Monday saw the traditional Westmorland Classic take place after the excitement of the weekend’s racing at the HTA October Trail.
Winterfell was back out running alongside Miterdale Duchess again and the bookies made the table leader the odds on favourite.
That was not only because he is heading the senior championship table but he has a good record round the trail as it used to be his local training ground before relocating to the Yorkshire moors.
As they showed half way round Winterfell was clear and when they came back on to the top he still had a good lead and dropped in to win easily adding another win to his tally making a total of 24.
Ian Donaldson’s Huntsman’s Quartz finished in second place with Brain and Joy Listers Lady Million in third. Miterdale Duchess finished fourth for Denis Pear and Jackie Gill with Linda Neale and the Bryden’s Eagle Love finishing in fifth place followed home by Denise Bland’s Huntsman’s Quirk.
Next to slip were the senior maidens with seven runners. Eden Romina and Foxparke Whoosh were the favourites in the bookies ring after both hounds ran well at the HTA October trails at Uldale.
As they went through it was Eden Romina and Meadow Maggie who were heading the race alongside Foxparke Whoosh.
It wasn’t long before they showed on the top of the fell and it was the same three hounds who showed first. As they came down the hill Eden Romina ran wide and took herself out of the race which let Foxparke Whoosh and Meadow Maggie to come through.
Foxparke Whoosh ran on well and crossed the line in first followed by Meadow Maggie and then Eden Romina finished in third place but she had just left herself too much to do with veering off to the left.
The Foxparke kennel were delighted with the win which takes Foxparke Whoosh back to the top of the senior maidens points competition but there is only seven points between the top four hounds and still four maiden trails left to run. Will she be able to hold on to her lead?
The open pups were next with table leader Rodney Raider running and he was favourite with the bookies.
As they went through it was Rodney Raider and Huntsman’s Sparkle who were heading up the race. As they came back in to sight on the top of the fell it was Huntsman’s Sparkle who came with a good lead before the other hounds showed on the top.
As she dropped down everyone was wondering would she come in or would she decide to run off wide. This time she did enough to cross the line before the noise of catchers’ shouting to the other hounds put her off.
Rodney Raider finished in second and Huntsman’s Sunshine was a close third for Denise Bland. Carol and Stanley Jackson’s Croft Lass took fourth, followed by Sophie Steele’s Miterdale Diamond. Last to ticket was Huntsman’s Star also for Denise Bland.
The next race was the open non-winners with a slip of twelve hounds. It was a wide open field and as they showed on the top of the fell before dropping down it was anyone’s race with the majority of the hounds altogether.
As they dropped down half of them went wide to the left which let some of the hounds in rear through as they stayed on the clear running.
As a result it was Raymond and Glenis Farren’s Miss Stanhope, who was named after the TV character Vera, who got the judges’ decision. She just beat the Hill’s Vinny Moon and Nicola and John Lyon’s Black Eyed Mist in third.
Jenny Horn’s Spring Remedy finished in fourth place with Huntsman’s Delight finishing in fifth owned by the Little’s and the Bland’s. Miterdale Dust finished in sixth place for Sophie Steele.
The open restricted hounds were next with a slip of twelve hounds. Ron was favourite along with Thorn Pop.
As they showed on the top there were two hounds with a slight lead as they came into view and it was the two favourites.
Ron, for the Bell family, held onto his lead and crossed the line in first by a couple of lengths followed by Thorn Pop for Colin Satterthwaite.
The second place for Thorn Pop gave her another five points which means that she is slowly catching long time table leader Maverick with now only three points between the two and still plenty of open restricted trails to run.
Foxparke Sassy Girl finished in third with Thorn Bear finishing fourth. Denise Bland’s Missriff finished in fifth and Alex Steele and Donna Bingham’s Oakbank Izzy took the last ticket.
The last race of the day was for the Veterans with a field of twelve hounds. Denise Bland’s Huntsman’s Major was the bookies favourite and he didn’t disappoint.
As they showed on the top he came with a lead and crossed the line to take another six points. He is only seven points behind long standing table topper Forlorn Spring with only another four veteran races to run before the end of the season.
Evie and Jonty Moore and Jack Thompson’s Crazy finished in second place with Christine Brownlee’s Monsoon taking third place. Roy Laidler ‘s Cuckoo Lane finished in fourth, followed home by Lyn and Norman Brown’s Amber Bay. The last ticket of the day went to Foxparke Jiggly Puff.
Action moves on to Millstone Moore on Wednesday with a three card meeting with the first trail slipping at 4.00pm.
Then there is another busy weekend where the show season begins to conclude with the last few shows taking place. It is Wasdale Head Show on Saturday and Alwinton Show up in the border region also on Saturday.
There is also a four card meeting at Seaton which will be the first of a series of three trails to be held there. All details available on the HTA’s official website.
Monday, October 9 Dubb’s Lane
Hounds – 1. Winterfell; 2. Huntsman’s Quartz; 3. Lady Million; 4. Miterdale Duchess; 5. Eagle Love; 6. Huntsman’s Quirk. 12 ran, time 27.28.
Maidens – 1. Foxparke Whoosh; 2. Meadow Maggie; 3. Eden Romina; 4. Foxparke Who Gives A Toss; 5. Foxparke Bugga Boo; 6. Twilight Mist. 7 ran, time 32.00.
Pups – 1. Huntsman’s Sparkle; 2. Rodney Raide;r 3. Huntsman’s Sunshine; 4. Croft Lass; 5. Miterdale Diamond’ 6. Huntsman’s Star. 11 ran, time 21.13.
Open Non-Winners – 1. Miss Stanhope; 2. Vinny Moon; 3. Black Eyed Mist; 4. Spring Remedy; 5. Huntsman’s Delight; 6. Miterdale Dust. 12 ran, time 24.06.
Open Restricted – 1. Ron; 2. Thorn Pop; 3. Foxparke Sassy Girl; 4. Thorn Bear; 5. Missriff; 6. Oakbank Izzy. 12 ran, time 21.09.
Veterans – 1. Huntsman’s Major; 2. Crazy; 3. Monsoon; 4. Cuckoo Lane; 5. Amber Bay; 6. Foxparke Jiggly Puff. 12 ran, time 20.43.
