Sunday afternoon saw the second of the series of three trial trails at St Helena near Egremont.
Compared to Friday night, which saw horrendous weather conditions, the return to the venue was far more pleasant for everyone to enjoy the hounds running.
The pups were slipped first with the same number of runners as on Friday night and the connections of Countess Ava would be expecting a repeat of her win.
As they showed on the finish there were plenty of hounds and any one of them had a chance to win.
However as they approached the line three hounds had just got a slight lead and it was the Foxparke kennel who took the honours with one of their new team members for 2024, Foxparke Toot Toot finishing first, followed closely by James and Ava McClelland’s Countess Ava.
In third place was Brain and Erin Rawlinson’s and Billy Birkett’s Blue Striker who had also been placed on Friday.
Foxparke Toot Toot was caught by the youngest member of the family Gracie Napier, who has been very busy over the last few weeks with her other hound Shackalacka Boom Boom having just given birth to a litter of pups, nine in total so she has had her hands full of late.
Foxparke Toot Toot was bred by Denise Bland and is out of Jenny’s Aura and Foxparke Billy Elliot.
Next to slip were the senior hounds with 16 of them and as they came onto the finish there were plenty of dogs again but four had just broken away by a yard or so.
As they crossed the line it was another close finish with Stephen Riley and Isla Hetherington’s Cautious just getting up to beat Friday night’s winner Rex The Rocket with Neil and Gillian Brown’s Dundee taking third place.
Last to slip was the All-In trail with ten runners and as they came onto the finish two or three hounds were clear and as they approached the line it was Neil and Gillian Brown’s good-looking hound Hey Mac who crossed the line a yard or so in front of Graham Reid’s Strawberry Mick, with Stuart and Jacob Jeynes’ Offspring finishing in third place.
The final of the three trial trails at St Helena will take place on Wednesday.
Action then moves to Kirkland on the Friday night and then down to the Solway Coast on Saturday when the first of two trial trails takes place at Kirkbride.
March 3 – St Helena
- Pups – 1. Foxparke Toot Toot; 2. Countess Ava; 3. Blue Striker. 18 ran, time 12.25.
- Hounds – 1. Cautious; 2. Rex The Rocket; 3. Dundee. 16 ran, time 11.06.
- All-In – 1. Hey Mac; 2. Strawberry Mick; 3. Offspring. 10 ran, time 11.37.
