Hove Pays Homage to an All-Time Great With Two £10,000 Finals

by , 14 December 2022

Hove Greyhound Stadium stage two £10,000 competition finals on Saturday night. Both, in truth, pay homage to one of the finest dogs to ever race in the UK. That greyhound is Ballyregan Bob. In December 1986, the locally trained star went into the record books and canine folklore following an unbeaten winning streak of 32 races.

Ballyregan Bob and his owners after setting a new world record of 32 consecutive race wins.

The remarkable Ballyregan Bob and his connections following his 32nd consecutive and world record-breaking race win at Hove. ©Steve Nash

The winning sequence was a world record that had previously belonged to an American racer, Joe Dump. Racing exclusively at Greentrack in Alabama, Joe Dump set the previous best mark in 1979. Never leaving ‘home port’, he was underrated. And the fact he lost his unbeaten tag when tackling an all-star field of invited dogs for a $10,000 stakes race is overlooked.

Joe Dump went on to contest valuable races across the United States with mixed results. A fast greyhound he was, a world-beater he was not. Passing away in 1989, Joe Dump was buried alongside Greenetrack’s finishing line. A marker was placed at his gravesite to serve as a reminder of the dog’s achievements.

World Record Live on the BBC News

Joe Dump’s record-winning streak fell to the George Curtis-trained Ballyregan Bob on December 9, 1986. And such was the excitement of a world record potentially returning to British shores the race was broadcast live on the BBC’s Nine O’clock News program.

Naysayers, primarily from America, would point out his winning streak came in races featuring only five opponents – American races featured eight and sometimes nine runners. But, while stats can be misconstrued, the facts show Ballyregan Bob’s results were nothing short of remarkable.

His unbeaten run began in May 1985 with heats, semi, and final wins in Hove’s Olympic competition. The brindle dog then stepped up to six bends to contest and win the Test competition at Walthamstow where he claimed his first of many track records.

Track Records Were Not One-Offs

Bob then won a valuable one-off race at Wimbledon on Derby final night before taking his third competition, the Essex Vase at Romford. He broke the track record when taking the decider and then claimed yet another track record in the heats of the St Leger at Wembley.

Despite winning his semi-final, injury struck and the wide-running greyhound was withdrawn from the final. It was the last competition Ballyregan Bob ever contested – instead racing in valuable one-off events – but the track records kept falling.

In his next seven starts, the remarkable dog set six new track records – at Hove, Nottingham, Hackney, Wimbledon, Harringay and Wembley – where he won a ‘showdown’ contest in a field that included the marathon sensation, Scurlogue Champ.

Eleven more race victories were needed to match Joe Dump’s record. They came at eight different tracks – including Scotland’s Powderhall and Newcastle’s Brough Park – and they brought an additional four track records. The crowning moment came at his home track of Hove, where Bob dismissed his rivals by nine lengths and set yet another new track record. Following the euphoric victory, the new champion was immediately retired.

A Rendezvous With the Doc

Judged by the authority of his final victory, Ballyregan Bob could have possibly taken his winning sequence beyond 35 or 40. But there were simply no rivals left, and trainer George Curtis was never a man to be greedy or foolish.

Inevitably the star’s 32-race unbeaten sequence was surpassed in time, and the record returned to America. It first fell to Pat C Rendezvous. The female eclipsed Bob’s record in June 1994 racing at Palm Beach Kennel Club in Florida.

Going on to record 36 consecutive victories over the three-eighths-mile distance (the six-bend trip), an overwhelming number of her victories came against local ‘graded’ greyhounds and she never raced away from her home track.

Worse was to follow. One year later, a new name was in the record books. JJ Doc Richard took the mark to 37 following a string of victories in Mobile, Alabama. Once again, this greyhound exclusively raced at his home track. But he never once met ‘stakes’ company, and the class of opposition at this venue could, at best, only be described as ‘ordinary’.

Space Jet Can Fly Home to Honor Bob

Scour the Internet today and it is difficult to find any reference to JJ Doc Richard. But Ballyregan Bob maintains his reputation as one of the finest greyhounds to ever grace a circuit, and the Internet is awash with tributes to the star.

Forward wind 36 years and a few days, and the name Ballyregan Bob is on a Hove program once again. The occasion is the £10,000 to-the-winner George Curtis & Ballyregan Bob final. Here, to keep things very simple, and in honor of the record breaker, the obvious selection is Space Jet.

Drawn in trap 4 in the 740-metre contest due off at 8.17 pm, in true Ballyregan Bob style, Space Jet has reached this valuable decider unbeaten. Additionally, she is on a winning sequence of six and has tasted defeat just once in her last nine starts.

Back to Where It Began for Bob

Later, on an impressive open-race card, is the Olympic final. This competition – which dates back to 1947 – started Ballyregan Bob’s winning sequence. He won the decider at odds of 2/5, but there is no short-priced favorite in Saturday’s contest.

By virtue of the draw, Deelish Frankie – available at 5/2 with the best greyhound betting sites – is our tentative choice. The only railer in a closely matched field, Patrick Janssens Derby semi-finalist recorded an impressive 29.84 seconds when making all in his Olympic semi-final. A repeat of that clocking could be good enough to take the prize.

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