Some Picture was a leading racing greyhound during the 1990s. He won both the English Greyhound Derby and the Scottish Greyhound Derby. He was also voted the 1997 UK Greyhound of the Year and unusually for an English trained greyhound was voted 1997 Irish Greyhound of the Year, being Irish bred.[1][2]
| Sire | Slaneyside Hare |
|---|---|
| Dam | Spring Season |
| Sex | Dog |
| Whelped | 2 June 1994 |
| Died | 15 April 1999 |
| Color | Black |
| Breeder | Theresa Hamill |
| Owner | Stephen Spiteri |
| Trainer | Charlie Lister O.B.E |
| Other awards | |
| 1997 Greyhound of the Year 1997 Irish Greyhound of the Year | |
| Honours | |
| 1997 English Greyhound Derby champion 1997 Scottish Greyhound Derby champion | |
Whelping and rearing edit
He was whelped on 2 June 1995, from a mating between Slaneyside Hare and Spring Season. He was bred by Theresa Hamill.[3] [4]
Racing edit
1996 edit
He won the Eclipse at Nottingham and the Select Stakes at Wembley. The performances were good enough for many to consider him a leading prospect for the English Greyhound Derby the following year.
1997 edit
In April he was aimed at the first major Derby of the year, the 1997 Regal Scottish Greyhound Derby and won the event earning the first prize of £20,000 for owner Steve Spiteri.[5] The success propelled him into favouritism for the 1997 English Greyhound Derby and was looking to become the first Scottish Derby champion since Patricias Hope (1972) to successfully double up.
The black dog breezed through the competition remained going unbeaten into the final.[6] As the only wide runner in the final he took a decisive lead on the second bend to win a first Derby for his trainer Charlie Lister.[7] The time of 28.23 was the fastest time ever for a Wimbledon Stadium Derby final.[3] [8]
After a short break he travelled to Ireland and Shelbourne Park, in an attempt to become the first greyhound in history to achieve the modern triple crown (Irish Derby instead of Welsh Greyhound Derby). Some Picture was ante post favourite for the 1997 Irish Greyhound Derby and after five races (two heat wins and a further three heats where he was defeated but earned a qualifying place) he lined up for the final.[9] The dream ended (and a £100,000 bonus was lost) after he was slow away and tangled with Spiral Nikita; his great English rival Toms The Best won the final. It transpired that his trainer Charlie Lister had battled with his fitness throughout the competition after Some Picture had been off colour during the event.
His connections decided to send him for stud duties, and he retired at a young age.[3][10] He also died at a young age from a suspected heart attack on 15 April 1999.
Legacy edit
He was a successful sire at stud, siring many top open racers but his premature death probably stopped him becoming one of the most successful sires of all time.
Pedigree edit
| Bold Work | |||||||||||||||
| Skelligs Tiger | |||||||||||||||
| Lemon Soda | |||||||||||||||
| Slaneyside Hare | |||||||||||||||
| The Other Duke | |||||||||||||||
| Slaneyside Queen | |||||||||||||||
| Sand Princess | |||||||||||||||
| Some Picture | |||||||||||||||
| Oran Jack | |||||||||||||||
| Kyle Jack | |||||||||||||||
| Lady Barbra | |||||||||||||||
| Spring Season | |||||||||||||||
| Sand Man | |||||||||||||||
| Wilton Cross | |||||||||||||||
| Floras Bar | |||||||||||||||
References edit
- ^ Hobbs, Jonathan (2002). Greyhound Annual 2003. Raceform. ISBN 1-904317-07-3.
- ^ Montague, Trevor (2004). A-Z of Sport, page 380. Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
- ^ a b c "Hall of Fame". Greyhound Board of Great Britain.
- ^ "Some Picture profile". Greyhound Data.
- ^ "Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When) July edition". Greyhound Star. 2018.
- ^ "1997 Derby". Greyhound Derby.com.
- ^ National Greyhound Racing Club Calendar, July 1997 edition. National Greyhound Racing Club.
- ^ "1997 Derby final". You Tube.
- ^ "Greyhound Racing: Some Picture gets his shot at immortality". The Independent. 23 October 2011.
- ^ "Remember When - September 2019". Greyhound Star. 29 September 2019.