The 1956 Irish Greyhound Derby took place during July and August with the final being held at
Shelbourne Park
Shelbourne Park is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin inner city suburb of Ringsend.
Greyhound Racing
Opening
The plans to open a greyhound track in Dublin were drawn up by Paddy O’Donoghue, Jerry Collins, Patsy McAlinden and Jim ...
in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
on 11 August 1956.
The winner Keep Moving won £500 and was trained by Malachy McKenna and owned by Mrs McBride.
Final result
At Shelbourne, 11 August (over 525 yards):
Distances
2½, 3, 6 (lengths)
Competition Report
The 1956 Derby resulted in an exciting competition despite the fact that
Spanish Battleship
Spanish Battleship (August 1951 - July 1962) was a male fawn and brindle greyhound. He is celebrated as one of Ireland's greatest racing greyhounds.
Early life
Spanish Battleship was whelped in August 1951 as part of a litter of seven. His owne ...
was now retired. A greyhound called Keep Moving broke the track record at Shelbourne, recording 29.49 before the event got underway. He had been bought for 700 guineas by Mrs McBride at the Shelbourne sales.
On 21 July Keep Moving bettered his own record by recording 29.40 in the first round. Then in heat three of the first round, a brindle dog called Prince of Bermuda was fast away and gained an easy victory; when the time was announced as 28.98 the Irish greyhound world was left stunned. The 29 second barrier had been broken for the first time.
Both of the greyhounds won their second round heats with Prince of Bermuda posting 29.20. In the semi-finals the pair met in the same heat with Prince of Bermuda defeating his main rival by three lengths in 29.35. The second semi-final ended with a win for Baytown Dell; The Glider and Easter Orals claimed the remaining qualification berths.
[
In an eagerly awaited final Keep Moving broke first with Prince of Bermuda attempting but failing to pass at the first bend. Keep Moving ran a superb race in 29.10 to hold off Prince of Bermuda for victory by two and a half lengths.][
]
See also
1956 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
References
{{Irish Greyhound Derby
Greyhound Derby
Irish Greyhound Derby
The Irish Greyhound Derby held at Shelbourne Park, is the premier greyhound racing competition in Ireland.
First held at Harold's Cross in 1928, the event was unofficial until 1932 and called the National Derby. The first winner in 1928 was T ...