There was an international flavour to day three as the rest of the continent showed Great Britain how it is done.
THERE WAS an international flavour to day three at Crufts as the rest of the continent showed Great Britain how it is done by scooping the major prizes on offer in the West Midlands.
Slovakian Sonia Krocko won the Best in Group for the working class with her three-year-old Newfoundland, Brutus.
Brutus, one of 26,000 healthy, happy dogs on show at Birmingham’s NEC, wowed the judges and will now be back for Sunday’s Best in Show final, looking to go all the way.
Mrs Krocko had planned to be back home in the city of Malacky for Sunday evening but insists she is more than happy to change her plans with a chance to win the big prize.
“I am very happy to have won Best in Show,” she said. “I was only a little bit hopeful going into it so to win is a bit of a surprise.
“Brutus seemed very nervous going into it but then he seemed OK after that and I am really proud of him as he did exactly what he needed to do.
“During the judging I was thinking that I hadn’t won, because in these things you can just never tell what the judge is thinking and how well you are doing.
“I had a flight booked for tomorrow evening but now I must stay here, but of course I don’t mind having to change my plans.”
Also claiming Best in Show, this time for the Pastoral group, was Hungary’s Zsolt Hano thanks to his four-year-old Old English Sheepdog, Jimmy.
And the 37-year-old admitted he was in complete shock when the judge came his way.
“It is amazing winning at Crufts,” he said. “I have won in European dog shows but I have never won at a competition as big as this.
“It is extremely hard to win Best in Group at Crufts because there are many fantastic dogs from England and the competition is always very strong.
“To be honest I was just hoping to be placed so to come away with Best in Group feels amazing and beyond anything I could have thought.”
