog Show 2021 held in New York

Wasabi was the flavor of this year's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The Pekingese took home the US dogdom's most coveted prize — Best in Show in the 145th installment of the annual event, presented by Purina Pro Plan on the night of Sunday, June 13. Bourbon the whippet was assigned the reserve or runner-up spot.

After the Kentucky Derby, the Westminster Dog Show is the second-oldest continuous sports event in the United States. At the Derby this year, Mandaloun won against Bob Baffert's fan-favorite Medina Spirit, who failed a drug test and was called 'junky' by former president Donald Trump.

READ MORE

Westminster Dog Show 2021 Full Winners List: Wasabi the Pekingese wins Best in Show

Who owns Bunsen? Pet dog braves porcupine attack to save dog sister Beaker

Due to the pandemic last year, the Westminster Dog Show was rescheduled for June, but it has survived many global wars, pandemics and economic downturns. Unlike previous Westminsters, this one took place on the grounds of the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York, rather than in New York City. Wasabi — CHG CH Pequest Wasabi — beat over 2,400 other canines from 209 breeds and won his giant purple ribbon and silver bowl. Here's all you need to know about the pretty pooch.

Who is Wasabi?

It's no surprise that Wasabi is a descendant of Westminster royalty. The Pekingese is the grandson of Malachy, the 2012 Westminster champion. At the 2019 American Kennel Club National Championship Presented by Royal Canin, the 3-year-old canine also earned Best in Show. 

But even though winning is in Wasabi's nature, with four other wins in different shows, he is not going to let his fifth victory pass by without a superb celebration, and neither is his master. The dog's breeder, David Fitzpatrick of East Berlin, Pennsylvania, who "didn't think lightning would strike twice", told Fox: "He can have a filet mignon, and I'll have champagne."

Best in Show is chosen from a field of seven contestants, each of which had to win Best in Breed before moving on to one of the seven purebred dog groups: Hound, Toy, Non-sporting, Sporting, Herding, Working and Terrier. The Pekingese is a toy dog, and this year's victory marked a first for a toy group dog to win 'Best in Show'.

"He has showmanship. He fits the breed standard. He has that little extra something, that sparkle, that sets a dog apart, American Kennel Club National Championship in 2019," said Fitzpatrick, who was also the one to guide Malachy to victory in 2012. When asked how much he will carry around the Peke after his victory, Fitzpatrick says: "As much as he needs. He deserves his own chariot."

Patricia Trotter, an 85-year-old Westminster icon who served as Best in Show judge, said on the eve of the competition: “People think a dog show is a beauty contest, and to some extent it is. But truly when you are judging purebred dogs you are judging not just their athletic ability, and their beauty, but how close they come to the breed standard.”

Trotter said Wasabi was a tiny dog “that feels like he’s 10 feet tall”. While the judge weighed him against his competitors, “he stood there like a lion," The New York Times reported.