RAY WHITE wears the Derby trophy after RAPID RANGER’s victory. PIC STEVE NASH

2000 Derby winner RAPID RANGER – STEVE NASH PIC

GREYHOUND STAR DERBY REPORT 2000

The traps opened, Rapid Ranger popped out in front and within yards, the Ray White owned Charlie Lister trained brindle had added his own chapter in the history of the English Derby.

But behind the success there is a fascinating story of  dog bred by Martin Broughan in Kildare in January ‘98.
At three months old he was sold with two sisters and a brother to Wigan based Mike Pomfret and Kath – the four cost a combined £1,000.
The Pomfret’s have little more than a back garden but their property is surrounded by open fields where the pups were galloped every day.
And every fortnight they were galloped on the beach at Southport – and beyond.
Kath recalls: “Ranger just loved the sea we couldn’t keep him out of it.”
She also remembers Ranger as a very dominent dog who would bully the others and had to be fed on his own.
Feed time consisted of “the best mince I could buy, Wafcol, cod liver oil and plenty of Calci-D” recalls Kath.
Interesting-ly, Ranger’s anti-social streak later extended to his travelling.
Whenever he goes open racing he can’t be kept with other dogs.
But he is quite happy in a Portamag box where according to Charlie he sleeps right up to kenneling time.
Yet ironically, the dog who didn’t like dogs was quite happy with the cat.
Kath Pomfret said: “He lived in the house a lot of the time and would sleep on the same settee as the cat.”
From the time he was six months old Ranger was taken to Westhoughton to watch trials though he was actually schooled on Ray Wilkes’ track in Kidderminster.
“He was an absolute natural” recalls Kath, “Ray said he was the fastest he’d seen in a long time.”
Things didn’t go so well for his littermates. His brother damaged both stifles as a pup though it wasn’t until he was racing that he broke down and had to be put to sleep.
One of the sisters suffered with tendon injuries and never raced. The other did, but was inclined to throw her head up once she’d led.
Meanwhile Ranger headed off to Stainforth where he clocked 17.19, 28.63 and 28.80 in his three qualifiers.
He mad his debut on May 1 1999 in a B6 and finished second.
He won next time out by ten lengths in 28.47 (-10), was beaten again and then won in 28.09 (+20).
He began open racing and as a tonic to other breeders it worth noting that he was beaten in his next six outings.
Fast but erratic, he finally broke his open race duck at Nottingham just before the Coldseal Puppy Classic.
He won a heat in a smart 30.52 but ran last in the final behind Kit Kat Kid – trained by you know who.
He tackled the Manchester Puppy Cup and won the fastest heat in 27.96 but was beaten in the final.
He ran his last race for the Pomfrets at Sheffield winning a 500m open in 29.44. He was snapped up by Ray White in a deal brokered by Charlie Lister for a reputed £17,000.
And that looked a bargain when  Ranger blitzed around Belle Vue in a 27.48 trial.
He then won four consecutive opens, two at Belle Vue (27.61, 27.67) and two at Sheffield (29.51, 29.87).
The latter was the final of the Dransfield Lotteries Puppy Cup.
Significantly perhaps, the lightly schooled British reared pup had caught up with some of his more experienced peers and the last two wins were both over Kit Kat Kid.
Ranger trialled at Walthamstow prior to the Racing Post Festival but he was beaten in the heats by an unknown called Rio Riccardo.
And in the final he made a right pig’s ear of it finishing a distant second to Larkhill Bobby.
In January he ran second in the Racing Post ‘Juvenile’ to the considerably more experienced Knockanroe Rover.
Then the wheels came off. Beaten in the Guineas heats at Swindon and ran totally flat to finish last in the final.
Clearly something was amiss – and it was discovered to be a severe throat and tonsil infection.
In the following weeks Ranger’s whole personality changed –  a reflection on just how much the illness had dragged him down.
He recorded 18.13 in a Notting-ham sprint and following a breathtaking 26.42 trial at Milton Keynes, Ray White lumped on at 25-1 to win the Derby.
(With other bets he actually won “into six figures”).
The comeback didn’t go entirely to plan. He was beaten in a £500 final at Brough Park after a 28.75 heat win.
In the Scottish Derby there was one heat win in 28.95 (the fastest time fpor two years). The three narrow defeats – total less than four lengths – included the final where he finished third “crwd RU & 1”.
And so the English Derby –  the fastest time of the year and a dream fulfilled for stockbroker Ray White and his extensive family.
For Charlie Lister, featured last month, a second Derby in four years.
So were there any regrets for Mike and Kath Pomfret?
“None at all” says Kath who listened to the race on Rapid Raceline by the side of the road on their return from racing.
“Ray White paid good money for Ranger and we are delighted that he won. It was such a thrill, we’ve followed him since the start.
“It was the first time we had bought pups to rear like this and we’ve enjoy-ed that even more than the racing.”WILLIAM HILL GREYHOUND DERBY  
Wimbledon 480m £50,000 June 3
1. RAPID RANGER (Come On Ranger-Rapid Vienna) (T2) 7-4f
2. RACKETHALL JET (Mountleader Peer-Tracys Lady (T3) 7-1
3. GREENFIELD DEAL (Spiral Nikita-Dainty Model) (T4) 14-1
4. DEERFIELD SUNSET (Vintage Prince-Sunset Blonde) (T1) 2-1
5. SMOKING BULLET (Joyful Tidings-Aggies Vixen) (T5) 8-1
6. FARLOE CLUB (April Trio-Farloe Dancer) (T6) 3-1
28.71 (N) 31⁄2, 2, nk, 63⁄4, 21⁄4 (Charlie Lister)

1937 June 20 Edwin Baxter’s Entry Badge (Jamie-Beaded Nora, Jun 24), winner of the first ever English Derby in 1927, has died at a ripe old age of 13.

1999 Owen McKenna announces that he is to apply for his trainers licence. He has been working as a kennel hand for Linda Jones for two years.

1972 June 6, Baton, Grand Prix winning 1970 and runner-up in 1971, runs his last race at Walthamstow. He won 42 from 140 races and more than £3,000 in prizemoney.

1994 Canterbury promoter Wally Mawdsley is in front of the NGRC stewards for allowing trainers to withdraw dogs from a meeting in February. Mawdsley, his racing manager and trainers representative believed that the racing surface was safe despite the onset of frost. However, the vet reported that a string of runners were coming off with damaged nails. Faced with complaints from trainers, local stewards then gave the option for trainers to withdraw runners and 10 were duly scratched. The stewards decided that the management were wrong in their actions. The Canterbury should have decided that the track was either safe to race, or not. They should not have left the matter to the trainer’s discretion. The stadium executive was fined £500.

2001 Bookmaker Phil Hardy is sacked by both Nottingham and Sheffield following an alleged ‘knock out’ in the price of Sheffield BAGS runner Donegal Niamh from 6-1 to 10-1.

1940 June 13, At Southampton’s afternoon meeting, the back of the programme says: “On the sounding of an Alert, greyhound racing will continue. An official spotter is employed who will give a warning of the approach of hostile aircraft, when an announcement will be made through the loud speakers, in such an event all betting will cease immediately, and if the greyhounds are on parade, they will return to the paddock. When the spotter notifies the danger is passed the meeting will continue.”

1996 Colin Dolby’s Forest Flash is disqualified in its Catford qualifying trials. When his papers finally come through from Wembley, the racing office discover that the dog had previously been disqualified – but not cleared – at Wembley. A stewards enquiry follows.

1992 Dempsey Duke is retired to stud after rupturing a gracilis muscle in the Derby second round. Owned by Paul Harris (son of Chopper) and trained by Terry Kibble, Duke won the Romford Puppy Cup, East Anglian Derby, Reading Masters and Blue Riband. He also broke two track records (Wembley 490m, Yarmouth 462m). His most notable son was the great Staplers Jo.