| 1972 English Greyhound Derby | |
| Size: | 250px |
| Date Start: | 10 June |
| Date End: | 24 June |
| Prize Money: | £10,952 (winner) |
| Location: | White City Stadium |
| Prev: | 1971 |
| Next: | 1973 |
The 1972 Greyhound Derby took place during June with the final being held on 24 June 1972 at White City Stadium.[1] The winner was Patricias Hope and the winning owners Brian Stanley, Gordon Marks and B Marks received £10,952.[2]
Ante-post favourites were Favourite Rory and Juvenile champion Short Interview. Oaks heroine Decimal Queen and the previous year’s third placed greyhound Leap and Run were two other leading contenders.[3]
The first round consisted of nine heats and three fast winners were Super Rory (28.59), Suburban Gent (28.65) and Westmead County (28.76), both ante-post favourites went out. When round two got underway Super Rory aged (only 20 months) recorded 28.36 to win heat two by five lengths from Patricias Hope; Westmead County was eliminated in the same heat. Irish entry Proud Life, Bally Lander from Walthamstow and Lucky Punter trained by Peter Hawkesley took the other heat wins.[3] Proud Life won again to claim the first semi-final from Patricias Hope and Micks Pride; hot favourite First Case trained by Tom Johnston Jr could only finish fifth. In the second semi-final Super Rory became the fastest greyhound in the world by setting a time 28.26 sec when winning and bettering his father's (Yellow Printer) time.[3]
An anonymous offer of £12,000 was followed by a £14,000 by Freddie Warrell for Super Rory but both were turned down and he was sent to traps as the 4-9 favourite for the final. Super Rory failed to trap well after being unsettled by the Derby roar* but Patricias Hope did trap well and went on to record a comfortable victory.[3]
Note
Derby roar* (the noise made by the crowd when the electric hare is set in motion)
At White City (over 525 yards):[4]
| width=50 | Position | width=180 | Name of Greyhound | width=280 | Breeding | width=50 | Trap | width=50 | SP | width=80 | Time | width=250 | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Silver Hope - Patsicia | 5 | 7-1 | 28.55 | Adam Jackson (Clapton) | ||||||||
| 2nd | Bally Lander | Powerstown Proper - Peg the Gag | 4 | 16-1 | 28.81 | ||||||||
| 3rd | Micks Pride | Carry On Oregon - Frank Refusal | 6 | 25-1 | 28.83 | Bob Burls (Wembley) | |||||||
| 4th | Scintillas Gem | Spectre II - Scintillas Second | 1 | 7-1 | 28.93 | Paddy Milligan (Private) | |||||||
| 5th | Super Rory | Yellow Printer - Laharn Beauty | 3 | 4-9f | 29.01 | Noreen Collin (White City - London) | |||||||
| 6th | Proud Life | Always Proud - Rich Life | 2 | 8-1 | 29.29 | Max Davis (Ireland) |
3¼, head, 1¼, 1, 3½ (lengths)
The distances between the greyhounds are in finishing order and shown in lengths. One length is equal to 0.08 of one second.[5]
| Heat 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Name | width=40 | SP | width=40 | Time |
| 1st | Proud Life | 8-1 | 28.81 | ||||
| 2nd | First Case | 4-5f | 28.84 | ||||
| 3rd | Abbey Chestnut | 5-1 | 28.98 | ||||
| 4th | Deneholme Chief | 4-1 | 29.22 | ||||
| 5th | Linmaree | 10-1 | 29.46 | ||||
| 6th | Itsaladdie | 14-1 | 29.58 | ||||
| Heat 2 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Name | width=40 | SP | width=40 | Time |
| 1st | Super Rory | 7-4 | 28.36 | ||||
| 2nd | Scintillas Gem | 8-1 | 28.76 | ||||
| 3rd | Patricias Hope | 9-2 | 28.82 | ||||
| 4th | Westmead County | 6-4f | 29.14 | ||||
| 5th | Kybo Venture | 20-1 | 29.18 | ||||
| 6th | Camira Story | 20-1 | 29.20 | ||||
| Heat 3 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Name | width=40 | SP | width=40 | Time |
| 1st | Bally Lander | 10-1 | 28.82 | ||||
| 2nd | Suburban Gent | 4-9f | 28.96 | ||||
| 3rd | Hover Bee | 20-1 | 29.10 | ||||
| 4th | Pepper Joe | 16-1 | 29.16 | ||||
| 5th | Tall King | 10-1 | 29.46 | ||||
| 6th | Peters Black | 5-1 | 30.02 | ||||
| Heat 4 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=20 | Pos | width=150 | Name | width=40 | SP | width=40 | Time |
| 1st | Lucky Punter | 4-6f | 28.67 | ||||
| 2nd | Black Andrew | 11-4 | 28.82 | ||||
| 3rd | Micks Pride | 33-1 | 28.86 | ||||
| 4th | Itsachampion | 4-1 | 28.94 | ||||
| 5th | Toms Pal | 16-1 | 29.02 | ||||
| 6th | Mullas Shore | 10-1 | 29.14 | ||||
| First Semi Final (Jun 17) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=30 | Pos | width=180 | Name of Greyhound | width=50 | SP | width=50 | Time | width=100 | Trainer |
| 1st | Proud Life | 9-2 | 28.83 | Davis | |||||
| 2nd | Patricias Hope | 4-1 | 28.84 | Jackson | |||||
| 3rd | Micks Pride | 20-1 | 28.86 | Burls | |||||
| 4th | Black Andrew | 3-1 | 28.94 | Singleton | |||||
| 5th | First Case | 5-4f | 29.02 | Johnston | |||||
| 6th | Hover Bee | 40-1 | 29.18 | West | |||||
| Second Semi Final (Jun 17) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=30 | Pos | width=180 | Name of Greyhound | width=50 | SP | width=50 | Time | width=100 | Trainer |
| 1st | Super Rory | 8-13f | 28.26+ | Collin | |||||
| 2nd | Bally Lander | 20-1 | 28.78 | Reilly | |||||
| 3rd | Scintillas Gem | 12-1 | 28.86 | Milligan | |||||
| 4th | Abbey Chestnut | 33-1 | 28.90 | Pickering | |||||
| 5th | Suburban Gent | 7-2 | 28.94 | Horan | |||||
| 6th | Lucky Punter | 5-1 | 29.28 | Hawkesley | |||||