Greyhounds
There is currently 1 person viewing this thread.
Nowadays Scotland can boast only one NGRC track, at Shawfield in Glasgow, but until 1995 it was also served by Powderhall, located in Beaverhall Road in the north of Edinburgh.
The stadium, one of the finest anywhere in terms of amenities and quality of racing, had originally staged athletics and cycling when it opened in 1870 - indeed it was the venue for the famous New Year Sprint right up until its demise.
Greyhounds arrived in 1927, with over 10,000 attending the very first meeting on 3rd August; the easy bends and long straights conducive for producing fast times. The only Scottish-trained greyhound to win the English Derby, Boher Ash, trained by Tommy Johnston to success in 1928 was kennelled at the track.
First modernised in 1970 when new facilities included a 100 seater restaurant, a further £750,000 was invested in 1986/7 to mark the track's 60th anniversary, when a new £400,000 grandstand was unveiled. The track had also installed undersoil heating in 1979 to ensure racing could take place throughout the winter months.
Undoubtedly the major attraction was the Edinburgh Cup, first run in 1933, and one of the top events in the calendar. Won by the great Jesmond Cutlet in 1937, who had also won the Scottish Derby at Carntyne for his Catford based connections, the prize was claimed by another London based runner, the highly regarded Dante in 1946. Indeed, runners trained in London amazingly won the race ten times before 1960 including a brace of wins in 1958/9 for one of the greatest greyhounds ever to race, Pigalle Wonder.
The GRA, owners at the time, transferred the Scottish Derby to Powderhall in 1987, after a change of ownership at previous host Shawfield, but Scotland's only Classic spent just two years in Edinburgh. Other major events staged included the Scottish St Leger and Scottish Grand National, the latter another race dominated by southern based runners; Linda Mullins in particular did especially well at the track.
Ownership changed hands in 1988 when the GRA sold the track to local businessman Norrie Rowan for £1.8m, who almost immediately sold it on himself to Coral for an instant profit at £2.2m! It would later be taken over by Eddie Ramsay in 1992.
In 1991, king of the sprinters Ravage Again, trained by Willie Frew, was beaten at the track when closing in on Ballyregan Bob's world record 32 wins in a row - he had been going for his own 30th consecutive victory.
The stadium survived a £25,000 fire in 1987, but couldn't overcome its owners running into financial difficulties in 1995, and was sold early that year for redevelopment for housing.
The stadium, one of the finest anywhere in terms of amenities and quality of racing, had originally staged athletics and cycling when it opened in 1870 - indeed it was the venue for the famous New Year Sprint right up until its demise.
Greyhounds arrived in 1927, with over 10,000 attending the very first meeting on 3rd August; the easy bends and long straights conducive for producing fast times. The only Scottish-trained greyhound to win the English Derby, Boher Ash, trained by Tommy Johnston to success in 1928 was kennelled at the track.
First modernised in 1970 when new facilities included a 100 seater restaurant, a further £750,000 was invested in 1986/7 to mark the track's 60th anniversary, when a new £400,000 grandstand was unveiled. The track had also installed undersoil heating in 1979 to ensure racing could take place throughout the winter months.
Undoubtedly the major attraction was the Edinburgh Cup, first run in 1933, and one of the top events in the calendar. Won by the great Jesmond Cutlet in 1937, who had also won the Scottish Derby at Carntyne for his Catford based connections, the prize was claimed by another London based runner, the highly regarded Dante in 1946. Indeed, runners trained in London amazingly won the race ten times before 1960 including a brace of wins in 1958/9 for one of the greatest greyhounds ever to race, Pigalle Wonder.
The GRA, owners at the time, transferred the Scottish Derby to Powderhall in 1987, after a change of ownership at previous host Shawfield, but Scotland's only Classic spent just two years in Edinburgh. Other major events staged included the Scottish St Leger and Scottish Grand National, the latter another race dominated by southern based runners; Linda Mullins in particular did especially well at the track.
Ownership changed hands in 1988 when the GRA sold the track to local businessman Norrie Rowan for £1.8m, who almost immediately sold it on himself to Coral for an instant profit at £2.2m! It would later be taken over by Eddie Ramsay in 1992.
In 1991, king of the sprinters Ravage Again, trained by Willie Frew, was beaten at the track when closing in on Ballyregan Bob's world record 32 wins in a row - he had been going for his own 30th consecutive victory.
The stadium survived a £25,000 fire in 1987, but couldn't overcome its owners running into financial difficulties in 1995, and was sold early that year for redevelopment for housing.
sort by:
Show
per page
Replies: 10
|
By:
only went a few times but remember it being packed one edinburgh cup final night
|
|
By:
Where i cut my teeth in the game. Was 4 or 5 wen i started going. Bin some journey sinse. Without a doubt if u were a greyhound punter it was betting paradise. More often than not betting returns of 110% - 112% around half a dozen of the 2 dozen bookmakers betting to ther own opinion. In our younger years u could go round the bookmakers tell them wot u fancied an u could bet early shows. I guess many of the judges on here were born in the wrong place at the wrong time.
 kennel i worked in was a gambling kennel an we landed some spectacular touches. The biggest gamble i ever saw took place in a puppy open at track. I was a tick tack at the time. My arms were litterally falling of after race. The dog was owned by a mr bert hill trained by peter beaumont the dogs name was killouragh chris. He was a great dog. 33/1 to 7/2. U have no idea how much money they took out ring. Sports bags carrier bags u name it it had money in. He came back an won the edinburgh cup and if memory serves a scottish derby. |
|
By:
private you are half right certainly did win 1988 Scottish derby and it was at powderhall
pond hurricane won the Edinburgh cup that year |
|
By:
He may av bin to young that year wedge. I was sure e won it. Memory aint wot it woz i must admit. He was a great dog chris.
|
|
By:
I can still remember the first time I went to Powderhall, I must have been 15, the train from Polmont to Waverley, walked down to the track, about a mile, once at the track you could smell the sweetness of Duncans chocolate factory wafting over the place, and after only going to flapping tracks previous this place just blew me away. at first because of local laws they were only allowed so many meetings a year, so in the winter months they ran only once a week keeping the meetings for local holidays in the summer, the Edinburgh Cup was something special, the top English trainers would bring their best dogs up, it certainly was a prestigious race, my favourite dog to win the cup was a dog called Dusty Trail, fastest dog I had seen at the time, Gaily Noble won in the fog, I don't know how the hare driver managed it, and the most controversial winner was a Geoff De Mulder trained one, beaten odds on in all it.s heats but flew in in the final, only winner i've seen booed off the track. it was a full grass track at first, with straw down in the winter, then sanded bends before all the way sand. when I first went, a bit naive to say the least it was a bookies paradise ,I was there 3 times a week when that started and with the arrival of videos things changed for shrewed punters, it was they who had the edge. oh it was a magical place. cheers.
|
|
By:
The bairn.....excellent post which reminded me of Dusty Trail a brilliant dog who finished 3rd to our local Clapton dog Faithful Hope in the 1966 Derby final.
1st Faithful Hope Solar Prince - Millie Hawthorn 3 8-1 28.52 Paddy Keane (Clapton) 2nd Greenane Flash Prairie Flash - Greenane Item 6 4-1 28.84 Jimmy Quinn (Perry Barr) 3rd Dusty Trail Printer's Present - Dolores Daughter 5 6-1 28.90 Paddy Milligan (Private) 4th I'm Quickest Skips Choice - Gratton Star 1 5-2 29.26 Randy Singleton (White City - London) 5th Maryville Hi Knock Hill Chieftain - Hi Hook 4 13-8f 29.38 Paddy Coughlan (Private) 6th Kilbeg Kuda Knockrour Again - Bermuda's Glory 2 4-1 29.74 John Bassett (Private) |
|
By:
god almighty sparrow, that was some line up for a derby final, must rate as one of the best ever, was Faithful Hope the dog that escaped from it's kennel and ran wild for sometime, some feat if it was. cheers.
|
|
By:
The bairn......I don't think Faithful Hope escaped from his kennel.
The Derby prize money had been boosted to a £7,728 first prize. Prince of Roses trained by Jim Irving was top of the ante-post lists and Sir Thomas Houstoun-Boswell purchased Irish flyer 'Maryville Hi' for the sum of £3,000 from Tony Murphy determined to have a Derby winner.[ In the first round Prince of Roses went out and Maryville Hi only just qualified after finishing third after trouble. McAlevey Gold Cup winner Dillies Pigalle trained by Ronnie Chandler recorded 28.50 sec in a first round victory, just one length outside the track record of his father Pigalle Wonder. Heat four in round two drew no less than five of the big names remaining in the competition together. Maryville Hi ran on to catch Kilbeg Kuda as they filled the top two spaces and Tell Nobody was third meaning Dillies Pigalle was eliminated. Dillies Pigalle went on to win the Derby consolation on final night. Before the semi-finals Maryville Hi switched trainers; Houstoun-Bowswell had always planned for his trainer Paddy Coughlan to take over from Tony Murphy as soon as the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) rules allowed it. Maryville Hi won his semi in 28.63 and Kilbeg Kuda took the second semi in 28.89, a superb feat because Rugby based vet Paddy Sweeney had saved his life after an accident in March. In the final outsider Faithful Hope surprised many when from an awkward trap draw he broke well and stayed in contention with early leader Dusty Trail. Faithful Hope was a strong finisher and finding himself in a prominent position so early meant that he gained the lead by the second bend and ran out an easy winner in a very fast 28.52 sec. Maryville Hi under-performed and finished in fifth place |
|
By:
brilliant again sparrow, could listen to them stories all night, cheers.
|
|
By:
Not my stories of course but thankfully all there online for us.
|