1961 Irish Greyhound Derby

1961 Irish Greyhound Derby 11 August £1,250 (winner) Harold's Cross Stadium Dublin 1960 1962 The 1961 Irish Greyhound Derby took place during July and August with the final being held at Harold's Cross Stadium in Dublin on 11 August 1961.Genders Roy NGRC book of Greyhound Racing 261 1990 Pelham Books Ltd 0-7207-1804-X The winner Chieftain's Guest won £1,250 and was trained and bred by Leslie McNair, and jointly owned by McNair and Eric McCullough.Comyn John 50 Years of Greyhound Racing in Ireland Aherlow Publishers Ltd Final result At Harold's Cross, 11 August (over 525 yards): PositionName of GreyhoundBreedingTrapSPTimeTrainer1st Chieftain's Guest Knock Hill Chieftain - Star Guest 1 5-2 29.45Leslie McNair2nd Skips Choice Romola's Dante - Phil Skip 6 5-1 29.49 Gay McKenna3rd The Grand Canal Champion Prince - The Grand Duchess 44-1 29.57Paddy Dunphy4th Wild Maid Champion Prince - Much Loved 3 6-4f 5th Ballycashen Rory unknown 2 20-1 6th Evening Iris unknown 5 100-7 Distances ½, 1 (lengths) Competition Report Long Story and Sandown Dick were major eliminations during the first round and Clonmel record holder Odd Venture broke a hock whilst leading. First round winners included The Grand Canal, Ireland's leading bitch Wild Maid, Evening Irish and Ballycashen Rory.Fortune Michael Irish Greyhound Derby 1932–1981 Victory Irish Promotions Ltd In the second round The Grand Canal won again with Spark of Delight and Wild Maid also impressing. The first semi-final went to Wild Maid in 29.32 and The Grand Canal who remained unbeaten after recording 29.36 in the second semi-final. The final semi was won by Skips Choice in a slower time of 29.84.Fortune Michael The 75 Years History of the Irish Greyhound Derby Irish Greyhound Review 0332-3536 The final saw three greyhounds prominent early, Skips Choice had etched out a lead but the strong finishing Chieftains Guest caught him and won by half a length to land a hefty gamble with The Grand Canal also running on strongly a further length behind. Chieftains Guest who had failed to win a race leading up to the final was to finish lame on his wrist. See also 1961 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year References Greyhound Derby Irish Greyhound Derby