Remember When - The most controversial Derby winner ever

Remember When - The 1968 English Greyhound Derby 

It is June 22, 1968. The USA and North Vietnam are in peace talks. Harold Wilson is the Prime Minister. West Brom have just won the FA Cup. Herb Alpert has just knocked Mrs Robinson from no.1 on the record charts. 

It was Derby Final night at London White City, but the mood was simmering. Things had started to go wrong in the (24 runner) second round. 

The 7/4 ante post Derby favourite Yellow Printer had twice broken the White City 525 yard track prior to the start of the event with a 28.38 run followed by a 20-length 28.30 run in the qualifying round. 

But he had been beaten at 2/5f in the first round and rumours were circulating that the John Bassett-trained fawn was either lame or had been nobbled. 

There was a major PR drive to assure punters that their darling would be back to his best in the second round. It included a press statement from the Clapton vet that the dog was 100% sound. 

On the night though, Printer failed to trap, was crowded and then knocked over. He failed to finish the race. 

That was Thursday night. Just 48 hours later, the remaining dozen went to traps for the semi-finals. 

Shady Parachute, trained by Phil Rees was the new 3/1 favourite. Next best at 4/1 was Camira Flash. 

Sold at Shelbourne for 1,000 guineas to agent Jim Lundon the previous August, the fawn and white Flash had been snapped up by GRA and presented to HRH Prince Philip as a gift with all earnings to go to charity. 

Flash, who had clocked 28.54 when beating Yellow Printer in the semi-finals of the Wood Lane Stakes, went to traps as the 9/4 second favourite in the first semi-final. Also in the field was Irish entry Not Flashing. 

Flashing had been entered, though not present, for Hackney Sales three days earlier. The top bid was 1,700 guineas (equivalent today of £43,800) but still 300 guineas short of his reserve. 

Favourite El Campo failed to trap and the slow breaking Camira Flash made a decent start. He led off the second bend and looked set to secure his place in the final. 

But the drama would unfold around the third and fourth bends. Undoubtedly, there was ‘major crowding’. The White City stewards would claim that Not Flashing fought. 

The bottom line was, Phil Rees’ outsider Witches Smoke won in a moderate 29.17 with the favourite two lengths back. Not Flashing was a neck back in third with Camira Flash beaten a short head into fourth place. 

Then it happened. . .  

The White City stewards announced that Not Flashing had been disqualified AND Camira Flash had been promoted to the final. 

Both sides of White City broke out in booing and jeering. 

Could they do that? Was it within the rules? 

Right or wrong, the GRA management stuck to their guns. 

The second semi-final was duly won by favourite Shady Parachute in 28.62. She would contest her second English Derby Final and give the Rees kennel two runners. 

So onto the big night and lingering resentment that GRA had bent the rules to allow the royal runner to reach the final. 

But at least he was a no-hoper! 

Bizarrely, for a dog who had been second favourite before the semis, Camira Flash was friendless in the pre-final betting. A 6/1 chance on the morning of the race, he eventually drifted to 100/8 as they went to traps. 

The tale of the tape is a simple one. The favourite missed her break and wouldn’t feature. El Campo led to the bend where Camira Flash took up the running. He would never be headed and would hold off the 100/7 outside Witches Smoke by a length in 28.89. 

From the moment that the winner crossed the line, the booing and jeering broke out from around the stadium. 

The winning trainer, the mild mannered Randy Singleton, was booed and jostled as he made his way to the podium. 

Perhaps thankfully (!), Prince Philip was unable to attend and the trophy was accepted on his behalf by his equerry, Lord Ward of Whitley. 

So then what? 

The immediate response to the incident was widely covered. 

The Greyhound Express newspaper quoted White City Racing Manager Percy Brown: “Camira Flash’s running tonight vindicated the steward’s action in the semi-final for he showed his true form and won on merit.  

“It was a pity that a section of the crowd, which was in a minority, came along specially to cause trouble.” 

Frank Cavlan, owner of the disqualified Not Flashing, was magnanimous saying: “I wish I had bought Camira Flash when I had the chance. He ran a great race and deserved to win.” 

As for the disqualification of Not Flashing – who, by coincidence or not, was a litter brother to that year’s English and Scottish Grand National winner Ballintore Tiger – Cavlan said: “When Not Flashing was suspended by the stewards after the semi-final, I accepted their verdict and had no argument with their decision”. 

However it was Greyhound Owner & Breeder newspaper, arguably ‘less establishment’ than the Greyhound Express, which provided the most pertinent insight: 

“The biggest lie the bosses of greyhound companies can make over the Camira Flash uproar is to take a high and mighty attitude towards demonstrators. 

“The biggest lie that could be spread about the storm of abuse and booing is that it was started by a few rabble rousers. The demonstration was as fierce on the dear side as on the cheap side. 

“Thousands joined in. Some worse than others. I saw men and women lose their voices and just croak.” 

The newspaper accepts that Not Flashing did indeed fight in the semi-finals. 

However, its biggest gripe is that the racecard merely showed Camira Flash as finishing fourth in the qualifier with no explanation of his promotion to the final. 

Nor did the rules of the competition, carried extensively in the NGRC Calendar, make provision for a dog being promoted in the event of a disqualification. 

It added: “However, there is an old NGRC rule which allowed the stewards to promote runners to the final. 

‘Result of a race. The result of a race means order of finish with any disqualification being treated as an elimination so that any greyhound finishing behind should be moved up in order accordingly.’” 

The article suggests that the rule was probably introduced in relation to the payment of prize money, not qualification.  

This clarification was needed after introduction of the ‘first past the post’ rule for betting purposes. (ie the order of finish would not change, but a disqualified runner would forfeit its prize money). 

The publicity surrounding the (justifiable?) promotion of Camira Flash to a Derby Final convinced the authorities to change the rules. 

The net result has been empty traps in finals ever since.  

In fact, it would be 30 years until the next Derby semi-final disqualification when favourite Greenwood Flyer had her card marked after crossing the line in front. But for the rule change, Droopys Conor would have been Toms The Best’s fifth opponent. 

As for the rest of the story. Randy Singleton was invited to Buckingham Palace where he was presented with some inscribed cufflinks. His head lad was given an inscribed wallet. 

Whatever Yellow Printer’s issues were, they didn’t last long. He broke the Shelbourne 525 yard track record in his next race and went on to win the 1968 Irish Derby. 

Shady Parachute was back in action two days after the Derby Final. She took her place in the first round of the Oaks, and went on to win the final. She also finished runner-up in the Laurels and broke the Wimbledon 500 yard track record. 

Not Flashing returned to Ireland, his most notable performance being second place in the Irwin Cup at Lifford. 

As for Camira Flash, he remained in training but only ran twice more during the year. He travelled to Dunmore for a charity sprint where he beat track record holder Irish Rain and the brilliant Itsamint. 

He finished runner-up in the International, behind Shady Parachute and the pair both finished behind a dominant Yellow Printer in the Anglo-Irish. 

On retirement, he remained at GRA’s Northaw complex until his death aged 13 in 1975. His skeleton was preserved for educational purposes.