1966 Irish Greyhound Derby

1966 Irish Greyhound Derby 6 August £2,000 (winner) Shelbourne Park Dublin 1965 1967 The 1966 Irish Greyhound Derby took place during July and August with the final being held at Shelbourne Park in Dublin on 6 August 1966.Genders Roy NGRC book of Greyhound Racing 261 1990 Pelham Books Ltd 0-7207-1804-X The winner Always Proud won £2,000 and was trained by Gay McKenna and owned and bred by Albert Lucas.Comyn John 50 Years of Greyhound Racing in Ireland Aherlow Publishers Ltdhttp://greyhoundstar.co.uk/remember-august-4-4/ Remember When - August 2019 4 August 2019 Greyhound Star Final result At Shelbourne, 6 August (over 525 yards): PositionWinnerBreedingTrapSPTimeTrainer1st Always Proud Clonalvy Pride - Always A Rebel 1 11-8f 29.44Gay McKenna2nd Tiger Chief Knockhill Chieftain - Last Landing 5 9-2 29.56Gay McKenna3rd Val's Prince Oregon Prince - Val's Orphan 67-4 29.59Paddy Turbridy4th Cairnville Chief Man Of Pleasure - Just Sherry 3 100-8 Leslie McNair5th Newrath Dancer Hi There - Miss Congo 2 100-7 J McGuinness6th Can Trap Odd Venture - Russell Ville 4 50-1 T O'Rourke Distances 1½, neck (lengths) Competition Report The fastest first round winners were the joint ante-post favourites, McAlinden cup winner Newrath Wonder and the Gay McKenna trained Always Proud, they won in 29.48 and 29.49 respectively, followed closely by 1965 Irish Greyhound Derby finalist Val's Prince in 29.60.Fortune Michael Irish Greyhound Derby 1932–1981 Victory Irish Promotions Ltd In the second round Val's Prince won in an extremely fast 29.10 and Always Proud recorded 29.19, but in a major shock Newrath Wonder was eliminated.Fortune Michael The 75 Years History of the Irish Greyhound Derby Irish Greyhound Review 0332-3536 Vals Prince lost his semi-final to Newrath Dancer the litter brother to Newrath Wonder but still qualified for the final. The remaining two semi-finals went to Tiger Chief from Cairnville Chief and Always Proud from Can Trap. Gay McKenna's Monalee Champion went out at this stage but would become a major breeding success. Always Proud the 5-4 favourite duly obliged in the final to seal a second successive victory for Gay McKenna. The brindle dog had been knocked out of the 1965 Irish Derby in the third round after which his English owner Albert Lucas put him with Gay McKenna. Failure a year later in the English Derby second round was put down to him being off-colour (sick) before he returned to Ireland. A brilliant three way battle ended with Always Proud beating Tiger Chief and Vals Prince. The Derby trophy was presented by Charles Haughey. Val's Prince gained revenge on Always Proud later in the year when winning the Guinness 600 by three lengths from his rival. See also 1966 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year References Greyhound Derby Irish Greyhound Derby