The in-form Dearham kennel of Nicola McMaster and Joe Abram landed the Produce double at Latrigg.
They had already won the Bitch Produce and completed the double when Rodney Raider, the puppy championship leader, won the Dog Produce.
It’s a rare event and the last time the double was done was in 2012 when Denise Bland took home both Produces with Jenny’s Rascal and Huntsman’s Hope.
Eleven hounds were entered and Rodney Raider was the odds on favourite to win following his performance on Wednesday night when runners had their look round the course.
As they came back on to the finish two hounds showed together, Rodney Raider and Embrace, who are both litter mates.
As they climbed up the finish it was neck and neck all the way but Embrace just changed direction slightly as they approached the finish which seemed to break his stride and as they crossed the line it was very close.
After viewing the camera it was confirmed that Rodney Raider had just got up by a short head to win the title.
If the line hadn’t come when it did it may have been a different story as Embrace had regained his running stride and had past Rodney Raider once they were over the line.
Owners Nicola McMaster and David Todhunter were over the moon with their win. Nicola said that she hadn’t won a Dog Produce ever so she was well chuffed with how the hound had stayed on up the long finish and was even more delighted to have their kennel take home both Produce Stakes for 2023.
David had started his interest in hound trailing many years ago through his uncle Cliff Hamilton who had two exceptionally good hounds in Peerless and Peer Raider.
You can hear David talking about the win and his time in the sport (as well as pigeon racing) with a chat he had afterwards with Cumbria Crack’s John Walsh below:
The weather on the tops was a bit blustery but the rain held off for the most part although there were a couple of short, sharp showers.
The first trail of the day was the senior hounds with 15 runners and the favourite was Huntsman’s Quantum ahead of last season’s puppy champion Huntsman’s Rebel.
On Wednesday night Huntsman’s Quantum won easily, and a repeat win would earn the Harry Kirby Memorial Trophy.
As they showed coming through the fell it was Huntsman’s Quantum who had a good lead with second favourite Huntsman’s Rebel chasing him down. Just before they went out of sight Huntsman’s Rebel was catching her rival and had cut his lead by half.
As they showed again Huntsman’s Quantum was still in the lead but it would be which hound could manage the steep climb up to the finish. As they came back out of the bottoms and back in to sight it was the smaller bitch Huntsman’s Rebel who showed in front and who ran on well up the finish to take first place for Denise Bland and Graeme Little.
Huntsman’s Quantum finished in a respectable second place for the Little’s, with Iain Bell’s Howgill Lil finishing in third place.
Next up was the senior maidens with 13 runners. There was a strong presence from the Foxparke kennel with multiple runners.
Thorn Thunder and Ruby went out as favourite with the Foxparke gang close behind in the betting.
As the hounds went through in sight they were altogether with all the hounds still in with a chance of stealing a lead as they dropped down.
As they came back onto the finish it was the two favourites Foxparke Mysteriously and Thorn Thunder who came together. It was a great race up the hill with Foxparke Mysteriously just getting up to beat Thorn Thunder by a neck to take the win for the Napiers and Glenis Farren.
Stephen Riley and Isla Hetherington’s Ruby who had also been well up in the betting and was there or thereabouts as they went through, finished well in third place.
The Open Puppies were next to race and there were 17 runners. Glamorous Ava went out favourite after her performance on Wednesday night. Could Denise’s hound Huntsman’s Sparkle make up for her reluctance to come in on Wednesday after coming with a tremendous lead and then throwing it away or could Mel and Silver Dream improve on their performance on Wednesday when they were both out of the tickets.
As the hounds came back into sight two hounds came with a slight lead and it was Mel and Glamorous Ava who battled it out up the finish with Mel just coming away as they neared the line to earn the win for Graham and Les Reid.
Glamorous Ava finished in second ahead of Denise Bland’s Huntsman’s Sparkle who eventually finished in third place after deciding to stop again on the finish and take a breather.
The biggest field of the day was the open restricted race with 36 hounds running and with so many hounds the betting was wide open, although there was good support for Summer Spirit after his win in the All In on Wednesday night.
As the hounds came onto the finish two hounds were clear Swamp Fox, for Tania Satterthwaite and Missriff for Glenis and Raymond Farren.
As they came to the line Swamp Fox just got up to beat Missriff by half a length, with Sophie Steele’s Kinniside Bobby in third place. Summer Spirit finished in sixth.
Last, but not least, were the Veterans with a field of 15 and Huntsman’s Major went out favourite after his strong performance on Wednesda.
He didn’t disappoint coming again with a nice lead to take the win for Denise Bland with Delta Script taking second for Sarah Harper.
On the whole it was a good day’s trailing, a bit blustery with the occasional shower but there was some good racing and a good crowed.
The HTA Executive Committee thanked Cockermouth and Workington area for hosting the Dog Produce and thanked all the farmers, especially George Simpson, for both allowing the use of his field and for presenting the trophies on the day.
A special thanks was also given to those who sponsored trails on the day, including Holeman Iggesund, Mike Fell Limited Building Contractors from Keswick, Keswick Cottages, Alan McNichol, Cumbria Straw Services and Mitchell’s Auction Company Limited. Their support is very much welcomed by all.
This week the next fixture moves to Helton, near Penrith with a four-card meeting on Wednesday with the first trail slipped at 6pm.
July 1 Latrigg – HTA Dog Produce Stakes
Hounds – 1. Huntsman’s Rebel; 2. Huntsman’s Quantum; 3. Howgil Lil; 4. Huntsman’s Rally; 5. Mitereale Duchess; 6. Foxparke Beep Beep. 15 ran, time 27.17.
Maidens – 1. Foxparke Mysteriously; 2. Thorn Thunder; 3. Ruby; 4. Foxparke Bugga Boo; 5. Clementine; 6. Foxparke Rumour. 13 ran, time 31.22.
Dog Produce – 1. Rodney Raider; 2. Embrace; 3. Maverick; 4. Miterdale Dainty; 5. Huntsman’s Star; 6. Money Talks. 11 ran, time 18.10.
Open Pups – 1. Mel; 2. Glamorous Ava; 3. Huntsman’s Sparkle; 4. Huntsman’s Sunshine; 5. Silver Dream; 6. Artist. 17 ran, time 16.41.
Open Restricted – 1. Swamp Fox; 2. Missriff; 3. Kinniside Bobby; 4. Miterdale Honesty; 5. Overwater Flash; 6. Summer Spirit. 36 ran, time 17.32.
Veterans – 1. Huntsman’s Major; 2. Delta Script; 3. Hawkswood; 4. Foxparke Jiggly Puff; 5. Cracking Spirit; 6. Forlorn Spring (subject to confirmation). 15 ran, time 17.44.
