The 1949 Greyhound Derby took place during June with the final being held on 25 June 1949 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 ...

. The winner Narrogar Ann received a first prize of £1,500.

Final result

At White City (over 525 yards):

Distances

1¼, 2½, 1½, neck, 10 (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

Antepost favourites were Local Interprize 6-1 and Village Major 8-1. The new sensation from Ireland

Ballymac Ball Ballymac Ball was a famous racing greyhound during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Breeding and rearing Ballymac Ball was whelped during September 1949 and bred by Reidy. Racing 1948 Ballymac Ball impressed in his first races in Ireland and re ...

was the

Greyhound Racing Association The Greyhound Racing Association was a UK-based private company founded in 1925 and existed until 2019. It was involved in the management of sports venues, notably greyhound racing stadia. The GRA was responsible for introducing Greyhound racing ...

's and White City's big hope for victory. During the first round the 1948 English Greyhound Derby runner-up Local Interprize ran poorly and only finished in second place to Derrys Game. A British bred bitch called Narrogar Ann won easily by four lengths, Narrogar Ann had won the

British Bred Produce Stakes The British Bred Produce Stakes is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Swindon Stadium. History It was inaugurated in 1946 at Eastville Stadium in Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in Engl ...

in 1948 when trained by Joe Farrand at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

before switching to Derby winning trainer

Leslie Reynolds Leslie Reynolds (1906–1961) was a leading English greyhound trainer. He was a five times winner of the English Greyhound Derby which constituted a record until beaten by Charlie Lister in 2011. Early life Reynolds was born during 1906 in Oare ...

. Ballymac Ball was a shock elimination and then aimed at the Laurels. Saft Alex, the Puppy Derby and Midland Puppy Derby champion was the only race favourite to win during the second round. The heavily backed Whiterock Abbey lost out by one length to Narrogar Ann and Local Interprize struggled again going through by virtue of a third and final qualifying place in his heat. The first semi-final contained the 7-4 favourite, West End Dasher, and he went out after first bend trouble which allowed Glencloy Regent to win the race from Local Interprize and Dangerous Prince. Sailing at Dawn justified favouritism in the second semi-final winning from Narrogar Ann and Saft Alex. The final was wide open in regard to starting prices and the longest price available was the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

runner up Dangerous Prince at 100-7. The famous Derby final roar took place and from the start Dangerous Prince took a one length lead at the sectional placing, the lead increased as Saft Alex and Glencloy Regent were bumped at the first bend. Along the back straight Narrogar Ann began to make a move and took up second place from Sailing at Dawn. As the field came around the last bend Narrogar Ann edged in front and went on to win. She was only the second bitch in Derby history to take the title and the first to come from well behind the field in a final since the 1935 English Greyhound Derby (coincidentally the year that Greta Ranee became the first bitch to win). This was also a second success in three years for the British breeders. The winning owner and breeder, Mr William J Reid and trainer Leslie Reynolds (now a two time Derby winning trainer) were fortunate that Narrogar Ann came into season two days after the final because if it had been earlier she would not have been able to have competed.

References

{{English Greyhound Derby Greyhound Derby

English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon Stadium in 1985, and then Towcester Gre ...

English Greyhound Derby

Final result

Distances

Review

See also

References