Rushton Mac

Rushton Mac was a racing greyhound during the 1950s.[1] He won the 1955 English Greyhound Derby and was the 1955 Greyhound of the Year .[2]

Rushton Mac
SireRushton News
DamRushton Panda
SexDog
WhelpedJune 1952
ColorBlack and white
OwnerFrank Johnson & Mary Johnson
TrainerFrank Johnson
Record
English Greyhound Derby
Scottish Greyhound Derby
Welsh Greyhound Derby
Pall Mall Stakes
Select Stakes
Northern Flat x 2
Edinburgh Cup x 2
St Mungo Cup
Awards
Derby champion
Other awards
Greyhound of the Year

Early life

He was whelped in June 1952 and the litter included a greyhound called Rushton Sport. His sire was Rushton News, owned and trained by Frank Johnson and Johnson with his wife Mary also owned the new litter. The litter were trained out of Boothouse Farm, on The Hall Lane, in Rushton, Cheshire.[3]

Racing career

1953

The pair soon made their mark as puppies when both reached the Yorkshire Puppy Derby final at Leeds on 7 November.[4]

1954

Rushton Mac won the St Mungo Cup at Carntyne Stadium before winning the Northumberland Stakes and then heading for an attempt at the Scottish Greyhound Derby along with his brother Rushton Spot. The pair reached the final and on 9 October, where Mac defeated Spot as they secured the first two places in the competition.[5]

The pair then reached the Midland Flat, Grand Prix and Olympic finals (all won by Rushton Spot).[6] Rushton Mac made amends for three defeats by his brother by winning the Edinburgh Cup, Northern Flat, Select Stakes and Pall Mall Stakes to complete a remarkable year.[7] The only negative during the year was a doping incident at White City, when during the Challenge Stakes the pair ran unusually badly and it transpired that they had been given a barbiturate. Johnson offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of the guilty parties.[8]

1955

Rushton Mac became the leading greyhound in the country during 1955 after winning the 1955 English Greyhound Derby.[9][10]

In addition to the English Derby success he won a second Edinburgh Cup and Northern Flat and reached the finals of the Grand Prix at Walthamstow Stadium and Laurels at Wimbledon Stadium. He also won the Welsh Greyhound Derby but was denied a chance to win the Triple Crown after the Scottish Greyhound Derby was cancelled. He would have been only the second greyhound to have won the Triple Crown after Trev's Perfection. He did however hold all three Derby titles but not in the same year because he had won the Scottish Derby in 1954.[7] [5] [6]

1956

He retired in 1956 after an unsuccessful attempt to defend his Derby title [11] where he cramped during the opening round. During his career he had earned over £8,000 in prize money, had produced a winning sequence of 14 races at one stage and set new track records at Brough Park, Arms Park, Wolverhampton and Powderhall.[12]

References
  1. Genders, Roy (1975). The Greyhound and Racing Greyhound. Page Brothers (Norwich). ISBN 0-85020-0474.
  2. "Rushton Mac profile". Greyhound Data.
  3. Genders, Roy (1975). The Greyhound and Racing Greyhound. Page Brothers (Norwich). ISBN 0-85020-0474.
  4. "Leeds Stadium under NGRC Rules - 7 November 1953". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 1953.
  5. Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 07207-1106-1.
  6. Genders, Roy (1990). NGRC book of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 0-7207-1804-X.
  7. Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File. Ringpress Books. ISBN 0-948955-15-5.
  8. "Two speedy dogs start race probe - 30 September 1954". Daily Herald. 1954.
  9. "1955". Greyhound Data.
  10. Dack, Barrie (1990). Greyhound Derby, the first 60 years page 98/99. Ringpress Books. ISBN 0-948955-36-8.
  11. "1955 GREYHOUND DERBY". Greyhound Derby.com.
  12. "Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When 1956) June edition". Greyhound Star. 2012.
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