Last night saw two meetings taking place across the HTA – Bridekirk, near Cockermouth and Moss Peteral in the Borders.
At Bridekirk the racing got underway with the senior hounds and it was an excellent night with a cool breeze and a bit of give in the ground just right for the hounds.
There were 14 hounds in the senior race with a quality field including Miterdale Duchess, second in the championship table.
She doesn’t often run fields and dykes courses but perhaps the owners are aware that there will be a few trails coming up toward the back end of the season and will need to take every opportunity to try and catch Winterfell if they are going to look towards winning the championship.
As the hounds were slipped, Silver Streak, who hasn’t run for a while, was joint favourite with Foxparke Beep Beep and Strawberry Mick.
At the half way point there was a white hound running alongside Foxparke Beep Beep, and some punters were unsure if it was Silver Streak or Strawberry Mick, as both hounds look very similar to each other. The majority went with Strawberry Mick.
As the hounds came back onto the finish Foxparke Beep Beep had gained a significant advantage and came on her own to win easy, much to the delight of Robyn and Ellie Napier.
Strawberry Mick for Graham Reid finished in second place with Brian and Joy Lister’s Lady Million not far behind.
The last three tickets were claimed by Cracking Last One Two for Bill Mellon and co; Busy Again for Alan Blacklock and finally Dundee for Neil and Gillian Brown and co with no more than a yard and half separating all three hounds.
The good running conditions were reflected in the time of the race as the hounds were cracking on as they ran through the bottoms. Miterdale Duchess finished just outside the ticketing hounds but will perhaps run better next time round that area.
The open pups had a good field of hounds running although Rodney Raider or Embrace had both travelled to Moss Peteral to run but all the other top hounds were running.
Silver Dream went off favourite but as they showed on the finish it was going to be a tight affair as there were two or three hounds together.
Silver Dream and Neil and Gillian Brown’s other hound Hey Mac were battling it out as they came towards the line Silver Dream just got up as they crossed the line to win by a short head.
They were followed home by Artist for the Mellon camp and then Sarah Jane for the Dearham kennel of Joe Abram and Nicola McMaster.
The much-improved Foxparke Side Kick claimed fifth place and then gave her signature howl at everyone, as she was obviously pleased with herself, wagging her tail as well.
The last ticket went to Les and Graham Reid’s Mel but Glamorous Ava was just outside the ticketing hounds.
The last race of the night was the open maiden race with 13 runners. It was an open field in the bookies ring but as they came back onto the finish it was the two red dogs who were racing each other.
Red Baaeed and Foxparke Whoosh had 20 yards on the rest of the field and it was Red Baaeed who got up by a length to take the win for Anne and Mel Reay, Anne being over the moon with the win.
The Foxparke team managed to bag another two tickets – third with Foxparke Bugga Boo and fifth with Foxparke Rumour. Tania Satterthwaite’s Samcro got fourth with the Green boys getting sixth with Green Queen, and they were very pleased with how the little hound had performed.
Reports were coming in throughout the night regarding events at Moss Peteral.
There were 13 runners in the senior race and Winterfell came home in front to win easy from Christopher Henderson’s Shine On.
Linda Neale, Mark, Josh and Georgina Bryden’s Eagle Love and Eagle Girl took third and fourth with Julie Birkenshaw’s Bretton taking fifth and Willie and Daphne Mark’s Summer Spirit taking the last ticket.
The win for Winterfell takes him back to three points clear giving him slightly more breathing space in the championship battle.
Next to run were the open pups and Rodney Raider was looking to increase his lead at the top of the Championship.
However when they came onto the finish it was Willie and Daphne Mark’s Sportsman that just got up to the line first to take the win with Rodney Raider finishing in second place.
Huntsman’s Star finished in third place with Lee Wall’s Denton Fury finishing in fourth with Andrew and Joel Bulman, Laura Steele and Ian Rumney’s Embrace taking fifth with the last ticket going to Ashley Horn and Sarah White’s Flightline.
The last race of the night at Moss Peteral was the Open Restricted with a good field of 21 runners.
As they came onto the finish it was Sarah Harpers Delta Style that crossed the line first followed by Linda Neale and Mark Bryden’s Eagle Rock. Sarah did well as she also bagged third place with Delta Spiral who was followed home by the Hill’s Vinny Moon.
The second hound for Linda and Mark Eagle Star was in fifth place, with the last ticket going to Eden Romina for David Clifford.
Action moves to Fellside on Thursday with a three-card meeting with the first trail slipping at 5pm.
The weekend is another busy one with the Teviot Head Show taking place with additional prize money and trophies to be won followed by the Michael Renny Trails on the Sunday at Buttermere.
September 12 – Moss Peteral
- Hounds – 1. Winterfell; 2. Shine On; 3. Eagle Love; 4. Eagle Girl; 5. Bretton; 6. Summer Spirit. 13 ran, time 31. 49.
- Pups – 1. Sportsman; 2. Rodney Raider; 3. Huntsman’s Star; 4. Denton Fury; 5. Embrace; 6. Flightline. 17 ran, time 24.42.
- Open Restricted – 1. Delta Style; 2. Eagle Rock; 3. Delta Spiral; 4. Vinny Moon; 5. Eagle Star; 6. Eden Romina. 21 ran, time 23.18
September 12 – Bridekirk
- Hounds – 1. Foxparke Beep Beep; 2. Strawberry Mick; 3. Lady Million; 4. Cracking Last One Two; 5. Busy Again; 6. Dundee. 14 ran, time 26.21.
- Pups – 1. Silver Dream; 2. Hey Mac; 3. Artist; 4. Sarah Jane; 5. Foxparke Side Kick; 6. Mel. 15 ran, time 17.45.
- Open Maidens – 1. Red Baaeed; 2. Foxparke Whoosh; 3. Foxparke Bugga Boo; 4. Samcro; 5. Foxparke Rumour; 6. Green Queen. 13 ran, time 18.02.
