2002 Staplers Jo (pictured) dies following a short battle with illness. Bred by Buckingham based Gerry Beckett, owned by Betty Whelan and trained by Nick Savva, the son of Dempsey Duke won the Midland Puppy Derby, the Gymcrack, the Produce Stakes, the Guineas and the UK leg of the Anglo-Irish. At stud, Jo was acknowledged as one of the outstanding sires of early pace – and as a great sire of bitches. He actually threw four consecutive winners of the Irish Oaks.
1973 October 6 Liverpool White City hold their last meeting. More than 800 of the faithful regulars turn out to wish the stadium farewell. It was a similar track to Crayford and Gosforth, completely under cover, and has been sold for £250,000 to local developers.
Liverpool White City
1995 Sittingbourne opens as the NGRC’s 38th track. The general manager is John Aitken. Racing manager Paul Nevett resigns within a week.
1974 October 24 Hardy Wright trainer of two Waterloo Cup winners, has died aged 82. Taking over his father’s kennels at Cummetrees in 1928, he steered many great coursers to victory.
2000 Becky Blackmore quits her job as the RGT Fundraiser. She issues a scathing attack on the NGRC for its failure to stop bad practices and censure owners under rule 18 (owner’s obligations).
1993 Pat Dalton and agent Peter Arthurs were both fined £300 for positives tests of sulphadiazine found in dogs that contested a greyhound sale at Belle Vue. (Dalton’a defence that the drug had come through the food chain was refused. He later overturned the evidence of the NGRC experts and the charge was rescinded)
1927 October 1 Carntyne opens with an afternoon meeting which attracts 7,000 spectators. The Lord Provost together with the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton are also in attendance. The first race honours go to J A Coates’s Aisy Tune. The 2-1 favourite, trained by R Thomson, wins the 525 yard opener by four lengths in 33.80. They hold another meeting in the evening, which attracts an even bigger crowd of 10,000.
Charlie Lister and Derby winner RAPID RANGER – pic Steve Nash
1999 Charlie Lister is delighted by the latest arrival in the kennel who clocks a sub track record 27.48 on his first look at Belle Vue. The British reared pup is called Rapid Ranger.
2001 Hove trainer Bill Masters, former had man to George Curtis, announces his retirement.
1978 Joe de Mulder’s classy stayer Manderlay King wins a big race final at last. The brindle son of Crazy Top-Shandaroba wins the £2,500 Grand Prix final over 640 metres at Walthamstow, beating a high class field including evens favourite, Picture Parade – trained at Hall Green by Geoff de Mulder – and Bonzo at 3-1, who is unbeaten to the final. Having had bad luck in previous big races, Manderlay King is faster away on a rain-soaked track, but takes a baulk at the first. This results in the lead changing hands several times until the third, where Bonzo is knocked over. Picture Parade sweeps into the lead with the race seemingly won, but ‘the King’ recovers his strike and cuts through the field to catch the leader rounding the sixth, and on the run-in wears him down to win by a length in 40.21.
1968 The Puppy Derby final at Harolds Cross over 525 yards and worth £500, is won by A S Lucas’s Always Keen (Always Proud-Liber Latinus, Mar’67). Trained by Ger McKenna, he wins in 29.75 from the up-and-coming bitch Cals Pick.
2000 Wimbledon trainer Terry Dartnall has his contract terminated. This follows two weeks after the trainer was carpeted for two time finding incidents – one of which resulted in a £200 fine.
