1984 English Greyhound Derby

1984 English Greyhound Derby
Location White City Stadium

The 1984 Daily Mirror Greyhound Derby took place during June with the final being held on 23 June 1984 at White City Stadium. It was the last time that White City held the event due to impending closure. [1] The winner Whisper Wishes received £25,000 and the competition was sponsored by the Daily Mirror. [2]

Final result

At White City (over 500 metres):[3]

Position Greyhound Breeding Trap SP Finish Time Trainer
1st Whisper Wishes Sand Man - Micklem Drive 47-4f29.43Charlie Coyle (Maidstone)
2nd Morans Beef Noble Brigg - Rathkenny Bride 59-429.47Ger McKenna (Ireland)
3rd Proud Dodger Brave Bran - Lady Peg 67-129.49Francie Murray (Ireland)
4th The Jolly Norman Knockrour Brandy - Breeze Valley 320-129.55George Curtis (Hove)
5th House of Hope Pat Seamur - Fearless Speed 112-129.57Jim Wood (Private)
6th Spartacus Knockrour Slave - I'm a Star 29-230.07Matt O'Donnell (Ireland)

Distances

½, head, ¾, head, 6¼ (lengths)

Competition Report

[4] Thirty Irish entries were received for Derby including the Ger McKenna trained Morans Beef, Glenbrien Champ, Count Five, Back Garden and Lauragh Six. Ante-post favourite's were Game Ball now trained by Jerry Fisher and Whisper Wishes, eliminated from the competition at the second-round stage twelve months earlier.

The qualifying round ended with Glenbrien Champ and the Grace Peppercorn trained Ebony Tim winning well and the Irish won eight of the sixteen heats. One of the first round heats resulted in a one-two for McKenna as Lauragh Six beat Count Five with Game Ball scraping through in third. Best heat winner was another Irish entry Dipmac trained by Seamus Graham. Matt O’Donnell’s Powersville Jet became the new favourite after recording a second round time of 29.24 just one length ahead of Proud Dodger, Game Ball tumbled out after failing to take third place from Lauragh Six.

The Irish made up half of the 24 runners left in the quarter-finals but Dipmac failed to progress from heat one and picked up a wrist injury. Heat two went to Whisper Wishes in 29.32 and the Irish had another bad result in the third heat when Powersville Jet and Count Five both went out after trouble along with Amazing Man a finalist from the previous year. The fourth and final heat was an Irish clean sweep, Proud Dodger won from Back Garden and Morans Beef.

The first semi-final saw Morans Beef win well and The Jolly Norman finished strongly to take second from the fading Spartacus with favourite Glenbrien Champ not making the final. The other semi went to Whisper Wishes recording a fourth straight win since his preliminary round defeat. The privately trained House of Hope came home second from Proud Dodger and both Lauragh Six and Geoff DeMulder's Nippy Law encountered trouble.

The final White City Derby went to Whisper Wishes trained by Charlie Coyle at (Maidstone) who led from the traps again and became a deserved winner holding off a persistent challenge from Moran's Beef and the late surge from Proud Dodger.

See also

References

  1. Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008 page 91. Raceform. ISBN 978-1-905153-53-4.
  2. Genders, Roy (1990). NGRC book of Greyhound Racing, page 88. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 0-7207-1804-X.
  3. "1984". Greyhound Data.
  4. Dick, Barrie (1990). Greyhound Derby, the first 60 years, pages 182/183/184/185. Ringpress Books. ISBN 0-948955-36-8.
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