The Greyhound and the Hare
Charles Blanning (The National Coursing Club, £60)
Charles Blanning’s mighty tome traces the history of greyhounds and coursing from the roman period right up to the iniquitous hunting act 2004 and includes a glossary, guide and timeline at the end.
The most poignant chapters describe the sport’s golden heyday in the Victorian era following relaxation of game laws that led to the first running of the Waterloo Cup in 1836, a knockout competition in which paired greyhounds were awarded points for speed and agility in pursuit of a wild hare.
The implausibly romantic history of coursing’s blue riband —winners included a milkman, a waiter and peers of the realm —is a recurring theme throughout 550 pages, which are liberally enhanced by rare and wonderful illustrations.
after winning for the third time in 1871, Master M’grath was summoned to meet Queen Victoria; the early months of the ‘most celebrated greyhound in history’ are shrouded in mystery, but there is no disputing the vast crowds that watched his victories at altcar or the huge sums of money won by his betting supporters.
M’grath was owned by lord lurgan, but, as well as the rich and famous who patronised coursing and preserved hares on their estates, characters such as the celebrated bone setter, robert hutton, Field correspondent robin hood and the brilliant Yorkshire slipper Tom raper are as much a part of this colourful history.
Coursing abroad, and the rise to prominence of greyhound racing between the World Wars at White City, where Mick the Miller won his four Derbies in front of six-figure crowds, are accurately documented—but coursing missed an opportunity when her governing body turned down an invitation to be involved with an enterprise Sporting Life compared to horses chasing an electrified carrot.
Track racing has eclipsed coursing ever since, but the writing was on the wall for downland coursing as far back as 1893, when the plough was said to have ‘stolen a march on ancient solitudes’ and exposed flints ruinous to a dogs’ pads.
The brief—and widely deplored —presence of enclosed hare coursing in the late 1800s returned to taint coursing’s reputation at Westminster in the 1970s, despite the true sport having nothing to do with hares being released from boxes. saboteurs and illegal lampers also punished coursing and, although a labour MP claimed that the sponsors of an anticoursing bill ‘do not care a damn about the hare’, the die was cast.
in 2004, elizabeth ii gave assent to a bill outlawing coursing 134 years after her greatgreat-grandmother had summoned the victorious Master M’grath to Windsor Castle. Adrian Dangar