# 1954 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year

The 1954 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 29th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

## Roll of honour

Major Winners :
| Award | Name of Winner |
| 1954 English Greyhound Derby | Pauls Fun |
| 1954 Irish Greyhound Derby | Spanish Battleship |
| 1954 Scottish Greyhound Derby | Rushton Mac |
| 1954 Welsh Greyhound Derby | Not held |
| Greyhound of the Year | Pauls Fun & Pancho Villa |

## Summary

Spanish Battleship secured a second consecutive Irish Greyhound Derby title becoming the first greyhound in history to do so. In addition to the Derby win, during the year he won the Tostal Cup at Harold's Cross Stadium and Easter Cup at Shelbourne Park before an injury curtailed his efforts in the Callanan Cup final. After his historic Derby win he would win the Tipperary Cup with two track record runs and a victory in the McCalmont Cup but would be a shock loser in the final of the McAlinden Cup for the second year running. Pauls Fun won the English Greyhound Derby for Leslie Reynolds securing a record fifth title for the trainer.
The annual totalisator was £56,139,001.

## Competitions

Prince Lawrence and Ardskeagh Ville claimed the pre-derby classics, the Grand National and Gold Collar respectively. Jack Harvey went on a significant three classic winning run; his Gold Collar finalist Demon King captured the sprinters classic the Scurry Gold Cup. The following month during the Laurels, at Wimbledon Stadium Coolkill Chieftain picked up the £1,000 first prize and then in September his Laurels runner up Pancho Villa secured a four and half-length victory in the St Leger final. In addition he also won the Puppy Derby with Gulf of Darien.
The Scottish Greyhound Derby moved to October in an attempt to gain more entries and this seemed to work when the competition received a good entry, including a pair of brothers who emerged to dominate the event. Rushton Mac (by Rushton News out of Rushton Panda) defeated his brother Rushton Spot, who was eliminated from the English Derby at the semi-final stage. Rushton Mac had previously won the Edinburgh Cup. The kennel brothers were trained by Frank Johnson and Rushton Mac won the Pall Mall Stakes and Select Stakes titles.
West Ham Stadium received a star studded line up for the Cesarewitch final in October. Matchlock beat a field in the final by seven lengths that included Derby champion Pauls Fun, St Leger champion Pancho Villa, Title Role and Barrowside. The last major event of the year was the Grand Prix and the Rushton brothers took the first two places again, only this time in a reversal of the Scottish Derby final.
Kensington Perfection trained by Bill Higgins at Oxford Stadium completed an impressive four timer by winning four National Produce stakes finals at Stamford Bridge, Catford Stadium, Brighton & Hove Greyhound Stadium (The Regency) and Eastville Stadium.

## Tracks

A new track in Weymouth opened during August; the site was on Radpole Lane and was known as the Wessex Stadium and Somercotes opened the following month. Stanley Greyhound Stadium withdrew from the National Greyhound Racing Club under the 'Combine' licence.

## Principal UK races

Grand National, White City (May 8 525y h, £300) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Prince Lawrence | Joe Pickering | 10-1 | 30.29 | 1 |
| 2nd | Brighton Master | Sidney Orton | 10-1 | 30.53 | 2 |
| 3rd | Ruddy Caution | Paddy McEvoy | 7-2 | 30.71 | 5 |
| 4th | Tanist Farewell | | 3-1 | 30.89 | 3 |
| 5th | Parkroe Bob | Jack Young | 6-1 | 31.01 | 4 |
| 6th | The Flying Kingdom | A.W.Way | 2-1f | 31.09 | 6 |
Gold Collar, Catford (May 29, 440y, £450) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Ardskeagh Ville | Dave Barker | 9-4 | 25.86 | 5 |
| 2nd | Rathroe Surprise | Bob Burls | 10-1 | 26.10 | 3 |
| 3rd | Demon King | Jack Harvey | 100-7 | 26.20 | 2 |
| 4th | More Majors | | 33-1 | 26.36 | 1 |
| 5th | Safe Keys | Miss Mary Vaughan | 8-1 | 27.00 | 4 |
| 6th | Home Luck | Stan Martin | 1-1f | 00.00 | 6 |
Scurry Gold Cup, Clapton (Jul 24, 400y £600) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Demon King | Jack Harvey | 4-9f | 22.84 | 1 |
| 2nd | Annaghneal | Jim Syder Jr. | 7-1 | 23.00 | 3 |
| 3rd | Hertzog | Dave Geggus | 100-8 | 23.18 | 2 |
| 4th | Mystery Rival | Bert Stephens | 50-1 | 23.54 | 5 |
| 5th | Fitzs Marquis | Tom Paddy Reilly | 7-1 | 23.64 | 4 |
| 6th | Explosive Gilbert | Leslie Reynolds | 8-1 | 24.04 | 6 |
Laurels, Wimbledon (Aug 20, 500y, £1,000) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Coolkill Chieftain | Jack Harvey | 1-2f | 28.05 | 5 |
| 2nd | Pancho Villa | Jack Harvey | 11-2 | 28.49 | 4 |
| 3rd | Christopher Hemley | Sidney Orton | 10-1 | 29.13 | 6 |
| 4th | Ashcott Boy | Leslie Reynolds | 10-1 | 29.17 | 3 |
| 5th | Rathroe Surprise | Bob Burls | 20-1 | 29.41 | 2 |
| 6th | Something Odd | Dave Geggus | 15-2 | 29.53 | 1 |
St Leger, Wembley (Sep 13, 700y, £1,000) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Pancho Villa | Jack Harvey | 1-1f | 40.99 | 1 |
| 2nd | Matchlock | Ted Brennan | 9-2 | 41.35 | 2 |
| 3rd | Fly Prince | George Crussell | 100-8 | 41.55 | 5 |
| 4th | Blue Bell Crosty | | 4-1 | 41.61 | 4 |
| 5th | The Sherpa | Noreen Collin | 8-1 | 41.67 | 6 |
| N/R | Coolkill Chieftain | Jack Harvey | | | |
Oaks, White City (Oct 2, 525y, £500) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Ashcott Winsome | Bert Heyes | 100-6 | 29.39 | 2 |
| 2nd | Cree Dusk | Sidney Orton | 2-1f | 29.49 | 1 |
| 3rd | Velvet Doll | Jack Harvey | 5-2 | 29.53 | 5 |
| 4th | Rimmells Pearl | Jim Hookway | 4-1 | 29.56 | 6 |
| 5th | Gift of Pleasure | Arthur Hancock | 6-1 | 29.72 | 3 |
| 6th | Waltzers Choice | Reg String Marsh | 6-1 | 29.76 | 4 |
Scottish Greyhound Derby, Carntyne (Oct 9, 525y, £500) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Rushton Mac | Frank Johnson | 5-2 | 29.20 | 2 |
| 2nd | Rushton Spot | Frank Johnson | 6-1 | 29.32 | 5 |
| 3rd | Hi There | Jim Brennan | 3-1 | 29.35 | 4 |
| 4th | Prince Chancer | Jimmy Jowett | 6-4f | 29.47 | 1 |
| 5th | Stolen Seal | | 50-1 | 29.79 | 3 |
| 6th | Tillside Beech | | 33-1 | 30.19 | 6 |
Cesarewitch, West Ham (Oct 15, 600y, £600) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Matchlock | Ted Brennan | 7-2 | 33.03 | 6 |
| 2nd | Rose of Cooleeney | Wembley | 1-2f | 33.59 | 5 |
| 3rd | Pauls Fun | Leslie Reynolds | 10-1 | 33.65 | 1 |
| 4th | Pancho Villa | Jack Harvey | 10-1 | 33.69 | 2 |
| 5th | Barrowside | Jack Harvey | 25-1 | 33.83 | 3 |
| 6th | Title Role | Jack Harvey | 10-1 | 33.97 | 4 |
The Grand Prix Walthamstow (Oct 13, 525y, £750) :
| Pos | Name of Greyhound | Trainer | SP | Time | Trap |
| 1st | Rushton Spot | Frank Johnson | 10-3 | 29.57 | 5 |
| 2nd | Rushton Mac | Frank Johnson | 5-2 | 30.09 | 6 |
| 3rd | Cheeky Tony | | 25-1 | 30.17 | 4 |
| 4th | Cooleen Surprise | George Crussell | 6-1 | 30.45 | 3 |
| 5th | Step Inside | Ron Chamberlain | 7-2 | 30.47 | 1 |
| 6th | Please Champion | Miss K.G.Sanderson | 9-4f | 30.63 | 2 |

## Totalisator returns

Extended content :
The totalisator returns declared to the licensing authorities for the year 1954 are listed below. Tracks that did not have a totalisator in operation are not listed.
Stadium
Turnover £
London (White City)4,367,000
London (Harringay)2,967,000
London (Wimbledon)2,464,000
London (Wembley)2,429,000
London (Walthamstow)2,298,000
London (Wandsworth)1,748,000
London (Clapton)1,681,000
London (Park Royal)1,641,000
London (West Ham)1,583,000
London (Stamford Bridge)1,561,000
Manchester (Belle Vue)1,558,000
London (Catford)1,467,000
London (Hackney)1,231,000
London (New Cross)1,083,000
London (Hendon)1,000,000
Manchester (White City)867,000
London (Charlton)843,000
Romford837,000
Brighton & Hove773,000
Glasgow (Shawfield)760,000
Birmingham (Perry Barr, old)747,000
Edinburgh (Powderhall)721,000
Birmingham (Hall Green)696,000
Newcastle (Gosforth)673,000
Manchester (Salford)652,000
Crayford & Bexleyheath640,000
Newcastle (Brough Park)635,000
London (Dagenham)633,000
Cardiff (Arms Park)614,000
Birmingham (Kings Heath)559,000
Wolverhampton (Monmore)547,000
Sheffield (Owlerton)544,000
Bradford (Greenfield)515,000
Gateshead499,000
Glasgow (White City)490,000
Leeds (Elland Road)481,000
Slough481,000
Southampton478,000
Stadium
Turnover £
Bristol (Eastville)477,000
Glasgow (Albion)466,000
Southend-on-Sea462,000
Coventry (Lythalls Lane)440,000
Liverpool (Seaforth)424,000
Ramsgate (Dumpton Park)394,000
Middlesbrough384,000
Willenhall372,000
Liverpool (White City)352,000
Blackpool (St Anne's)349,000
Sheffield (Darnall)349,000
Glasgow (Carntyne)348,000
Gloucester & Cheltenham342,000
Ashington (Co Durham)333,000
Reading (Oxford Road)331,000
South Shields324,000
Leicester (Blackbird Rd)317,000
Bolton310,000
Rochester & Chatham309,000
Chester294,000
Liverpool (Stanley)272,000
Hull (Old Craven Park)261,000
Derby254,000
Bradford (City)246,000
Preston236,000
Nottingham (White City)231,000
Aberdeen225,000
Sheffield (Hyde Park)214,000
West Hartlepool210,000
Portsmouth208,000
Plymouth207,000
Newport205,000
Oxford205,000
Sunderland205,000
Blackburn203,000
Stanley (Co Durham)197,000
Warrington177,000
Stoke-on-Trent (Hanley)175,483
Stadium
Turnover £
Exeter (County Ground)166,000
Glasgow (Firhill)162,000
Norwich (Boundary Park)1556,000
Luton154,000
Yarmouth151,000
Cradley Heath141,000
Norwich (City)138,000
Keighley129,000
Bristol (Knowle)124,000
Houghton-le-Spring124,000
Ipswich118,000
Stoke-on-Trent (Cobridge)117,000
St Helens133,000
Rochdale97,000
Stockton-on-Tees (Belle Vue)97,000
Rayleigh (Essex)95,000
Wallyford (East Lothian)95,000
Peterborough92,000
Oldham89,000
Easington (Co Durham)77,000
Long Eaton72,000
Swindon67,000
Stockport (Hazel Grove)63,000
Wakefield60,000
Wigan (Poolstock)54,000
Wigan (Woodhouse)50,000
Durham City46,000
Northampton40,000
Rotherham35,000
Tamworth32,000
Doncaster (Spotbrough)30,000
Coundon (Co Durham)27,000
Workington25,000
Spennymoor (Co Durham)24,000
Aycliffe (Co Durham)18,000
Irvine (Townhead)6,000 :