Ballyhennessy Seal was a famous racing greyhound during the latter part of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and shortly afterwards. He is regarded as being one of the leading racing greyhounds in history and won the sports ultimate prize, the

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 ...

Profile

1942

Ballyhennessy Seal was whelped in April 1942, by Lone Seal out of Canadian Glory. He was bred and reared in Tralee, by L C O'Connell.

1943

His first trial and race was in June, at Tralee Greyhound Stadium. After he won a sweepstake, he was sold to England for £50 and raced at

Catford Stadium Catford Stadium was a historic greyhound racing stadium in Catford, a suburb of London. Origins Charles Benstead and Frank Sutton founded the stadium on Southern Railway land between two commuter lines in 1932. The entrance was on Adenmore Ro ...

for his new owners, Mrs F Stow and Mr E A Vivian. Within two weeks of his arrival he won the 18th Rochester Stakes, his first competition and races in England. He soon earned the nickname 'The Seal' and won his 1943 Puppy Derby heat at Wimbledon Stadium, by 14 lengths, in a time of 28.88 seconds. In the final he lost by a short head to Allardstown Playboy. Con Stevens (the Wimbledon Racing Manager) introduced a new invitation race for puppy champions and the invitation went out to Allardstown Playboy; Dark Tiger, the

Trafalgar Cup The Trafalgar Cup is a greyhound competition held at Monmore Green Stadium for puppies under the age of two. It is the oldest puppy competition in the racing calendar. It was contested at Wembley Stadium from 1929 until 1998, but when the Wembley ...

winner; Erlegh Hero, winner of the British Produce Stakes, Model Dasher, the Midland Puppy Derby winner, and Fawn Cherry, winner of the Irish Puppy Derby. Model Dasher was subsequently withdrawn injured, which allowed Ballyhennessy Seal a place in the race. 'The Seal' was fast out the traps and led all the way to win by one and a half lengths in 28.99 seconds.

1944

In the early part of 1944 he was moved from his training base at Catford, to be trained by Stan Martin at Wimbledon. He set a new track record at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

in the May Stakes, when recording a world record time of 27.64 seconds for the 500 yards course. Following this was an appearance in the Circuit at Walthamstow Stadium and another two new track records were set, in the semi-finals (28.62) and final (28.59). In addition to the Circuit he won the Wembley Summer Cup, the Stewards Cup and the International and reached the final of the

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

1945

In 1945 'The Seal' won the Wembley Spring Cup and then sealed his most prominent competition victory to date, when winning the

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

Gold Collar The Gold Collar is a greyhound racing competition held annually. It was inaugurated in 1933 at Catford Stadium. Following the closure of Catford in 2003 the competition switched to Belle Vue Stadium but only lasted until 2009 when it was discont ...

at Catford in impressive style winning his heat and semi final by eight lengths. Ballyhennessy Seal was then aimed at the sports ultimate prize, the 1945 English Greyhound Derby and the competition started at

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...

on 16 June. The Seal went to the traps in heat two priced 4-5f but he missed the break and could not catch Magic Bohemian losing by 2½ lengths. Despite the defeat, Ballyhennessy Seal completed a routine victory in the first semi final winning by three lengths at odds of 4-5f. In the final Ballyhennessy Seal led all the way with Rhynn Castle staying prominent throughout, Duffys Arrival and Celtic Chief impeded each other with Magic Bohemian finishing well to take third. After a short break Ballyhennessy Seal returned to action in the Laurels and progressed through the competition with ease but was then reported to be suffering from rheumatism in his hind legs. He was subsequently withdrawn because he did not respond to treatment and was then retired to stud. In 1946 he demanded £100 for a mating fee at the Burhill Kennels.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Racing greyhounds 1942 animal births