The 1934 Greyhound Derby took place during June with the final being held on 23 June 1934 at

White City Stadium White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car ...

. The winner Davesland received a first prize of £1,050.

Final result

At White City (over 525 yards):

Distances

2, 1, 4, 1, 4 (lengths)
The distances between the greyhounds are in finishing order and shown in lengths. From 1927-1950 one length was equal to 0.06 of one second but race times are shown as 0.08 as per modern day calculations.

Review

The defending champion Wild Woolley returned in an attempt to win a second Derby and Brilliant Bob had come over from Ireland with a reputation after being purchased by A.J Dearman from Billy Quinn for £2,000. Brilliant Bob had won the 1933

Irish St Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...

and 1934

Easter Cup The Easter Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 3 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race, over a distance of 2000 metres, held at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. Total prize money for the race is A$200,000. The race is traditionally ...

and his new trainer

Sidney Orton Sidney John Orton (1890–1978) was an English greyhound trainer. He was the trainer of Mick the Miller and a UK leading trainer during the 1930s. Profile Sidney was born in Aylsham, Norfolk and helped his parents run the family farm in Stonega ...

immediately entered him for the

Laurels ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, Glossary of botanical terms#glabrous, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as ...

which he won. A change to the Derby format saw three qualify from each heat with just five runners in each. Brilliant Bob got the Derby underway by winning the very first heat. Heat seven was the strongest and wide running

Gold Collar The Gold Collar is a greyhound racing competition held annually. It was inaugurated in 1933 at Catford Stadium. Following the closure of Catford in 2003 the competition switched to Belle Vue Stadium but only lasted until 2009 when it was discont ...

champion Davesland had drawn trap one but he still gained a victory, inflicting a defeat on

Trafalgar Cup The Trafalgar Cup is a greyhound competition held at Monmore Green Stadium for puppies under the age of two. It is the oldest puppy competition in the racing calendar. It was contested at Wembley Stadium from 1929 until 1998, but when the Wembley ...

winner Grey Raca, who had been aiming for a twelfth successive win. Other significant heat winners included Beef Cutlet, Wild Woolley and 1933 finalist Lutwyche. The first semi-final was an open race in which Grey Raca eased to a ten length win in 29.69, the fastest time of the competition to date; there had been trouble behind Grey Raca when Brilliant Bob and 11-4 favourite Roving Cutlet collided twice. Brilliant Bob gained second place and the privately trained Denham Peter ran on for the third qualifying place. In a competitive second semi-final the lead changed several times before Davesland claimed victory from Wild Woolley and Kumm On Steve. Beef Cutlet failed to progress as did Lutwyche who finished lame. The Derby final was now the most important night of the greyhound racing calendar, the evening dress restaurant was fully booked months in advance. Grey Raca went into the final as 6-4 favourite and a third appearance for Wild Woolley cemented his legacy. Davesland owned by Frederick Brookes and trained by Jack Harvey was fast away and maintained a lead all the way in a fast time of 29.81. Kumm on Steve and Wild Woolley were bumped at the first and lost their chances. The favourite Grey Raca, was always second and could not challenge, Wild Woolley performed admirably and finished a creditable despite that he drew trap six again, a big handicap taking into account that he was a railer.

References

{{English Greyhound Derby Greyhound Derby

English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon ...

English Greyhound Derby

Final result

Distances

Review

See also

References