David Cahill 1935-2005

Dave Cahill was a man who knew greyhounds. Like most County Kerry people, he grew up with a natural eye for them. As a boy he was around his father's coursing dogs which would remain his first love all his life, and later he was attracted to track dogs after he had begun to achieve financial success.

He came to America in 1957 at just 22 years of age and sought work in Chicago. "All he knew how to do in those days," recalls Don Cuddy, "was use a pick and shovel." But he was no stranger to hard work and soon his little contracting company grew into one of the largest in Chicago.

Return trips to Ireland often found him at his first love, greyhounds. In the late 1960s he bought brothers from a succession of litters that made waves in both Ireland and the United States. The first was Monalee Wonder*, a March 1967 whelp. He ran grade A and stakes at Miami Beach and Biscayne and set track records over 722 yards at Miami and on the 605 yard Biscayne Course. From a repeat breeding of Prairie Flash and Sheila At Last whelped in September of 1968, he acquired Monalee Pride, a dog with brilliant early speed that Dave thought was best suited to stay in Ireland. Indeed, the young and lightly raced dog was entered in the 1970 Irish Derby, but was offered little consideration as a potential finalist. In the final, 1969 winner Own Pride went to the traps a 5/4 favorite having easily won his semi by four lengths. Starting from trap 1, most thought his victory was a foregone conclusion. When the traps opened, however, it was Monalee Pride who burst to the lead and was never headed leading Own Pride to the line by two-and-a-half lengths. Incredibly, his victory in the Irish Derby final was just his eighth career start.

On another trip back to Ireland, Dave spotted a black dog that had just four starts at Tralee. His keen eye for young pups had just discovered Rocking Ship. He thought his running style was best suited for America and sent him to Pat Dalton's kennel at Hollywood where Cuddy was the trainer. When he arrived on the tarmac at Miami airport, he didn't make a favorable impression. Cuddy thought he wasn't much to look at, and that Dave must have been crazy to pay £1300 for him. To compound matters, he wouldn't eat and didn't get settled into American kennel life for weeks.

Rocking Ship*, however, found comfort at the track. Seemingly overnight, he became the preeminent distance dog in America, winning the Flagler Marathon, Flagler Marathon Match Series, the Hollywood Endurance Stake, the Biscayne Spring and Fall Marathons, and the inaugural running of the Biscayne Irish-American. He was a fan favorite everywhere he went and drew huge crowds and appeared on the front page of the Miami Herald. His Irish-American victory was his last however, as he died of a snake bite shortly thereafter. Overall, he won 53 of his 86 starts, a large portion of which were against stakes-caliber competition, and earned in excess of $100,000 in an era when a new Corvette cost $5,000. He was Captain of the 1972 All America team and was the recipient of the Flashy Sir Award. In 1973 he was posthumously named to the All America team and earned his second Flashy Sir Award. He was inducted into the Greyhound Hall of Fame in 1980.

Over the years, Dave owned or co-owned a number of other fine dogs including Romping To Work, Gaultier Captain, Monalee Hiker, and Dromlara Champ, but none reached the dizzying heights of Rocking Ship* or Monalee Pride.

In the early 1990s, Dave retired from the building business and returned to his estate, Maryville Castle in County Limerick. His wasn't an idle retirement, however. He raised Charolais cattle and was among the first breeders to use and ship frozen semen as a part of his breeding program. He branched out into thoroughbreds, especially steeplechasers, a national passion in Ireland.

He was still a regular at coursing fixtures and at the track, and in 2002 acquired a young dog he named Maryville Rumble. His career resembles that of Monalee Pride three decades earlier. Rumble was lightly raced and attracted little attention in the 144-dog field in the 2003 Irish Derby. Still, three wins, a third and a dead-heat second got him through to the final. The story was different this time as Rumble broke behind pre-race favorites Climate Control and Mustang Mega. He ran a gutty, fast-closing third, two and a half lengths off the lead. Despite the loss, Dave felt that Maryville Rumble was the best dog he ever had. Don Cuddy called him, "a good, strong, resolute runner, better suited to America than here." Dave planned to send Rumble to the U.S. to run at Derby Lane, but he came up lame for the final of the Irish St. Leger and was retired.

Dave Cahill's dogs have left an indelible mark on the greyhound scene. Monalee Wonder* lives on through his spectacular son John Denton, still found in a number of American pedigrees. Monalee Wonder's place in American breeding is assured for decades to come as the third damsire of Gable Dodge, our current number one sire. Glenroe Hiker lives on in pedigrees on three continents. Now Maryville Rumble* has embarked on his own career at stud. If history is our guide, Dave Cahill's eye for greyhounds could continue to influence greyhound pedigrees for generations.