The 2005 William Hill Greyhound Derby took place in June and July with the final being held on 2 July 2005 at

Wimbledon Stadium Wimbledon Stadium, also known as Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, was a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England. It also hosted stock car and other small circuit motor racing events, and until 2005 hosted motorc ...

. The winner

Westmead Hawk Westmead Hawk (May 2003 – 26 May 2014) was a black male Greyhound. He was a two-time winner of the English Greyhound Derby in 2005 and 2006, and has drawn comparisons with Mick the Miller and horse Red Rum. Westmead Hawk was the father to ...

received the title and £100,000 in prize money.

Final result

At Wimbledon (over 480 metres):

Distances

1¾, 3, ½, ¾, short head (lengths)
The distances between the greyhounds are in finishing order and shown in lengths. One length is equal to 0.08 of one second.

Final Report

The 2005 title was won by

. It was the second year in a row that trainer Nick Savva won. After coming last out of the traps and having found trouble in the race, the winner was at the back of the field for most of the final. However, he ran on strong and took the lead just before the finishing line, providing a great climax to the race.

Quarter finals

Semi finals

Competition report

The leading English hopes were the

Charlie Lister Charles 'Charlie' Richard Lister OBE (born 1940) is a former English greyhound trainer. He is a four times winner of the Greyhound Trainer of the Year and is regarded as one of the leading trainers of all time. He also holds the record for English ...

range including Robbie De Niro, Bell Devotion and

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 ...

champion Ningbo Jack. The Carly Philpott duo of Ballymac Pires and Ballymac Kewell were also considered dangers. Ireland sent over an impressive group led by the Frazer Black's Irish Derby finalists Droopys Marco (also 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) and Droopys Maldini. The Seamus Graham pair Blue Majestic and Mineola Farloe lined up alongside the McKenna team now under control of

Ger McKenna Gerard 'Ger' McKenna was an Irish greyhound trainer regarded as the greatest Irish trainer of all time. He won the Irish Greyhound Derby three times and the English Greyhound Derby twice. From 1956 until 1996 he won 45 major competitions. Earl ...

's son Owen, which included Superb Pass, Irish Derby finalist Geldrops Touch, Agassis Ace and Boherduff Light. The 2004 Greyhound of the Year Fire Height Dan won his first round heat on 2 June but it was found that he had injured a

pisiform bone The pisiform bone ( or ), also spelled pisiforme (from the Latin ''pisifomis'', pea-shaped), is a small knobbly, sesamoid bone that is found in the wrist. It forms the ulnar border of the carpal tunnel. Structure The pisiform is a sesamoid bone, ...

. His connections announced that he would be retired. Droopys Leroy went fastest on the night, winning in 28.59. On the third night of heats Droopys Marco (28.60), Ballymac Pires (28.48) and Droopys Maldini (28.49) all impressed. The second round began on 10 June with surprise eliminations including Agassis Ace, Hee Haws Barney and Ballymac Pires. The following night Westmead Hawk won again in a heat that contained Droopys Maldini, Droopys Marco impressed again going fastest in 28.58. Droopys Leroy was eliminated in the first heat of round three which was won by Count Gelignite. The next heats went to Toms View, Velvet Rebel, Geldrops Touch and Ballymac Niloc before Droopys Marco held on to defeat the strong finishing Westmead Hawk in a sensational heat. Blue Majestic and Lenson Thierry completed the night's winners. Droopys Maldini and Romeo Paddy were high profile casualties. Ningbo Jack won the first quarter final and Blue Majestic and January Tiger won heats 3 and 4 respectively but heat 2 was another meeting between Droopys Marco and Westmead Hawk. However this time Hawk caught Droopys Marco on the run-in to claim a revenge victory. Westmead Hawk became a strong favourite when Droopys Marco failed to progress to the final in the first semi final, he found trouble in a race won by Ningo Jack and finished last. Blue Majestic and Geldrops Touch claimed the other two qualifying places. In the second semi final Westmead Hawk also found trouble but made his way through the field to finish second behind Mineola Farloe with outsider Blonde Mac taking third place.

References

Results

Results and video of the race

External links

British Greyhound Racing Board

Greyhound Data
{{English Greyhound Derby Greyhound Derby English 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 ...