My Wonderful Wife

I am happy to report that my Jane's operation for a new hip joint has been successful.    She bravely accepted the initial discomfort, cooperated with the advice from the nursing staff and was allowed home after five days.   Denise who was my canine nurse for twenty years came from Rugby to assist her until Jill our adopted daughter was able to come from Leicester.  The inflammatory oedema subsided so quickly that she was able to get on her scooter for lunch at the Treasure House after seven more days. !    We shall always be grateful to Mr Johnson the surgeon and his nurses at the Spire hospital, to Doctor Clifton and the nurses and staff at Manor Road Surgery,  the Neighbourhood Care team and our daughter in law, Doctor Nuala.

Our two years in Dublin -- 1949 & '50

Mention of Charlie Lister OBE last week reminded me of when I first met him.  It was 1948 when I was working for a greyhound vet in Liverpool called Wentworth Elam at the tracks there.  I met my brother Ted off the Dublin boat.  He wanted me to drive him to Sherburn in Elmet in Yorkshire for an interview with a famous horse vet called Dick Hayes.  On the way we saw two horse carts with a pair of horses tied to the rear door of each.  Among the four men in charge was a small boy handling the reins of one of the two horses between the shafts.  Curious to know their business I asked "Where were they going to ?".  "Appleby fair" was the answer.  The eldest man asked me where I was going to.  When I told him all about Ted and myself he became friendly and said he was Charlie Lister and the boy was his only son.  Little did I think then that twenty years later I would treat a dog for that little boy. 

A year later Jane and I moved to Dublin and set up in practice in Clondalkin.  We gradually gathered clients but many of them were attracted because they owed money to my colleagues.  We bought a few greyhounds and enjoyed racing them on most of the Irish tracks.  The best we had was a dog bred from two good coursers -- Mountain Emperor and Lenten Lily.  We named him Wheatfield after our house and Atom because of his size.

He weighed only 56 lbs but when we took him for a trial at Chapelizod he showed keen interest in chasing.  Jane was interested in seeing Ireland and we entered him almost everywhere there was a track.  He won at Derry, Dundalk, Enniscorthy, Harolds Cross, Navan, Newbridge, Kilkenny, Shelbourne, Thurles, Waterford and Youghal.  He also won two sprint races at Ballina, Longford and Mullingar.   I remember unique factors about Ballina.  The two wins were a heat and final on the same evening and the manager Jim Heffernan was a vet who had qualified 26 years before me.

 Our luck ran out when we ventured to the tracks in Belfast with longer straights.  He led for a long way at Celtic until he was passed in the last twenty yards.  He again tried hard on the longer straights at Dunmore but was beaten by four bigger dogs.

Jane took our infant son Walter with her wherever we went and enjoyed meeting many friendly racegoers.  We usually had the company of some friend I had known in Dublin. Jim Fallon from Palmerstown became a lifelong friend until he died in '74 at the age of 79.   I have never met any straighter man.   He was born at Moyvoughley where his father was a noted blacksmith.  As a teenager he worked hard  helping to shape the shoes for the horses' hooves.   He learnt to drive a lorry before moving to Dublin to drive for C.I.E.   --We feel fortunate to still  know his wonderful daughters, Catherine in the old home overlooking the lovely Liffey Valley in Palmerstown and Mary the Nun away caring for children in Zambia.  Jim was among the most knowledgeable on the history of greyhounds since the time of Master McGrath.  When he could not come with us his neighbour Luke Carey loved the chance of a run down the country.  Luke talked mostly about football as his brother Johnny was none other than the captain of Manchester United.   Another friend who was eager to accompany us was the Dublin county councillor Mick O'Neill who was DeValera's pal in jail.  There was also Sergeant Peter Lambe who was a driver for the government ministers.  Peter was a keen greyhound follower and was expert at getting the best price when he fancied one.  Whenever we were going north we often met up with Mick Higgins -- Cavan's greatest footballer who was also gifted in handling greyhounds. 

I used to lead the "Atom" on the parade before his races and our passenger usually collected enough from the bookmakers to pay for the petrol and our meals and drinks in the pubs  --  except  when we went to Waterford and Youghal.   When we won at Kilkenny the Racing Manager there was so impressed that he remembered to attend those two tracks when he read that "Atom" was a runner.   As soon as the market opened he took the price on offer.   The bookmakers respecting and fearing his judgement -- then scrubbed out all of the chalk against us !

The strongest betting markets on the Irish tracks were in Belfast.  At the small town of Clones I saw some big bundles of notes being handed up.   One of the bravest layers there was Terry Rogers from Glasnevin.  The big stuffed monkey hanging from his board attracted much interest until someone broke into his car and stole it.  This was reported in the newspapers and some readers thought it was a real monkey and were concerned about its welfare. When Terry offerred a reward of £100 the monkey returned.  I got to know this colourful character when he joined  Bill & Bob Cutler in Birmingham for six or seven years. 

If you backed a favourite with them they would return your stake if it finished second.  In treating a hound for them they were good losers whenever the injury was incurable.  The first dog I treated for Bill was Marsh Harrier in 1953.  He was a lovely dog -- like his Dad Mad Tanist.  The most expensive I got for him was Onword in '68. 1 saw him win a semifinal of the Tipperary Cup in Thurles.  As he looked to have a good chance of winning the final I bought him for Bill for £2,000.   I left him in the kennels of the famous Johnny Fennessy and flew back to Rugby.   When I returned to see the final I asked what sort of form he was in. ?   Johnny took the pipe from his mouth and said "Physicaly he's fine but his mind is all wrong.  You should have left him with the woman he knew.  He has been pining for her.    Dave Cahill had a much smaller dog in the race called Gortkelly Hope.   He was in front at the third bend.  My fellow looked as if he could pass but never did.  I told Bill that I would bring him to my kennels and keep him until he was in the mood to win again.  After ten weeks he was mad to run.  I entered him for an open race at Oxford and told Bill that unless he got injured he would run well.  He won by several lengths and landed a big gamble.  On holiday a few years later Bill went down into a cave where there was a warning for people with heart problems.   I 'm sad to say Bill did not come up.   He was much  missed by a great many racing folk.

Greyhound Derby

This is the week of the English Greyhound Derby final which I first saw in '46 when I was working for a horse vet at Epsom called Frank Chamberlain.  I also saw the Derby that was won by Airborne. The race at White City was won by a greyhound called Monday's News.  I well remember the exciting atmosphere before a crowd of 60,000.  The new exciting sport was highly attractive.  I wished I had attended the final two years later because it attracted 80,000 spectators and Priceless Border from Northern Ireland was the popular winner.  A few years later the sport gradually began to lose it's appeal.  In the absence of statutory control a few officials took advantage of their positions.  Racegoers noticed the odd suspect decision.  Attendances have gradually declined and this year's final is unlikely to attract much more than two thousand.

Before I went to the dogs -- in 1939 there was actually 92,000 at White City to see Highland Rum win.  The very first Derby that I saw was the Irish one at Shelbourne Park in 1940 when I had started at the veterinary college.  The winner was Tanist.  He was trained by Bill Quinn from Killenaule.  He was owned by an Englishman called Arthur Probert.  When he bought him he first sent him to race at Wimbledon.  He had three races there but failed to handle the sharp turns.  Mr Probert sent him back to Ireland for the Irish Derby.  He had no problem with the bends at Shelbourne and won the Derby.  When the winter came Probert gave him a few trials on the coursing field.  He showed stamina in a long course after a strong hare and attracted a nomination in the Irish Cup at Clounanna.  Against bigger and stronger dogs he surprised many experienced coursing enthusiasts in reaching the last four.  When he got a minor injury Probert advertised him at stud at a fee of 20 guineas which was unheard of at the time.  Shrewd breeders who had been impressed by his pace gladly paid the fee.  Two years later many of his progeny clocked fast times on the track and more breeders were willing to use him.  In due course a number of the young Tanist’s won major races.  I remember two -- Mad Tanist and Sandown Champion. 

Tanist  '38 by Inler ex Tranquilla 

The greatest Derby winner in the history of the sport in my book is Spanish Battleship. He only weighed 60-61 lbs.  He won the Irish Derby at Harolds Cross in 1953, at Shelbourne in 1954 and at Harolds Cross in 1955.  He also won the Laurels, the Easter Cup, the Tipperary Cup, the McCalmount Cup and the Corn Tostal.  In 1956 I went to Dagenham to see him in an exhibition Solo run.  When I saw the hare being put around it was a noisy inside rattler.  I said to myself  " The Battleship is too clever to chase this ".  Sure enough, he put his ears up as soon as he came out of the traps.  He went about 50 yards and stopped.  The big crowd were terribly disappointed. 

This year's winner Sidaz Jack was the most inexperienced I have ever known to win it.  He had only one previous race and that was in Ireland.  I saw  him only on television and thought he looked calm and was totally unfazed.  He seemed typical of dogs under the care of the experienced Charlie Lister OBE.  But if he were to miss the start I expected one of the two trained by my countrymen Fraser Black and Liam Dowling to get around that vital first turn in front. 

It's all over now and what surprised me was that the winner was allowed to start at 6/1. I can only conclude that the bookmakers thought he would miss the start.  One of the first things I learnt about Lister was the empathy he had with his dogs.  He and his staff appreciated that their mental stimulation was as important as their physical needs.  I first heard of Charlie in 1967 when the famous Joe Booth came to me with three lame dogs.  He told me that one belonged to a man called Lister who was a good payer.  Joe said he would pay for the others because he was holding prize money he had won.  Charlie first won the Derby in 1997 with 'Some Picture'.  This was one of the best track greyhounds I have ever seen.  His Dad was 'Slaneyside Hare' whom I called the best that ever stood in my kennels.  Charlie won in 2000 and again in 2001 with Ray White's Rapid Ranger.  In 2003 there was a sensation.  Droopy's Hewitt by Top Honcho X Droopy's Cheryl by Slaneyside Hare won easily but was later disqualified for having had a positive test in the first round.  The Derby was awarded to Farloe Verdict -- trained by Charlie.  In 2010 and 2011 Charlie won again with Bandicoot Tipoki and Taylor's Sky.

Another respected client of mine Nick Savva also has a proud record in Derby races with his own dogs.  He won both the English and the Irish one with Tom's the Best in 1998.  In 2005 and again in 2006 he won at Wimbledon with his own mighty Westmead Hawk and in 2007 his heavyweight Westmead Lord won another English Derby.