Brood bitches and the English Derby

Following on from my look at Skipping Chick I was reading an old topic on Greyhound Data about stud dogs with representatives in this years English Derby. In my opinion the use of such a measure is only of limited benefit when assessing a sire. We have reached the last 48 now and most of the dogs with lesser ability have been eliminated with the classier dogs progressing, with the odd exception, so I decided to look at the remainder from a different angle to try and establish any useful stats. The angle was what broodline did the runners originate from. By this I mean, there are around half a dozen brood lines that are accepted to be the bulk providers of the very top echelon of greyhounds. Going by my post into Skipping Chick she was obviously going to feature but below are the others that have more than one representative. It makes for fascinating reading.



Skipping Chick - 6 runners
ZigZag Dutchy, Ullid Conor, Farloe Chester, Droopys Wells, Kanes Blue, Tyrur Lee.

Killeacle Blonde - 4 runners
Blakes World, Bens Court, Ballymac Charley, Calzaghe Boyo.

Hacksaw via Westmead Satin - 4 runners
Dilemmas Flight, Larkhill Jo, Astronomic, Farloe Premier.

Millies May - 3 runners
Express Ego, Droopys Tobey, Congo Romeo.

Lauragh Pride - 3 runners
Pagoda Tarbert, Lenson Express, Lenson Earl.

Minnies Movita - 2 runners
Forest Scholes, Savanna Highlands.

Shiela at Last - 2 runners
Greenwell Storm, Greenwell Flash.

Ruby Bridge - 2 runners
Westmead Joe, Westmead Lord.

So out of 48 runners 26 can be traced back to just 8 brood lines. This goes some way to confirm my believe that certain proven lines should be bred from to the exclusion of others. I have already discussed Skipping Chick in detail, the closest to her on these stats is a tie between Killeacle Blonde and Hacksaw. Nick Savva has successfully based his operation on Hacksaw and her direct offspring Westmead Satin and Liam Dowling has done the same with Killeacle Blonde.

Millies May comes next jointly with Lauragh Pride. In the opinion of many "May" has had the greatest influence of any brood on the greyhound breeding scene with influence on all continents where greyhound racing takes place. The "Lauragh" line came to prominence with Fly Cruiser and Fly Smasher in the 80's and has been carried on ever since.

Minnies Movita, Shiela at Last and Ruby Bridge all have two runners left. Ruby Bridge came to the fore with the Knockeevan dogs and more famously with Mega Joy and Delight, with the latter breeding wonder dog Westmead Hawk. Minnies Movita was the foundation for Lizzie Maher's continued success and has branched off and multiplied leaving a large number of top broods. The Shiela at Last line was initially proven by Monalee Gambler and Pride and litter brothers Greenwell Flash and Storm are representing it with great distinction.

It will be interesting to see how many are left standing with the draw for the quarter finals is made.