The 1994 Irish Greyhound Derby took place during August and September 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 24 September 1994.
The winner Joyful Tidings won £50,000 and was trained by Donie O'Regan, owned by Michael Carmody and bred by Donal O'Connor. The race was sponsored by the
Kerry Group
Kerry Group plc is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges.
Given the company's origins in the co-operative movement, farmer-suppliers of the company retain a significant int ...
's dog food product 'Respond'.
Final result
At Shelbourne, 24 September
(over 550 yards):
Distances
3½, 2, 1, short head, short head (lengths)
Competition Report
The leading entry for the Irish Derby was the
1994 English Greyhound Derby champion Moral Standards who would attempt to take the trophy back to England for the first time since 1971. Ireland's leading contender was
Champion Stakes
The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlong ...
winner Velvet Rocket. Other notable runners included English Derby finalist Ayr Flyer who was now with Patsy Byrne and the
Scottish Greyhound Derby
The Scottish Greyhound Derby was an original classic greyhound competition held at Shawfield Stadium.
Held at Carntyne Stadium from 1928 to 1968, after the closure of Carntyne the race appeared at Shawfield from 1970 until 1985.
In 1988 the Gre ...
champion Droopys Sandy.
The repechage system was scrapped but four would qualify from the first two rounds resulting in two rounds of racing that would not give a true indication of the probable winner at this stage. Michaels Machine was fastest in qualifying timed at 30.16 and the best first round time went to Joyful Tidings in 30.21, Moral Standards failed to win either round.
[
Velvet Rocket came good in the second round posting 30.31 and Old Maid remained unbeaten, Moral Standards lost yet again. The quarter finals started with heavy rain and Joyful Tidings went fastest again in 30.39 with Old Maid still unbeaten, Droopys Sandy failed to make the semis along with Westmead Merlin.][
Old Maid won her sixth consecutive race in the first semi-final with Ayr Flyer second and Nimble Piper third; Moral Standards form had deserted him finishing fifth and without a win in the competition. The other semi saw Joyful Tidings beat Michaels Machine and Emmett Robert.][
In the final the well drawn Old Maid went off favourite but it was Joyful Tidings that came good cutting off Michaels Machine and Ayr Flyer at the first bend and he eased to victory.][
]
See also
*1994 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1994 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 68th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Roll of honour
Summary
The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) released the annual returns, with totalisator turnover at £ ...
References
{{Irish Greyhound Derby
Greyhound Derby
Irish Greyhound Derby