1989 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year

1989 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
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The 1989 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 63rd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. ^[1]

Roll of honour

Major Winners
Award	Name of Winner
1989 English Greyhound Derby	Lartigue Note [2] [3]
1989 Irish Greyhound Derby	Manorville Magic [4]
1989 Scottish Greyhound Derby	Airmount Grand [5]
Greyhound Trainer of the Year	John McGee Sr.
Greyhound of the Year	Waltham Abbey
Irish Greyhound of the Year	Manorville Magic
Trainers Championship	John McGee Sr.

Summary

The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) released the annual returns, with totalisator turnover at £106,011,494 and attendances recorded at 4,395,973 from 5477 meetings. ^[6]

John McGee won the Greyhound Trainer of the Year for the second successive year. ^[7] Waltham Abbey now trained by Ernie Gaskin (formerly Adam Jackson) was voted Greyhound of the Year after winning the Grand Prix at Walthamstow Stadium. The award failed to go the winners of a Derby due to the fact that all three were won by the Irish; they were the 1989 English Greyhound Derby (Lartigue Note), the 1989 Scottish Greyhound Derby (Airmount Grand) and the 1989 Irish Greyhound Derby (Manorville Magic), the latter was voted Irish Greyhound of the Year. ^{[8] [9]}

Tracks

The Greyhound Racing Association (GRA} invested £1 million into Hall Green, mainly extending the restaurant. The Peterborough management also unveiled their new raceview restaurant costing £500,000. ^[7] Terry Corden sold the Sheffield lease; he was forced to do so after the council closed the stadium due to new safety measures. This was as a direct result of the Hillsborough disaster. ^[8]

Hull (New Craven Park) ^[10] and Hawick both opened for racing. ^[9]

Competitions

The Scottish Derby returned to Glasgow (as a consequence of GRA having no stadia in Scotland), the event received a boost when Ladbrokes stepped in and sponsored the competition. Racing Manager Robert Lithgow was forced to increase the entries from 24 to 36 due to its popularity. The event resulted in what many regarded the best ever when Airmount Grand caught Galtymore Lad on the finish line after both vied for the lead throughout. ^{[8] [9]}

Trainer Phil Rees Jr. won the Grand National at Hall Green with Lemon Chip, this was the kennels first Grand National success despite previously winning six Springbok titles. Fearless Ace made a remarkable comeback when winning the Pall Mall Stakes for a second successive year; the fawn dog had won the 1988 final for Geoff De Mulder before being retired to stud. He returned a year later to defend his title under the training of Theo Mentzis after coming out of retirement and not only stormed to a surprise victory but broke the Oxford track record in the final. ^{[8] [9]}

News

Brent Walker owners of Hackney took over William Hill and Mecca Bookmakers from Grand Metropolitan for £685 million. ^[11] Canterbury obtained a Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS) contract and Wisbech began the year under NGRC rules. ^{[8] [9]}

Veteran trainer Hugo Spencer retired and John Coleman moved to Walthamstow. Walthamstow also produced one race meeting tote turnover of £173,000 on the night of the Pepsi Cola Marathon final. ^{[8] [9]}

Trainer Linda Jones and her husband Doug moved to Lakenheath and formed the Imperial Kennels. They started with four racing greyhounds and a couple of litters of pups set in the Suffolk countryside. The kennel would quickly establish themselves on the local tracks of Swaffham, Mildenhall and Yarmouth. ^[12]

Owner John Dooley visited a stud kennel in Cork to find it abandoned and his Blue Riband champion Lulus Hero missing, the brindle dog is never found. ^{[8] [9]} #

Champion trainer John McGee and owner Fred Smith had an argument that resulted in Derby champion Hit The Lid leaving the kennels. ^[13]

Principal UK races

Daily Mirror Grand National, Hall Green (April 1, 474m h, £3,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Lemon Chip Philip Rees Jr. 1-1f 29.84 5 2nd Blazing Home Philip Rees Jr. 3-1 29.85 1 3rd Gizmo Pasha Linda Mullins 9-1 29.91 6 4th Columbkille Jet Paddy Hancox 6-1 29.97 2 5th Indianna Scarlet Terry O'Sullivan 14-1 30.00 3 6th Belmore Captain Tom Foster 14-1 30.34 4

BBC TV Trophy, Catford (April 11, 850m, £8,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Proud To Run Harry White 4-5f 55.25+ 4 2nd Catunda Flame Russ Kinsey 6-1 55.95 2 3rd Jet Streamer 10-1 56.15 5 4th Clydes Dolores 8-1 56.43 3 5th Manx Sky Ernie Gaskin Sr. 16-1 56.71 6 6th Dunait 7-1 56.81 1 +Track Record

Ladbrokes Scottish Derby, Shawfield (May 13, 500m, £10,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Airmount Grand Gerald Kiely 1-1f 30.03 6 2nd Galtymore Lad Geoff De Mulder 6-4 30.07 4 3rd Atlantic Jet Harry Crapper 7-1 30.25 1 4th Alley Bally Terry Dartnall 8-1 30.33 2 5th Arrow House Bryce Wilson 12-1 30.53 3 N/R Decoy Regan Lass Kevin Cobbold

Scurry Gold Cup, Catford (Jul 16, 385m, £6,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Nans Brute Bill Masters 16-1 23.59 3 2nd Angelo Carlotti Terry Munslow 10-1 23.73 2 3rd Lissadell Tiger Ernie Gaskin Sr. 5-1 23.77 6 4th Pure Gold Bill Masters 10-1 23.78 5 5th Pretty Magic David Ingram-Seal 10-1 23.86 4 6th Hello Blackie Roger York 4-6f 24.06 1

John Humphreys Gold Collar, Catford (Sep 16, 555m, £6,000) [14] Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Burgess Ruby Arthur Boyce 7/2 34.72 1 2nd Fennessys Gold Ray Peacock 7/4f ? Risky Friend Dinky Luckhurst ? Festival Wonder John McGee Sr. ? Peaceful Spring ? Sard John McGee Sr.

John Smith's Bitter Cesarewitch, Belle Vue (Sep 23, 853m, £3,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Minnies Siren [15] Kenny Linzell 5-4f 56.03 6 2nd Saquita Dennis Jewell 4-1 56.06 5 3rd Catunda Flame Russ Kinsey 9-4 56.12 2 4th Manx Jet Nigel Saunders 10-1 56.32 4 5th Spring Flower Linda Mullins 20-1 56.50 3 6th Benedene Rose Peter Payne 10-1 56.53 1

Laurent-Perrier Grand Prix, Walthamstow (Oct 7, 640m, £7,500) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Waltham Abbey Ernie Gaskin Sr. 2-1 39.91 4 2nd Chicita Banana John McGee Sr. 7-4f 39.99 5 3rd Hello Blackie Roger York 16-1 40.05 1 4th Sard John McGee Sr. 9-1 40.47 2 5th Hot Fluff Arthur Hitch 8-1 40.51 3 6th Exile Energy Gary Baggs 8-1 40.81 6

St Georges Hospital Oaks, Wimbledon (Oct 28, 480m, £6,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Nice And Lovely Derek Tidswell 9-4 29.02 6 2nd Glengiblin Flash T Batterbee 8-1 29.18 4 3rd Nans Brute Bill Masters 2-1f 29.19 2 4th Crohane Lucy Tony Lucas 5-1 29.22 1 5th Blend of Magic Molly Redpath 8-1 29.38 5 6th Alley Bally Terry Dartnall 5-1 29.50 3

St Leger, Wembley (Nov 17, 655m, £8,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Manx Marajax Nigel Saunders 33-1 39.87 5 2nd Chiltern Sarah Peggy Cope 16-1 39.93 4 3rd Trans Mercedes Mal Thomas 5-2 39.99 1 4th Crohane Lucy Tony Lucas 11-4 40.09 2 5th Chicita Banana John McGee Sr. 2-1f 40.29 6 6th Murlens Panther Geoff De Mulder 6-1 40.47 3

Ike Morris Laurels, Wimbledon (Dec 23, 460m, £6,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Parquet Pal Arthur Hitch 9-4 27.68 2 2nd Daring Duke John Honeysett 7-1 27.84 1 3rd Westmead Havoc Natalie Savva 14-1 27.88 4 4th Yes Speedy John McGee Sr. 7-4f 27.89 3 5th Glenvale Boy Geoff De Mulder 7-1 27.90 5 6th Slippy Blue Kenny Linzell 5-1 27.94 6

Totalisator returns

Extended content

The totalisator returns declared to the National Greyhound Racing Club for the year 1989 are listed below. [16] [17] Stadium Turnover £ London (Wimbledon) 17,438,359 London (Walthamstow) 16,850,422 Romford 8,996,109 Brighton & Hove 6,970,118 London (Catford) 6,691,913 London (Wembley) 6,214,683 Birmingham (Hall Green) 4,845,618 Manchester (Belle Vue) 4,280,189 Crayford 3,417,124 Glasgow (Shawfield) 2,514,013 Oxford 2,506,820 Edinburgh (Powderhall) 2,371,036 Stadium Turnover £ Newcastle (Brough Park) 1,838,238 Wolverhampton (Monmore) 1,838,238 Ramsgate 1,794,750 Portsmouth 1,651,827 Sheffield (Owlerton) 1,7585,835 Yarmouth 1,559,435 Reading 1,505,614 Canterbury 1,454,069 Milton Keynes 1,202,379 Swindon 1,971,192 Bristol 957,478 Peterborough 946,531 Stadium Turnover £ Rye House 938,460 Henlow (Bedfordshire) 727,060 London (Hackney) 664,180 Poole 613,961 Middlesbrough 431,466 Cradley Heath 414,914 Swaffham 411,000 Norton Canes 371,877 Nottingham 371,877 Hull (Old Craven Park) 267,303 Wisbech 46,237

References

1. Fry, Paul (1995). The Official NGRC Greyhound Racing Yearbook. Ringpress Books. ISBN   186054-010-4.
2. Dack, Barrie (1990). Greyhound Derby, the first 60 years, pages 200/201/202/203. Ringpress Books. ISBN   0-948955-36-8.
3. "1989". Greyhound Data.
4. Fortune, Michael. The 75 Years History of the Irish Greyhound Derby 1932-2006. Irish Greyhound Review. ISSN   0332-3536.
5. Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008, pages 153-154. Raceform. ISBN   978-1-905153-53-4.
6. NGRC calendar. National Greyhound Racing Club. January 1990.
7. Genders, Roy (1990). NGRC book of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN   0-7207-1804-X.
8. Barnes, Julia (1991). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File, Vol Two. Ringpress Books. ISBN   0-948955-61-9.
9. Barnes/Sellers, Julia/John (1992). Ladbrokes Greyhound Fact File. Ringpress Books. ISBN   0-948955-22-8.
10. Fry, Paul (1995). The Official NGRC Greyhound Racing Yearbook. Ringpress Books. ISBN   186054-010-4.
11. Harris Feltham, Derek Cliff (6 September 1989). "Harris Feltham, Derek Cliff. "Brent Walker buys £685m betting chain." Times, 6 Sept. 1989, p. 25". The Times. Times Digital Archives. p. 25.
12. "History". Mark Wallis Greyhounds.
13. "Greyhound Star (Remember When - January 1989)". Greyhound Star. 26 January 2019.
14. "Greyhound results" . Sunday Mirror. 17 September 1989. Retrieved 2 April 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
15. "Remember When - October 1989". Greyhound Star. 7 October 2018.
16. Totalisator returns of National Greyhound Racing Club Licensed tracks. National Greyhound Racing Club. 1989.
17. "NGRC totalisator figures for 1990". No. 2323. Greyhound Owner. 25 January 1991.