In a close decision, it came down to three group one victories that saw Sergio being crowned as the 2010-11 New Zealand Greyhound of the Year during the code's annual awards dinner in Dunedin on Saturday night.
Co-owned and trained by Gary Harding in Tirau, Sergio won the Waterloo, New Zealand and Spion Rose Cups at the elite level. He also smashed the Cambridge 457m track record when winning the South Waikato Cup in a sizzling 25.07secs.
From there Sergio represented New Zealand with distinction when qualifying for the final of the world's richest greyhound race, the $250,000-to-the-winner Golden Easter Egg in Sydney.
Sergio headed off a star cast of finalists, including 2010 winner Little Mother (Lisa Ahern), along with Winsome Opawa and Dangle The Carat (Dave and Jean Fahey).
"Sergio is a wonderful dog to train - he just wants to please you. I'm immensely proud of him," said Harding, who himself picked up his third consecutive national Trainers' Strike Rate award.