1954 English Greyhound Derby

April 2022 1954 English Greyhound Derby 12 June 25 June £1,500 (winner) White City Stadium 1953 1955 The 1954 Greyhound Derby took place during June with the final being held on 25 June 1954 at White City Stadium.Hobbs Jonathan Greyhound Annual 2008 page 90 2007 Raceform 978-1-905153-53-4 The winner was Pauls Fun and the winning owner Mr Thomas Henry Watford received £1,500.Genders Roy The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing page 110 1981 Pelham Books Ltd 07207-1106-1Hot Derby Dog Sunday Mirror 20 June 1954 27 November 2021 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000844/19540620/153/0018 British Newspaper Archive subscription Final result At White City (over 525 yards):http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?r=2058 1954 Greyhound Data PositionName of GreyhoundBreedingTrapSPTimeTrainer 1stPauls Fun Sandown Champion – All Fun 38-15f28.84 Leslie Reynolds (Wembley)2ndLeafy Ash Mad Tanist – Ash Shaggy 533-129.10 Jim Syder Jr. (Wembley)3rdTitle Role Celtic Chief – Coolkill Darkie 63-129.24 Jack Harvey (Wembley)4thClever Count Ballybeg Surprise – Wise Countess 133-129.64 Jack Harvey (Wembley)5thArdskeagh Ville Dante the Great – My Dreamland 2100-829.70 Dave Barker (Catford)6thAshcott Boy Jeffs Pal – Winsome Complexion4100-700.00 Leslie Reynolds (Wembley) Distances 3¼, 1¾, 5, ¾, Dis (lengths) The distances between the greyhounds are in finishing order and shown in lengths. From 1950 one length was equal to 0.08 of one second.Genders Roy NGRC book of Greyhound Racing (Timekeeper) p310 1990 Pelham Books Ltd 0-7207-1804-X Semi finals First Semi Final (19 June)PosName of Greyhound SP Time Trainer1st Pauls Fun4/6f 28.64 (TR)Reynolds2nd Leafy Ash33/1 Syder Jnr.3rdArdskeagh Ville 5/1 Barker4thBarrowside9/2 Harvey5thRushton Spot 6/1 Johnson6thSomething Odd 100/6 Geggus Second Semi Final (19 June)PosName of Greyhound SP Time Trainer1st Ashcott Boy100/7 29.21 Reynolds2ndTitle Role 4/11f Harvey3rdClever Count 100/6 Harvey4thPancho Villa 10/1 Harvey5th Tolerton Ash 8/1 Perry6th Ahsha100/6 Private Competition Report Pauls Fun was bought by Mr Thomas Watford for £1,750 and put with Wembley trainer Leslie Reynolds in 1953 after he recorded the fastest ever time at Dunmore Park for a puppy. He was immediately installed as one of the favourites for the 1954 Derby and following a winters rest he opened up at 7-4f which was the shortest price ever recorded Derby ante-post price to date. During the first round heats a deluge of rain made the track very heavy and the best time recorded that night was 29.37 by Pauls Fun; next best was 29.67 by Title Role, thirty spots slower.Dack Barrie Greyhound Derby, the first 60 years page 96/97/98 1990 Ringpress Books 0-948955-36-8 A tough second round draw pitted Barrowside trained by Jack Harvey alongside Pauls Fun; Barrowside a leading hurdler had gained entry into the Derby after winning the last trial stake. The race caused a surprise when Pauls Fun missed the break and Barrowside won comfortably. After the race Leslie Reynolds announced that Pauls Fun has tweaked a muscle and it would be a race against time to be fit for the semi-finals to be held just two days later. Pauls Fun took his place in the semi-finals and won comfortably by six and a half-lengths setting a new track record of 28.64 in the process. Barrowside in the same heat failed to progress finishing in fourth place. Title Role at odds of 4-11 could only manage third after a crowded second semi-final race won by Ashcroft Boy. Wembley once again accounted for five of the six finalists with just one hound from Catford, Ardskeagh Ville, the Gold Collar champion. The final proved to be a formality for Pauls Fun because a gap opened on the run up after Ashcott Boy drifted wide and he took advantage of it running out an easy victor. Ashcott Boy fell at the first bend and trailed in last. Leslie Reynolds had won a record fifth Derby, a feat not emulated until 57 years later. See also 1954 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year References English Greyhound Derby English Greyhound Derby Category:English Greyhound Derby