The 1973 Spillers Greyhound Derby took place in June, with the final being held on 23 June 1973 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 winning greyhood was

Patricias Hope Patricias Hope was a famous racing greyhound from the 1970s. He is just one of four greyhounds along with Mick the Miller, Rapid Ranger and Westmead Hawk to win the English Greyhound Derby twice. 1972 Patricias Hope won the 1972 English Greyh ...

and the winning owners Gordon Marks, B Marks and John O'Connor received £12,500. The competition was sponsored by the

Spillers Spillers Ltd was a British company that owned flour milling operations, operated bakeries and also sold pet food and equine feeds. History The business originated in 1829 from the establishment of a flour mill in Bridgwater, Somerset, by Joel Sp ...

Competition Report

A new sponsor was secured for the Derby in the form of

Foods, famous for the

Winalot Winalot is a popular brand of dog food sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The name was first used in 1927 for dog biscuits by Spillers Ltd; they were initially marketed as a food for racing greyhounds, but soon gained popularity with domestic ...

brand and they would offer record prize money. The total fund was £22,000, with £12,500 going to the winner with the race being broadcast live and in colour by World of Sport. Peoples favourite Patricias Hope returned from stud duties (where he had covered some 36 bitches) in an attempt to become only the second greyhound to successfully defend the title after Mick the Miller. John O'Connor from

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

had taken over Brian Stanley's share of the white and fawn dog and would train him for the duration of the competition. The event attracted 151 entries with the market leaders including Ramdeen Stuart, Irish entry

Westpark Mustard Westpark Mustard was a white and black racing greyhound in the 1970s. By Newdown Heather out of April Merry she broke the British and European record of 19 consecutive victories held by Mick the Miller, when recording a 20th consecutive win on 28 ...

, Oaks champion Miss Ross, Northern based Pit Lamp and Priory Hill,

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 ...

winner Killone Flash,

Pall Mall Stakes The Pall Mall Stakes was a prestigious greyhound racing competition held at Oxford Stadium until it closed in 2012. It was run at Harringay Stadium from 1935 until 1987, before moving to Oxford Stadium in 1988. The race never received the stat ...

champion Forest Noble, Juvenile winner Black Banjo and Edinburgh Cup and Circuit winner Say Little. There were 26 qualifying trials to reduce the entries to just 48 starters. In the qualifying rounds Dunmore Spring Cup winner Suburban Gent recorded the fastest time of 28.80 but suffered an injury in the first round and would take no further part. Of the market leaders Patricias Hope went fastest in the first round heats with only Ramdeen Stuart, Black Banjo and Say Little surviving to round two. The second round draw threw up a very strong heat which ended with Say Little holding off Patricias Hope with Ramdeen Stuart going out. The first semi-final was secured by Forest Noble from Softly and Say Little in a very competitive race. The second semi saw Breakaway Town take a short head victory from Black Banjo, third place went to Patricias Hope keeping his dream alive. In the final Say Little had been well-backed at 50-1 ante-post in his home village of

Hill Ridware Hill Ridware is a small village in the civil parish of Mavesyn Ridware in the Lichfield District of Staffordshire, England. It is the largest settlement in the parish with a population of 857 at the 2011 Census. Situated across the River Trent from ...

near

Uttoxeter Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town in the East Staffordshire district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. It is situated from Burton upon Trent, from Stafford, from Stoke-on-Trent, from De ...

, was sent off 6-4 favourite. Both Say Little and Patricias Hope started well missing crowding at the first bend. Patricias Hope gained a lead before Softly showed good back straight pace to pass Say Little. The pair remained behind Patricias Hope and Forest Noble began to make a move, but Patricias Hope held on in a thrilling finish to win by a half a length in 28.68sec, four hounds finished within 10 spots of each other. Patricias Hope had emulated Mick the Miller's achievement of 1930 becoming only the second greyhound to win the English Greyhound Derby twice.

Final result

At White City (over 525 yards):

Distances

½, neck, neck, 4¼, Dis (lengths)
The distances between the greyhounds are in finishing order and shown in lengths. One length is equal to 0.08 of one second.

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

Competition Report

Final result

Distances

See also

References