Following a day of heavy rain the evening got out and Wednesday proved a good night for hound trailing at one of the most testing trails in the HTA.
Latrigg has a steep climb and a long finish to the line so it will be a good test on Saturday to see which of the current Dog Produce pups can cope with the terrain.
The evening got underway with the senior trail and there was a good turn out with 20 hounds taking part.
Miterdale Duchess was back out and looking to see if she could continue her winning streak having won her fifth trail at the weekend International trails.
As she got out of the car with owners Denis Pear and Jackie Gill she looked a picture but would have to run at her best as the competition was tough with quite a few of the Huntsman’s clan running.
Huntsman’s Rebel was back out running after a shoulder injury, Huntsman’s Quantum was back out preferring the softer ground, while Huntsman’s Rally and Huntsman’s Quartz were also running.
At Latrigg you get a good view of the hounds as they go through in front of you before dropping down the back of the fell and then climbing back up again.
As they went through Huntsman’s Quantum was in front but as the trail progressed owner Ann Little thought that he might be short of a bit of running due to being off because of the hard ground.
As they came back onto the finish, though, he came with a good lead and coped well with the steep incline up to the finishing line. The Little family were delighted with how he had performed in taking his fifth win of the season.
The next race was the pups and again there was a good turnout of 27 pups. Rodney Raider, Silver Dream and Maverick were all out for the McMasters along with Mel for Graham and Les Reid, while Embrace was running for Laura Steele, Andrew and Joel Bulman, as well as Artist for the Mellons.
Rodney Raider and Silver Dream went off as favourites and after slipping the hounds climb up to join the senior hound trail before dipping down the fell again before coming back in to sight.
As they showed on the finish it was one of Denise Bland’s Huntsman’s who came with a lead but as she approached the finish she stopped and let the following hounds pass her.
The hound in front of the following pack was Glamorous Ava who had coped well with the steep climb up followed by Rodney Raider who for a big dog had also coped well but was struggling just to catch the smaller bitch.
As they crossed the line it was Glamorous Ava who took the win from Rodney Raider who was followed by kennel mate and brother Maverick. Next home was Foxparke Dealer and then Artist in fifth place with Embrace following on to take sixth place. It was a positive run for him and owners Laura and Andrew who were pleased with how he had coped.
Silver Dream came in but was well outside the tickets and must have got wrong in the bottoms before climbing up to the finish.
The win for Glamorous Ava is the second in the championship for her but trainer James McClelland wasn’t at the trails and Caroline Graham was managing her for him. She was well chuffed that the hound had won.
So with a bitch taking the Championship honours on this look round the course, the McMaster’s kennel has a good chance of taking home the Dog produce Stakes trophy to go with the Bitch produce stake trophy that they won with Silver Dream, unless Embrace can continue to improve and launch a serious challenge to Rodney Raider.
Next up was the Open Maiden race again with a good slip of 27 hounds. It was an open race with no hound really standing out as a favourite. Ian Telford the bookmaker on the night had a fairly open betting board.
However, as they came onto the finish it was Denise Bland’s Huntsman’s Major who came with a substantial lead to take the win followed by Caroline Graham’s Huntsman’s Zodiac.
Glenis and Raymond Farren’s Missriff was third, and Neal and Bryden’s entry Eagle Love was fourth. After his performance on the night Huntsman’s Major will be favourite for the Veterans race on Saturday.
Last to run were those for the All In trail where any hound can enter despite what they have previously won. On this occasion 26 hounds went to the slip and as they climbed back up towards the finish it was Willie and Daphne Mark’s Summer Spirit who came home to win with a short lead.
Tania Satterthwaite’s much improved Swamp Fox seems to be able to run fell, field and dyke trails with ease and was second.
All eyes will be on the trails on Saturday to see if the McMasters can pull off a double Produce win.
HTA secretary Fiona Dixon said: “The first of six races slips at 1pm and as well as the trails there are great views over Keswick and the surrounding area. The weather is looking promising and should just be right for the hounds running.
“For those visiting for the first time just head towards the roundabout at the top side of Keswick and there will be signs out to lead you up to the trail field. Everyone welcome.”
June 28 – Latrigg
- Hounds – 1. Huntsman’s Quantum; 2. Huntsman’s Rebel; 3. Miterdale Duchess; 4. Huntsman’s Quirk; 5. Overwater Eddie; 6. Huntsman’s Rally. 20 ran, time 30.06.
- Pups – 1. Glamorous Ava; 2. Rodney Raider; 3. Maverick; 4. Foxparke Dealer; 5. Artist; 6. Embrace. 27 ran, time 19.10.
- Open Maiden – 1. Huntsman’s Major; 2. Hunter’s Zodiac; 3. Missriff; 4. Eagle Love; 5. Foxparke Bugga Boo; 6. Thorn Bear. 27 ran, time 18.14.
- All In – 1. Summer Spirit; 2. Swamp Fox; 3. Malia; 4. Overwater Flash; 5. Hawkswood; 6. Thorn Pop. 26 ran, time 18.41.
