1961 English Greyhound Derby

The 1961 Greyhound Derby took place during June with the final being held on 24 June 1961 at White City Stadium. [1] The winner Palms Printer received £2,000[2] and was trained by Paddy McEvoy and owned by Alf Heale.[3]

1961 English Greyhound Derby
LocationWhite City Stadium
Start date10 June
End date24 June
Total prize money£2,000 (winner)

Final result

At White City (over 525 yards):[4]

Position Name of Greyhound Breeding Trap SP Time Trainer
1st Palms PrinterThe Grand Champion - Palm Shadow12-128.84Paddy McEvoy (Clapton)
2nd Oregon PrinceKnock Hill Chieftain - Burleigh's Fancy26-4f28.94Phil Rees Sr. (Private)
3rd Winter BellChampion Prince - Spanish Gardenia550-129.04Clare Orton (Wimbledon)
4th Spider HillForever Cloone - She Can Can63-129.05Joe Pickering (White City - London)
5th Luxury LinerNorthern King - Brazen Hussy410-129.17Gunner Smith (Hove)
6th ClopookThe Grand Fire - Clopook Queen3100-800.00Ernie Gaskin Sr. (Private)

Distances

1¼, 1¼, short head, 1½, Dis (lengths)
The distances between the greyhounds are in finishing order and shown in lengths. From 1950 one length was equal to 0.08 of one second.[5]

Competition Report

The Racing Manager selected 36 greyhounds leaving 12 remaining places. They would be gained from three afternoon trial sessions and eight qualifying heats to determine the 12 final places. Qualifiers included Winter Bell and Clopook, the latter trained by 28 year old Ernie Gaskin (much later known as Gaskin Sr.) Gaskin was a new trainer only being granted his licence two months before the Derby started.[6]

The ante-post favourites list was headed by Oregon Prince (8-1) and Spider Hill (10-1).[7] Other leading contenders were litter brothers Clonalvy Pride and Clonalvy Romance; the latter had won the Grand Prix a month earlier. Defending champion Duleek Dandy was also entered for the event but had suffered a broken hock in late summer.[8]

First round casualties included both of the Clonalvy brothers, Duleek Dandy and two other strongly supported runners Careless Look and Prairie Flash. The bookmaker's only liability was Oregon Prince trained by Phil Rees Sr. who won heat two. One second round heat contained Oregon Prince and Clopook.[8]

In the semi-finals Palms Printer beat early leader Clopook to win in 28.69, third spot went to Spider Hill. The second semi went to Oregon Prince who won easily in 28.74 sec.[8]

Unusually the final did not feature a runner from Wembley (the first time since 1947). Winter Bell lined up as a first finalist for Clare Orton, son of Sidney Orton. Four of the finalists had made the final without winning any of the rounds and only the two semi-final winners came into the final with winning form. It was Oregon Prince that led at the first but moved wide allowing Palms Printer room to take a decisive lead. Oregon Prince battled well right up until the home straight when Palms Printers superior stamina told. Clopook was unfortunately knocked over.[8]

See also

References

  1. Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008 page 90. Raceform. ISBN 978-1-905153-53-4.
  2. Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing page 110. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 07207-1106-1.
  3. "Remember When - April 1962". Greyhound Star.
  4. "1961". Greyhound Data.
  5. Genders, Roy (1990). NGRC book of Greyhound Racing (Timekeeper) p310. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 0-7207-1804-X.
  6. "Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When) June edition". Greyhound Star. 2015.
  7. "Remember When - June". Greyhound Star.
  8. Dack, Barrie (1990). Greyhound Derby, the first 60 years,pages 111/112. Ringpress Books. ISBN 0-948955-36-8.
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