Samuel Risk Milligan known as Paddy (1916-2001), was an Irish born

greyhound trainer A greyhound trainer is a person who trains greyhounds for racing. This involves exercising, feeding, and grooming them in addition to keeping the greyhound in race condition to enable the greyhound to race to the best of its ability. History Befo ...

. He was twice United Kingdom Trainer of the Year.

Profile

Based from Beaverwood Kennels, Perry Street in

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

he produced a string of major competition winners. He maintained the status of a private trainer from 1966 until 1983 before joining

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 ...

as an attached trainer.

Success

He came to prominence in 1966 when a greyhound called Dusty Trail finished runner-up in the 1966 English Greyhound Derby. The greyhound went on to become the Greyhound of the Year after winning 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 ...

, finishing runner-up in the

Welsh Greyhound Derby The Welsh Greyhound Derby was a former classic greyhound competition held in Wales. It was held at the White City Stadium in Cardiff from 1928 to 1937. After the closure of this stadium the race switched to the Cardiff Arms Park from 1945 until 1 ...

and winning both the International and

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 ...

. In 1968 he trained

Yellow Printer Yellow Printer was a famous racing greyhound during the late 1960s. He is regarded as being the one of the fastest racing greyhounds in history and won Ireland's ultimate prize, the Irish Greyhound Derby, in addition to being voted the 1968 UK G ...

and steered Shanes Rocket to success in the

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 ...

. Two more Derby finalists arrived during the 1970 English Greyhound Derby when Hymus Silver finished fourth and the 1972 English Greyhound Derby when Scintillas Gem also finished fourth, behind the great

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 ...

. He then reached two more Derby finals in 1974 and 1975 with Handy High and Foreign Exchange respectively before winning the 1975 Welsh Derby with Baffling Bart and the 1979 Gold Collar with Gayflash. In addition he also won three Puppy Derbys, three

Wembley Spring Cup The Wembley Spring Cup was a greyhound racing competition held annually at Wembley Stadium. It was inaugurated in 1930, one of the earliest competitions. The race changed its name to the Blue Riband in 1981. Following the end of the Wembley Greyh ...

s, two Select Stakes, two Wood Lane Stakes, two Edinburgh Cups, the

All England Cup The All England Cup is a greyhound racing competition held annually. It was inaugurated in 1938 at Brough Park later known as Newcastle. History was made during the 1946 running when four of the entries were the four nations Derby winners. The E ...

, Ebor Stakes,

Essex Vase The Essex Vase is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Romford Greyhound Stadium. It was inaugurated in 1939 and ran until 1949. It was decided to bring the race back in 1959. The 2017 version of the event was delayed and held in March ...

Greenwich Cup The Greenwich Cup was a greyhound racing competition held annually from 1946 until 2003. It was inaugurated in 1946 at New Cross Stadium but following the closure of New Cross in 1969 it switched to Charlton Stadium. It only survived two years at ...

Golden Jacket The Golden Jacket is a greyhound racing competition held at Crayford Stadium. It was inaugurated in 1975 at Harringay Stadium but following the closure of the track switched to Hall Green Stadium and then Monmore Green Stadium before finding a h ...

, Select Stakes, Longcross Cup,

Steel City Cup The Steel City Cup is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Owlerton Stadium in Sheffield. It was inaugurated in 1970. Past winners Venues & Distances *1970-present (Sheffield 500m) Sponsors *1994–2009 ( William Hill) *2010–2 ...

Sussex Cup The Sussex Cup is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Brighton & Hove Greyhound Stadium. It was inaugurated in 1972 and is a category 1 event on the annual racing calendar. Venues & Distances *1972–present (Hove 515m) Sponsors * ...

Coronation Stakes The Coronation Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlong and 213 yards (1,603 metres), and it is schedul ...

and a

Scurry Gold Cup The Scurry Gold Cup is an original classic greyhound competition currently run at Perry Barr Stadium. It was run at Clapton Stadium from 1928 until its closure in 1973. The event moved to Slough Stadium in 1974 which consequently closed in 198 ...

. He relinquished his licence during 1996 and his racing kennels in

were taken over by

Seamus Cahill Seamus Augustine Cahill is an Irish born greyhound trainer. He is a British champion trainer and winner of the English Greyhound Derby. Career Seamus Cahill is from Mullinhoe, County Waterford and joined Catford Stadium in 1994 working for Pad ...

. Towards the end of his career he sat on the BGRB board. In 1999 the Beaverwood Kennels were demolished making way for a health and fitness centre.

Awards

He received the ultimate accolade by twice winning the United Kingdom Trainer of the Year in 1966 and 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milligan, Paddy 1916 births 2001 deaths British greyhound racing trainers Irish greyhound racing trainers