Highlights from Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show 2021: Wasabi the Pekingese wins Best in Show

The 145th Westminster Dog Show has wrapped for another year, with a Pekingese pooch named Wasabi nabbing the Best in Show prize.

The event, which is traditionally held in February, took place at New York's Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown on Sunday. Held free of spectators, it was relocated to a venue outside New York City for the first time to comply with Covid-19 protocols.

The event is an annual celebration of purebred dogs, ranging in size, shape and fur types. The 2021 event brought together more than 2,000 candidates from more than 200 breeds.

Three-year-old Pekingese Wasabi was crowned Best in Show, with Bourbon the Whippet claiming second place. Bourbon also won the hound group.

Rounding out the pack of seven group winners were Mathew, a French bulldog who won the Non-sporting Group; Connor, an Old English sheepdog who won the Herding Group; Boy, a West Highland terrier who won the Terrier Group; Striker, a samoyed who won the Working Group; and Jade, a German shorthaired pointer who won the sporting Group.

When Wasabi won the Toy Group earlier in the day, owner and handler David Fitzpatrick, who also won Best in Show in 2012 with the Pekingese's grandfather, Malachy, lauded his dog's "charisma, movement and showmanship" …

"He's in his prime and he just looks wonderful."

After Wasabi was named Best in Show, Mr Fitzpatrick said: "He can have a filet mignon."

Dogs are judged by how well they stack up against breed characteristics set by the American Kennel Club.

Breeds are assessed not only in terms of how they move, but whether their facial expressions show what is deemed proper vigilance or merriment.

Additional reporting by AFP