The 116th running of the Irish Derby was held on Saturday 27th June 1981 over 1 mile 4 furlongs of The Curragh. Subscriptions were £1850 with a pot of £50,000 added. The winner was owned and bred by HH Aga Khan IV, trained by Michael Stoute at Newmarket and ridden by Lester Piggott. The winner won by 4 lengths in 2 minutes 32.7 seconds, with 1 1/2 lengths between second and third.

IRISH DERBY 1981

SHERGAR (Bay colt by Great Nephew out of Sharmeen) SR 2169

The winning owner won £117,075 (The equivalent of £426,600 in today's terms based on Bank of England inflation calculator).

The Youtube link below is a 45 second clip of the 1981 Irish Derby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKntMwlxAmc
GN1907.JPG (8122 bytes)

GN1908.JPG (8001 bytes)

GN1910.JPG (7999 bytes)
Pos. Horse Weight Jockey Owner Trainer
1 SHERGAR 9.0 Lester Piggott HH Aga Khan IV Michael Stoute
2 CUT ABOVE 9.0 Willie Carson Sir John J Astor Dick Hern
3 DANCE BID 9.0 Wally Swinburn Mr John Cook Dermot Weld
4 KIRTLING 9.0 Pat Eddery Mr Brereton Jones Harry Wragg
5 ORE 9.0 Gabriel Curran Mr Paddy Prendergast Kevin Prendergast
6 GAP OF DUNLOE 9.0 S Gorli Mr Bob Demuyser Patrick Biancone
7 YOUNG KILDARE 9.0 Mick Kinane Mrs Patrick Conlan Liam Browne
8 BAZ BOMBATI 9.0 Christy Roche Major D C Douglas Gavin Pritchard-Gordon
9 JOLLY HEIR 9.0 Thomas Murphy Mr H Scheftel Con Collins
10 CROWNED HARE 9.0 Daniel Murphy Mr G H Radcliffe John Murphy
11 WOLVER HEIGHTS 9.0 Tony Murray Mr Anthony Shead Michael O'Toole
12 BUSTINETO 9.0 George McGrath Mrs Jean Pierre Binet Michael O'Toole
  Betting        
1/3 fav Shergar        
12/1 Kirtling        
14/1 Cut Above        
20/1 Young Kildare        
25/1 Ore        
33/1 Dance Bid        
33/1 Gap of Dunloe        
40/1 Wolver Heights        
100/1 Baz Bombati        
100/1 Jolly Heir        
500/1 Crowned Hare        
500/1 Bustineto        
  Over round 109%        
FORMLINE:- The impressive Shergar completed the English/Irish Derby double winning by an easy 4 lengths in 2 minutes 32.7 seconds. In a career spanning 8 races Shergar was victorious in 6 of them.

ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3

652 pages

774 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0

352 pages

400 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7

180 pages

140 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4

264 pages

235 former courses
Copies of the above books are only available by emailing johnwslusar@gmail.com stating your requirements, method of payment (cheque payable to W.Slusar) or Bank transfer, and the address where the book(s) should be sent.
ORDER FORM
Download an order form
  Quantity Cost
Volume 1 North of Hatfield £19.99 + £4 postage    
Volume 2 South of Hatfield £14.99 + £3 postage    
Volume 3 Wales & Scotland £9.99 + £3 postage    
Volume 4 Ireland £9.99 + £3 postage    
Volumes 1 - 4 £54.96 + £5 postage    
Postage & Packaging    
Total    
Email order form to johnwslusar@gmail.com