2010 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year

2010 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
Arthur Hitch was one of four prominent trainers that died during 2010.
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The 2010 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 85th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Summary

Levy payments for greyhound racing went down again from £10 million to £8.5 million. Betting exchanges were impacting major bookmakers which in turn affected greyhound racing. ^[1] Jimmy Lollie finished the year with a remarkable 35 open-race wins after winning the semi-final of the Scurry Cup at Belle Vue. Trained by Seamus Cahill the brindle dog went on to be voted greyhound of the year which was unusual for a sprinter. He was withdrawn from the final of the Scurry but did win the National Sprint, set four new track records ^[2] and passed 50 career wins. ^[3]

Tracks

Portsmouth Stadium under the control of manager Eric Graham closed under controversial circumstances. Within weeks of the unsuccessful application for a lease renewal Graham stated that the company would be wound up with immediate effect. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

There was a new track in Limerick when the Limerick Greyhound Stadium was opened in October by minister of agriculture, fisheries and food Brendan Smith. It was built on the site of the old Greenpark Racecourse costing €18 million. The Irish Greyhound Board's latest showpiece had the facilities and comforts of a world-class stadium. The new venue was also served by a new tunnel linking Clare and Limerick. ^[7]

Competitions

Toomaline Jack was an unlucky loser in the Grand National final, the Dolores Ruth trained Irish entry set a new hurdle track record but went lame leaving Plane Daddy to win the first prize. ^[8] The Greyhound Racing Association decline continued with open race prize money decreases including the St Leger; the event was won by Droopys Bradley.

News

Champion trainer Mark Wallis joined Yarmouth from Harlow; Yarmouth had just undergone track improvements at the cost of £190,000. Matt Dartnall joined Swindon and Patrick Curtin joined Monmore. Seamus Cahill won his first trainers championship held at Doncaster and Carol Evans was sacked from Sheffield after being fined by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain following investigations into unusual betting patterns on Betfair accounts. ^[9]

Bad weather during December resulted in many meetings cancelled all over the country. The Henlow Gold Cup suffered when several attempts to run the event were cancelled. Elsewhere huge numbers of greyhounds were required to grade on again (re-qualify) at many tracks, after they ran out of time under the sport's 28 day rule. Temperatures on Boxing Day (daytime) meetings were held at temperatures of minus 7 Celsius and below.

Four current and former leading trainers died. Philip Rees Jr., a long-time successful Wimbledon trainer died aged 67. Pam Heasman 85, Arthur Hitch 77 and Terry Duggan 77 also died during 2010. ^{[10] [11]} A former leading on-course bookmaker Tony Morris also died in March, aged 73. ^[12]

Roll of honour

Major Winners
Award	Name of Winner
2010 English Greyhound Derby	Bandicoot Tipoki
2010 Irish Greyhound Derby	Tyrur McGuigan
Greyhound Trainer of the Year	Seamus Cahill
Greyhound of the Year	Jimmy Lollie
Irish Dog and Bitch of the Year	Tyrur McGuigan / Dalcash Dvinsky

Betfair Trainers Championship, Doncaster (23 Mar) [13] Pos Name of Trainer Points 1st Mark Wallis 49 2nd Charlie Lister OBE 47 3rd Barrie Draper 30 4th Dean Childs 28 4th Seamus Cahill 27 6th Chris Allsopp 27

Principal UK finals

Bettor.com Scottish Derby, Shawfield (17 Apr, 480m, £25,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Nambisco Carly Philpott 7-4f 28.98 3 2nd Ballymac Rebound Craig Dawson 9-2 29.32 1 3rd Westmead Scolari Nick Savva 6-1 29.36 6 4th Ardera Monarch Craig Dawson 2-1 29.40 2 5th Greenwell Viper Patrick Flaherty 4-1 29.56 5 6th Aero Ardiles Nick Savva 12-1 29.68 4

William Hill Grand National, Wimbledon (29 Jun, 480mH, £7,500) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Plane Daddy Gemma Davidson 8-1 29.80 3 2nd Nebuchadnezzar Lorraine Sams 9-2 29.81 2 3rd Sizzlers Spirit Norah McEllistrim 12-1 29.94 1 4th Romeo In Miami Ricky Holloway 33-1 30.20 4 5th Lenson Flash Tony Collett 33-1 30.24 6 6th Toomaline Jack Dolores Ruth 2-5f 30.56 5

Betfair TV Trophy, Kinsley (15 June, 844m, £6,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Midway Skipper Henry Chalkley 5-1 52.91+ 4 2nd Taylors Riviera Ted Soppitt 5-4f 52.97 6 3rd Bubbly Eagle Paul Young 9-1 53.21 2 4th Oran Joker David Acott 20-1 53.38 5 5th Ministry Magpie Lorraine Sams 8-1 53.50 1 6th Tyrur Dream Charlie Lister OBE 9-4 53.51 3 + track record

William Hill Grand Prix, Sunderland (15 Jul, 640m, £15,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st England Expects Jimmy Wright 7-4f 39.50 3 2nd He Went Whoosh Claude Gardiner 8-1 39.68 5 3rd Kinda Easy Mark Wallis 2-1 39.77 6 4th Anfi Gem Colin Redden 8-1 39.89 4 5th Fatboyz Diva Chris Allsopp 5-2 39.90 2 6th Hesley Dingo Jimmy Wright 16-1 40.25 1

William Hill Classic, Sunderland (15 Jul, 450m, £25,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Target Classic Craig Dawson 7-2 26.94 5 2nd Ballymac Ace Chris Allsopp 4-1 26.95 4 3rd Mario Gomez James Fenwick 10-1 27.14 6 4th Fear Zafonic Charlie Lister OBE 5-2 27.26 3 5th Lyreen Mover Gabor Tenczel 6-4f 27.28 1 6th Romeo Reason Liz McNair 7-1 27.68 2

Betfair East Anglian Derby, Yarmouth (16 Sep, 462m, £17,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Fear Zafonic Charlie Lister OBE 1-3f 27.46 3 2nd Ocean Star Hazel Kemp 25-1 27.91 6 3rd Ten Large Down Diane Henry 7-1 27.97 4 4th Chicago Prince David Pruhs 14-1 28.04 5 5th Roo Come On Liz McNair 11-2 28.16 1 6th Guinness Time Seamus Cahill 10-1 28.17 2

Stan James Laurels, Belle Vue (5 Oct, 470m, £6,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Elwick Chris Michael Walsh 3-1 27.50 3 2nd November Weather Otto Kueres 8-1 27.72 6 3rd Yahoo Jamie Charlie Lister OBE 3-1 27.78 5 4th Bucks Yahoo Chris Lund 5-2f 28.02 2 5th Hello Dino Paddy Curtin (UK) 8-1 28.04 4 6th Magna Buddy Jimmy Wright 3-1 28.56 1

William Hill St Leger, Wimbledon (26 Oct, 687m, £8,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Droopys Bradley Paul Donovan 1-2f 41.48+ 1 2nd Bower Hawk Pat Rosney 12-1 41.87 3 3rd He Went Whoosh Claude Gardiner 6-1 41.91 5 4th Shaws Dilemma Liz McNair 6-1 42.07 4 5th Blonde Blitz Tony Collett 12-1 42.17 6 6th Razzmatazz Nathan McDonald 33-1 42.18 2 + Track record

William Hill Oaks, Wimbledon (8 Dec, 480m, £6,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Freedom Emma Richard Yeates 5-2 28.40 5 2nd Snowy Skye Paul Garland 10-1 28.90 3 3rd Rebellious Queen Pat Rosney 4-1 28.93 1 4th Sylvanna Crystal Bernie Doyle 8-1 29.09 6 5th Shaws Dilemma Liz McNair 6-4f 29.10 2 6th Big Pair George Andreas 16-1 29.16 4

Principal Irish finals

College Causeway/Killahan Phanter Easter Cup, Shelbourne (17 Apr, 550y, €20,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Thurlesbeg Joker Owen McKenna 6-4f 29.55 2 2nd Toomaline Jack Dolores Ruth 5-2 29.62 3 3rd Tyrur Chris PJ Fahy 6-1 29.97 1 4th Shaneboy Lee Denis Kiely 7-1 30.04 5 5th Faypoint Man Owen McKenna 8-1 30.11 6 6th Olympic Double Pat Buckley 16-1 30.13 4

Red Mills Produce, Clonmel (2 May, 525y, €25,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Faypoint Dave Owen McKenna 5-2 28.64 4 2nd Valais Mover Declan Byrne 7-1 28.81 5 3rd Bockos Boozer Beverley Lochead 5-2 28.82 1 4th Local Flawless Dolores Ruth 10-1 29.00 2 5th Thorn Brae Brett Aidan Robinson 7-4f 29.03 3 6th Droopys Lennon Nicola Downes 8-1 29.14 6

Sporting Press Oaks, Shelbourne (26 Jun, 525y, €21,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Dalcash Dvinsky Jack Meade 9-4f 28.41 4 2nd Skywalker Queen Frances O'Donnell 7-2 28.43 6 3rd Clearview Kelly Michael Frayne 5-1 28.50 5 4th Shelbourne Dawn Brian King 4-1 28.85 3 5th Razldazl Alice Dolores Ruth 4-1 28.95 2 6th Casual Steps Reggie Roberts 14-1 28.98 1

Townviewfoods.com Champion Stakes, Shelbourne (24 Jul, 550y, €20,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Makeshift Dolores Ruth 5-2jf 29.90 3 2nd Tyrur Big Mike Conor Fahy 5-2jf 29.92 6 3rd Farley Blitz Owen McKenna 4-1 29.97 2 4th Mesedo Blue Seamus Graham 4-1 30.04 4 5th Fatboyz Tyson Pat Gordon 5-1 30.08 5 6th Sevenheads Bay Graham Holland 8-1 30.10 1

HX Bookmakers Puppy Derby, Harolds Cross (8 Oct, 525y, €25,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Melodys Royal Pa Fitzgerald 8-1 28.78 6 2nd Dream Walker Tom O'Neill 6-1 28.85 1 3rd Mill Bling Bling Frances Gleeson 8-1 28.90 4 4th Lolos Joe John McGee Sr. 1-1f 29.04 3 5th Kerrydale Lar Brian McCann 9-4 29.11 5 6th Kielduff Merc Marie Shanahan 33-1 29.13 2

Pat Hennerty Sales Laurels, Cork (16 Oct, 525y, €35,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Tyrur Enda Conor Fahy 4-6f 28.72 2 2nd Tubbertelly Dubh Owen McKenna 7-4 28.77 1 3rd Kiowa Myth Mossie O'Connor 10-1 29.12 3 4th Took The Okee James O'Donnell 25-1 29.23 5 5th Huckabees Kid William Kelleher 12-1 29.37 4 6th Kid Billzer Seamus Shealy 20-1 29.58 6

Kerry Agribusiness Irish St Leger, Limerick (18 Dec, 550y, €25,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Farley Turbo Owen McKenna 3-1 29.57+ 4 2nd Hare Mack Robert Gleeson 4-1 30.09 6 3rd Judicial Academy Michael O’Donovan 5-2jf 30.44 5 4th Westmead Bolt Fraser Black 5-1 30.55 2 5th Beaming Dilemma Pat Buckley 5-2jf 30.62 1 6th Nicken Shaw Ken Duce 8-1 30.63 3 + Track record

References

1. "INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE GREYHOUND INDUSTRY IN GREAT BRITAIN" (PDF). Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
2. "Jimmy Lollie". Greyhound Data.
3. "Remember When - September 2010". Greyhound Star.
4. "Portsmouth greyhound track set to close for redevelopment". The News.
5. "Ex-greyhound staff say they are owed thousands of pounds". The News.
6. "Demolition of the Tipner greyhound stadium begins". The News.
7. "Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report" (PDF). audgen.gov.ie.
8. "Grand National Final". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
9. "Disciplinary Committee Inquiries". GBGB. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
10. "Remember When - November 2010". Greyhound Star.
11. "Remember When - May 2020". Greyhound Star.
12. "Remember When series (March 2020)". Greyhound Star.
13. "Trainer's Championship meeting". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.