| 1928 English Greyhound Derby | |
| Location: | White City Stadium |
| Prev: | 1927 |
| Next: | 1929 |
The 1928 Greyhound Derby Final took place on 28 July 1928 at White City Stadium.[1] There was an increase in prize money on the previous year with the Greyhound Racing Association offering substantial sums of £1,500 and a gold cup for the winner, £500 to the runner-up and £200 to third place.[2] The Derby distance increased from 500 to 525 yards and all the qualifying rounds were held at White City. There were 96 entries from around the country.[3]
At White City (over 525 yards):[4]
| width=50 | Position | width=150 | Name of Greyhound | width=250 | Breeding | width=50 | Trap | width=50 | SP | width=80 | Time | width=280 | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Boher Ash | Over the Water - Honey Bee II | 1 | 5-1 | 30.48 | Tommy Johnston Sr. (Powderhall) | |||||||
| 2nd | Fabulous Figure | De Novo - Flash and Flare | 2 | 11-10f | 30.50 | Joe Harmon (White City - London) | |||||||
| 3rd | Musical Box | Jamie - Bracelet | 4 | 5-1 | 30.52 | John 'Jack' Golder (White City - London) | |||||||
| 4th | Bendeemer | Ballyshannon - Ballyvoyle | 3 | 100-8 | 30.68 | John 'Jack' Kennedy (Harringay) | |||||||
| 5th | Moorland Rover | Cheerful Speed - Moorland Falcon | 5 | 4-1 | 30.74 | Godfrey Hyde-Clarke (White City - London) | |||||||
| 6th | Baby Elephant | Jamie - Naughty Ninette | 6 | 20-1 | 30.80 | Joe Harmon (White City - London) |
hd, hd, 2, ¾, ¾ (lengths)
The distances between the greyhounds are in finishing order and shown in lengths. From 1927-1950 one length was equal to 0.06 of one second but race times are shown as 0.08 as per modern day calculations.[5]
Boher Ash, a brindle dog owned by Mrs Molly Stokes won his first round heat by 8 lengths in a time of 30.70 sec at a starting price of 8/11. He continued his winning ways in the second round when winning by 5 lengths in a time of 30.59 at evens favourite.[6]
In the semi-finals, Fabulous Figure inflicted a 3 length defeat on Bendeemer (10-1) in 30.76. Boher Ash scraped through to the final after the Edinburgh dog missed the break. The winner of the second semi-final was Musical Box in a time of 30.80, one length ahead of Moorland Rover. Baby Elephant, a further length back claimed the last spot in the final.[6]
The final was made up of five greyhounds from London and one (Boher Ash) from Scotland. Fabulous Figure was installed as 11/10 favourite; with the trap 5 dog Moorland Rover the second favourite at 4/1. From the traps the favourite was boxed in but Boher Ash was lying handy. Boher Ash took the lead at the half way mark and held on to win by a half-length from the fast finishing favourite. Musical Box was a neck further away in third.[6]
1928 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year