| 1952 Irish Greyhound Derby | |
| Date End: | 9 August |
| Prize Money: | £1,000 (winner) |
| Venue: | Shelbourne Park |
| Location: | Dublin |
| Prev: | 1951 |
| Next: | 1953 |
The 1952 Irish Greyhound Derby took place during July and August with the final being held at Shelbourne Park in Dublin on 9 August 1952.[1]
The winner Rough Waters was trained by Henry Lalor, owned Jimmy Lalor and bred by John Byrne. He was bought for 170 guineas by leading Irish bookmaker Jimmy Lalor for his wife Patricia at the Shelbourne Park sales in April 1951. Rough Waters had spent 1951 'flapping' (racing on the independent tracks) in Scotland before being aimed at the Irish Derby.[2]
At Shelbourne, 9 August (over 525 yards):
| width=50 | Position | width=200 | Name of Greyhound | width=300 | Breeding | width=50 | Trap | width=50 | SP | width=80 | Time | width=250 | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rough Waters | D X Rice - Just Push | 2 | 5-2 | 29.95 | Henry Lalor | |||||||
| 2nd | Dismal | Shaggy Lad - Take Murex | 29.98 | Tom Lynch | |||||||||
| 3rd | Kilcurry Ranger | unknown | 2-1f | 30.06 | Jack McAllister | ||||||||
| unplaced | Titterington | unknown | 1 | 3-1 | |||||||||
| unplaced | Call Dan | unknown | |||||||||||
| unplaced | Odile's Latch | Glenview Shaggy – Odilles Fancy | 10-1 |
neck, 1 (lengths)
After winning two successive heats Rough Waters won the first semi-final from Titterington by one length in a time of 29.96. In the second semi-final Kilcurry Ranger defeated Call Dan by four lengths before Dismal beat Odile's Latch by four lengths in 30.07 to complete the semi-finals[3]
On 9 August it rained all day and before the final got underway there was a major gamble on Titterington from 8–1 to 3–1. As the traps opened Rough Waters was first out from trap 2 but was challenged by Call Dan around the second bend before drawing clear. Call Dan faded as Dismal and Kilcurry Ranger ran on to finish second and third respectively.[4]
1952 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year