# 1953 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year

The 1953 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 28th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

## Roll of honour

Major Winners :
| Award | Name of Winner |
| 1953 English Greyhound Derby | Daws Dancer |
| 1953 Irish Greyhound Derby | Spanish Battleship |
| 1953 Scottish Greyhound Derby | Not held |
| 1953 Welsh Greyhound Derby | Glittering Look |
| Greyhound of the Year | Magourna Reject |

## Summary

The annual totalisator was £61,522,849 which constituted a solid year. The main stars of the year were Spanish Battleship, in Ireland and Magourna Reject, in the United Kingdom.

## Competitions

There was a surprise in store during the first major event of the year when 1951 Scurry Gold Cup runner up Mushera Silver won the Gold Collar, at 13-2 beating Monachdy Girlie by two lengths. The Scottish Greyhound Derby was cancelled for the second successive year due to insufficient entries but the Welsh Greyhound Derby received a high standard of entry. Glittering Look made amends for his unlucky Derby performance beating fellow Derby finalists Small Town, Galtee Cleo in addition to Endless Gossip and Ollys Pal.
A competition called the London Tracks Coursing Cup (confined to London track greyhounds) was held near Cambridge and was won by Must Venture trained by Bill Cowell at Wandsworth Stadium. It was an unusual competition because it was becoming increasingly rare for track greyhounds to take part in coursing.
Paddys Dinner who had finished lame in the 1952 English Greyhound Derby reached the Scurry final in July but lost out to Rolling Mike while Daws Dancer made a final appearance for Paddy McEvoy in the Laurels final, before being sold to Wimbledon Stadium Ltd and leased to W J Cearns.
At Wembley, 30,000 people turned up to watch the final of the St Leger, a race that was also seen by several million on television. Defending champion Funny Worker now with Jack Harvey was not expected to beat Magourna Reject but the latter had failed in the classics during 1952. Magourna Reject, now trained by Tom Reilly, had won the Key at Wimbledon, the Stewards Cup at Gloucester and the Wood Lane Stakes at White City before lining up for the St Leger final. His supporters were rewarded as he easily won by five lengths, Funny Worker finished last. Magourna Reject then defeated his rivals in the Cesarewitch final winning by three and a half lengths from Oaks champion Lizette, his time of 33.24sec being the fastest ever for the distance at West Ham Stadium. Magourna Reject had finished 1953 as double classic champion and was voted Greyhound of the Year by a press panel on behalf of the British Greyhound Breeders and Owners Association.

## News

After a misunderstanding, a greyhound called Captain Jock trained by Frank Conlon ran unplaced in an open race at Stamford Bridge in the afternoon and then ran again in the evening at Clapton Stadium without success. It was a regular practice for greyhounds to race early in a racecard to qualify for a final later but very unusual to have to travel to two tracks in the same day. Noreen Collin relinquished her post at the Walthamstow Stadium kennels and was replaced by Tom 'Paddy' Reilly; the kennels included the great Magourna Reject.
Scotland Yard detective Stan Baker published a book called Greyhound Racing with the lid off. It listed 29 stimulants and depressants that are suspected of being used by doping gangs in greyhound racing. The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) are tasked with finding the doping gangs that target tracks running under the NGRC banner and on the independent circuit, two men were jailed for 30 days in Dunfermline for attempting to run a ringer at Crossgates Greyhound Stadium.
Endless Gossip retired after finishing his career with a Select Stakes win at Wembley beating Magourna Reject and Galtee Cleo and a Wimbledon Champion Stakes win in October, which he again won from Magourna Reject with Galtee Cleo third, and brought his winnings to more than £5,000. He won a prize in the show ring at Cruft's and was sold to an American breeder to stand at stud in the United States.

## Ireland

Tim O'Connor had taken charge of the litter in Ireland, sired by Spanish Chestnut, the half-brother of Irish Greyhound Derby champion Spanish Lad. One of the litter Spanish Battleship was entered for the St Leger at Limerick but after winning a heat he failed to progress from the second round. O'Connor believed that he had gone well enough and phoned Tom Lynch in Dublin and asked him to train the dog for the 1953 Irish Greyhound Derby. He duly won the Derby and then took part in three competitions; the Laurels, the McCalmont Cup and McAlinden Cup and won every single qualifier, nine races in all but on all three occasions did not win the final. The Laurels had been won by Templenoe Rebel, who then made his way to be trained in England as did McAlinden winner Rose of Meath, sold to Arsenal and Scotland footballer Alex Forbes.

## Principal UK races

Grand National, White City (May 9 525y h, £300) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Denver Berwick | David Geggus | 10-11f | 30.26 | 5 |
| 2nd | Nighthar O'Leer | | 100-8 | 30.56 | 3 |
| 3rd | Tunny Dick | Norman Merchant | 6-4 | 30.70 | 2 |
| 4th | Brighton Master | R.C Ford | 25-1 | 31.06 | 4 |
| 5th | Water Chief | | 10-1 | 31.54 | 6 |
| N/R | Lambourn Toreador | O Papps | | | 1 |
Gold Collar, Catford (May 30, 440y, £500) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Mushera Silver | L.T.Gould | 13-2 | 25.70 | 3 |
| 2nd | Monachdy Girlie | Jimmy Jowett | 3-1 | 25.90 | 1 |
| 3rd | Carlane Briskie | L.T.Gould | 8-1 | 26.04 | 5 |
| 4th | Iona Special | Ron Chamberlain | 5-2f | 26.06 | 2 |
| 5th | Summer Breeze | | 100-8 | 26.14 | 4 |
| 6th | Rockfield Nigger | Paddy McEvoy | 3-1 | 26.50 | 6 |
Welsh Derby, Arms Park (Jul 4, 525y £500) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Glittering Look | Tom Reilly | 5-2 | 29.39 | 6 |
| 2nd | Small Town | Leslie Reynolds | 100-8 | 29.47 | 5 |
| 3rd | Galtee Cleo | Jack Harvey | 4-5f | 29.55 | 1 |
| 4th | Montego Bay | Jack Harvey | 33-1 | 29.67 | 2 |
| 5th | Endless Gossip | Leslie Reynolds | 4-1 | 29.75 | 3 |
| 6th | Ollys Pal | Norman Merchant | | | 4 |
Scurry Gold Cup, Clapton (Jul 25, 400y £600) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Rolling Mike | Jimmy Jowett | 5-2f | 22.77+ | 6 |
| 2nd | Cavehill Tanner | | 13-2 | 23.27 | 1 |
| 3rd | Paddys Dinner | Tom Smith | 4-1 | 23.41 | 2 |
| 4th | Al Fresco | | 100-6 | 23.63 | 4 |
| 5th | Parchments Breeze | Tom Reilly | 11-4 | 23.95 | 3 |
| 6th | Snow White Brown | Henry Parsons | 4-1 | 23.98 | 5 |
Laurels, Wimbledon (Aug 21, 500y, £1,000) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Polonius | Tom Reilly | 7-2 | 28.04 | 4 |
| 2nd | Knockeevan Champion | Leslie Reynolds | 5-2 | 28.24 | 5 |
| 3rd | Flashy Name | Paddy Power | 20-1 | 28.48 | 2 |
| 4th | Marsh Harrier | William Mills | 5-1 | 28.60 | 6 |
| 5th | Daws Dancer | Paddy McEvoy | 7-4f | 28.63 | 3 |
| 6th | Oriel Olga | Dal Hawkesley | 20-1 | 28.66 | 1 |
St Leger, Wembley (Sep 14, 700y, £1,000) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Magourna Reject | Tom Reilly | 7-4f | 39.88 | 4 |
| 2nd | Lizette | Paddy Fortune | 6-1 | 40.36 | 5 |
| 3rd | Priceless Spot | F.A.Gavin | 100-6 | 40.58 | 2 |
| 4th | Cheeky Tippy | Bob Burls | 9-1 | 40.78 | 3 |
| 5th | Fly Prince | W.E.Hughes | 9-4 | 41.02 | 1 |
| 6th | Funny Worker | Jack Harvey | 6-1 | 41.06 | 6 |
Oaks, White City (Sep 26, 525y, £500) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Lizette | Paddy Fortune | 6-4f | 29.18 | 5 |
| 2nd | Waltzers Choice | Reg String Marsh | 2-1 | 29.66 | 2 |
| 3rd | Narrogar Joanna | Ron Mills | 8-1 | 29.74 | 3 |
| 4th | Marazion Millie | Paddy Fortune | 11-2 | 29.82 | 1 |
| 5th | Ashcott Winsome | Eric Hiscock | 8-1 | 30.00 | 4 |
| 6th | Great Charm | | 33-1 | 30.52 | 6 |
Cesarewitch, West Ham (Oct 16, 600y, £600) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Magourna Reject | Tom Reilly | 1-4f | 33.24+ | 4 |
| 2nd | Lizette | Paddy Fortune | 9-2 | 33.60 | 2 |
| 3rd | Kensington Perfection | Bill Higgins | 25-1 | 33.96 | 1 |
| 4th | Wolf Wild | John Drown | 100-7 | 34.14 | 6 |
| 5th | Ardskeagh Ville | Dave Barker | 50-1 | 34.24 | 3 |
| 6th | Narrogar Joanna | Ron Mills | 50-1 | 34.34 | 5 |

## Totalisator returns

Extended content :
The totalisator returns declared to the licensing authorities for the year 1953 are listed below. Tracks that did not have a totalisator in operation are not listed.
Stadium
Turnover £
London (White City)4,799,000
London (Harringay)3,336,000
London (Wembley)2,616,000
London (Wimbledon)2,422,000
London (Walthamstow)2,397,000
London (Wandsworth)1,796,783
London (Park Royal)1,729,033
London (Clapton)1,695,177
London (West Ham)1,693,000
Manchester (Belle Vue)1,613,649
London (Stamford Bridge)1,577,000
London (Catford)1,558,116
London (Hackney)1,297,000
London (New Cross)1,145,000
London (Hendon)1,042,000
Manchester (White City)936,800
Romford847,000
Brighton & Hove836,133
London (Charlton)826,000
Glasgow (Shawfield)815,000
Newcastle (Brough Park)737,000
Edinburgh (Powderhall)732,000
Newcastle (Gosforth)723,000
Birmingham (Hall Green)714,283
Birmingham (Perry Barr, old)707,000
Crayford & Bexleyheath681,533
Cardiff (Arms Park)664,000
Manchester (Salford)656,933
London (Dagenham)644,000
Sheffield (Owlerton)630,050
Wolverhampton (Monmore)609,000
Glasgow (White City)541,000
Birmingham (Kings Heath)530,700
Gateshead524,916
Bradford (Greenfield)511,566
Southampton509,850
Bristol (Eastville)487,000
Southend-on-Sea472,650
Stadium
Turnover £
Leeds (Elland Road)472,000
Glasgow (Albion)463,000
Coventry (Lythalls Lane)462,000
Slough449,966
Liverpool (Seaforth)444,750
Sheffield (Darnall)423,000
Willenhall413,000
Ramsgate (Dumpton Park)411,133
Blackpool (St Anne's)406,500
Middlesbrough395,000
Glasgow (Carntyne)390,000
Liverpool (White City)361,733
Reading (Oxford Road)358,000
South Shields351,230
Leicester (Blackbird Rd)341,000
Ashington (Co Durham)331,000
Bolton327,567
Gloucester & Cheltenham320,517
Chester301,000
Rochester & Chatham299,200
Liverpool (Stanley)287,533
Bradford (City)264,233
Hull (Old Craven Park)264,000
Preston257,950
Plymouth251,000
Nottingham (White City)248,000
Portsmouth242,000
Aberdeen228,000
Newport216,000
West Hartlepool214,000
Blackburn213,000
Sheffield (Hyde Park)212,983
Derby212,250
Stanley (Co Durham)205,000
Oxford202,000
Warrington197,667
Sunderland194,250
Exeter (County Ground)184,467
Stadium
Turnover £
Stoke-on-Trent (Cobridge)184,000
Stoke-on-Trent (Hanley)182,000
Glasgow (Firhill)179,000
Yarmouth167,167
Keighley167,000
Luton162,000
Norwich (Boundary Park)157,517
Bristol (Knowle)149,533
Norwich (City)145,633
Houghton-le-Spring140,000
St Helens133,000
Ipswich127,750
London (Southall)119,000
Rochdale111,900
Wallyford (East Lothian)103,000
Oldham102,000
Peterborough97,933
Rayleigh (Essex)90,000
Cradley Heath89,450
Stockton-on-Tees (Belle Vue)89,000
Stockport (Hazel Grove)84,267
Long Eaton80,950
Easington (Co Durham)77,000
Swindon73,933
Wigan (Poolstock)68,000
London (Harlington Corner)64,000
Wakefield61,000
Wigan (Woodhouse)56,000
Aycliffe (Co Durham)53,000
Durham City53,000
Tamworth50,000
Doncaster (Spotbrough)49,000
Rotherham45,000
Northampton40,000
Spennymoor (Co Durham)37,950
Workington27,000
Coundon (Co Durham)19,000
Irvine (Townhead)7,000 :