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Four Dogs That Did It Twice — and Why Nobody Has Since
Winning the English Greyhound Derby once places a dog among the elite. Winning it twice is a feat so rare that only four greyhounds have managed it in nearly a century of competition. Mick the Miller, Patricias Hope, Rapid Ranger, and Westmead Hawk — separated by decades and running at different venues — share a distinction that defines them as the greatest Derby competitors the sport has produced.
The challenge of defending a Derby title is not just about ability. It requires sustained peak fitness across two consecutive seasons, a body that can withstand the attrition of back-to-back knockout campaigns, and the kind of consistency that most open-class dogs maintain for months, not years. This article profiles each of the four dual champions and examines what made them exceptional enough to achieve what no dog has managed since 2006.
Mick the Miller: The Original and the Legend
Mick the Miller won the Derby in 1929 and 1930, becoming the first dog to take consecutive titles and, in doing so, becoming the most famous greyhound in history. Born in Ireland and trained initially by Father Martin Brophy before being sold to the English trainer Sidney Orton, Mick the Miller was an anomaly in the early sport — a dog whose name crossed over from the racing pages into mainstream popular culture.
His first Derby victory at White City came at odds that reflected his already growing reputation. The second, a year later, confirmed him as the outstanding dog of his generation. What set Mick the Miller apart was not just speed but intelligence — contemporary accounts describe a dog that read races, found gaps in traffic, and adjusted its running line with a tactical awareness that most greyhounds lack. He was a railer with the ability to switch off the rail when circumstances required it, a combination that made him effective from any draw.
Beyond the track, Mick the Miller became a cultural phenomenon. He appeared in a feature film, was the subject of newspaper profiles, and drew crowds simply by being present at events. His taxidermied body is still displayed at the Natural History Museum in Tring — a distinction no other racing greyhound has received. For the sport’s historical narrative, Mick the Miller is chapter one: the dog that proved greyhound racing could produce genuine sporting celebrities.
His back-to-back Derby wins established the standard against which every subsequent champion would be measured and created the romantic notion that defending the title was possible — a notion that would prove accurate only three more times in the following ninety-six years.
Patricias Hope: The People’s Dog
Patricias Hope won the Derby in 1972 and 1973, ending a forty-three-year wait for a second dual champion. Trained by Adam Jackson in 1972 and owned by Gordon Marks, Basil Marks, and Brian Stanley, Patricias Hope was a powerfully built brindle dog whose racing style was built around early pace and sustained speed — a front runner who led from the first bend and dared the rest to catch him.
His first Derby victory at White City was impressive. His second, in 1973, was exceptional — not only because it required him to peak again after a full year that included stud duties in Ireland, but also because it came under a new trainer, John O’Connor, who had taken over Brian Stanley’s share in the dog. That he returned to the Derby final in the same form — arguably better form — testified to the quality of his conditioning and the robustness of his physical constitution.
Patricias Hope attempted an unprecedented third consecutive Derby in 1974 but was eliminated in the second round of heats, unable to recapture his former glory. The attempt itself was remarkable: the physical demands of three successive knockout campaigns underline why the double is the ceiling even for the most exceptional animals. His 1974 exit illustrated the brutal arithmetic of age and attrition in a sport where peak performance windows are measured in months.
Rapid Ranger: Power and Precision
Rapid Ranger’s back-to-back victories came in 2000 and 2001, both at Wimbledon under the guidance of trainer Charlie Lister. He was a big dog — physically imposing, strong through the bends, and equipped with a devastating turn of early pace that made him almost impossible to beat when he broke cleanly from a favourable draw.
His 2000 victory announced him as the dominant force in the competition. His 2001 defence was notable for the quality of opposition he overcame — the early 2000s were a strong period for open-class racing, with multiple dogs of genuine Derby calibre competing in the same era. That he won consecutive renewals against that depth of field is the strongest argument for placing him among the sport’s all-time greats.
Rapid Ranger also demonstrated the value of the trainer-dog partnership. Charlie Lister, already the most decorated Derby trainer in history, managed the dog’s campaign with the precision that had become his hallmark — peaking fitness for the final, protecting the dog from unnecessary racing between Derby campaigns, and selecting the right preparatory races to sharpen form without risking injury. The combination of an exceptional dog and an exceptional trainer produced two years of Derby dominance that the sport hadn’t seen in three decades.
Westmead Hawk: The Last Dual Champion
Westmead Hawk completed the double in 2005 and 2006, making him the most recent dog to defend the Derby title successfully. Bred and trained by Nick Savva at his Dunstable kennels and owned by Bob Morton, Westmead Hawk was a versatile runner who combined late bursts of pace with the stamina and race intelligence to compete from any trap position.
His 2005 victory from trap four was particularly significant. As a dog famed for his last-to-first running style, he broke poorly and was well behind at the first bend before producing a devastating late surge to overhaul the leader Blonde Mac on the final turn. That he did so underlined his quality: this was not a dog who depended on a favourable draw or a clean break. He could win on merit from any position.
The 2006 defence was his crowning achievement. Returning as champion, with the entire field aware of his ability and every trainer plotting to beat him, he went through all five qualifying rounds unbeaten before winning the final again. The psychological weight of defending — not on the dog, which doesn’t understand the concept, but on the connections who must resist the temptation to over-race or over-prepare — is substantial, and Savva’s management of the campaign was a masterclass in patience and timing.
Since Westmead Hawk’s 2006 victory, no dog has won back-to-back Derbies. The competition has moved venue twice, the Irish participation has intensified, and the overall depth of quality at the top of the sport has arguably increased. Whether those factors make a repeat more difficult or simply mean the next dual champion will need to be even more exceptional than their predecessors is an open question — one that adds an extra layer of intrigue to every Derby winner’s subsequent career.
The Club That Remains Closed
Four dogs in ninety-eight years. The Derby double is not a record that falls regularly — it is the most exclusive achievement in greyhound racing, and the two-decade drought since Westmead Hawk’s second victory suggests it may become rarer still as field quality deepens and the knockout format’s attrition takes its toll on even the best dogs.
For punters, the double has a practical dimension: when a reigning Derby champion enters the following year’s competition, the market must decide whether it deserves the same respect or whether the ageing curve, the physical demands, and the one-more-year factor argue against it. History says the latter, more often than not. But history also says that when a dog is good enough — truly, exceptionally good enough — it can do what only Mick the Miller, Patricias Hope, Rapid Ranger, and Westmead Hawk have done before.