
Saturday evening saw a five-race meeting at Helton with over 150 hounds taking part over the card.
Helton will be the venue for the first Major HTA trail so everyone wanted to have a look round with their hounds before the big day on May 6.
The senior hounds got things off to a good start with 23 runners as they showed on the fell before dropping down and there were a fair few dogs together.
Two hounds looked as though they had a slight lead and as they climbed up towards the finish it was last year’s puppy champion Rodney Raider and Foxparke Beep Beep who were battling it out up the hill.
As they neared the finishing line Rodney Raider, helped by the track, just maintained his lead to take the win for David Todhunter and Nicola McMaster with Foxparke Beep Beep for the Napier/Butler kennel a couple of yards behind.
There was a gap of some twenty yards to the third hound Busy Again who finished well for Alan Blacklock to beat Maverick in fourth for Joseph Abraham and Sadie Wilson.
Last year’s senior champion Winterfell finished in fifth place with the Napier/Butler kennel taking sixth with Foxparke Fair Lady. The win for Rodney Raider puts him two points clear in the Senior Championship race.
The senior maidens were next with a similar slip of 25 hounds which included the in-form Border Reign and Hunter’s Flame, both having won in the previous weeks.
Again, as the hounds showed on the top there were plenty of dogs in with a chance and it would be a case of who had enough left in the tank to climb up the finish to the line.

As they approached the line it was Adele for Tom and Ryan Bell who just got up to take the win from Carol and Stanley Jackson’s Clementine. Adele has only returned to the HTA this year after having a spell running in the Yorkshire Association.
Isla Hetherington and Stephen Riley’s Ruby ran on well to finish in third place with a tight call for fourth before Caroline Graham’s Hunter’s Flame got the verdict over a fast finishing Border Reign for Annabelle and Norman Connolly.
The sixth and final ticket went to Miterdale Dust for Sophie Steele and Co.
The open pups were next to race with 27 runners and table leader Huntsman’s Time was odds on favourite to win on the open running.
However, as they climbed up from the bottoms it was a good race with Huntsman’s Time, Snowfell and Minnie Million all in with a chance to win.
Denise and Jenny Bland, Greame Little and Lisa Crosby’s Huntsman’s Time had the advantage as she was just slightly ahead and was sticking to the trod making running for her slightly easier.
Barry Laidler and Caroline Clough’s Snowfell had to come off the trod and run over the rougher ground but give the little hound his due he stuck in and was racing alongside Huntsman’s Time on the run to the line.
In fact it was Snowfell who just got up as they approached the line to take the win with just a short head between first and second.

Minnie Million ran another good race to finish in third just half a length behind for Brian and Joy Lister.
Lassie was in fourth place for Tom and Ryan Bell. She is out of the same litter as Snowfell, sired by champion Winterfell.
Gillian Bulman-Brown and Mickey O’Brien’s Peggy Sue finished in fifth with Christine Brownlee’s Maeve earning her first ticket of the season in sixth place. The win for Snowfell takes him to third place in the puppy championship.
The Open non-winners were next with a field of 32 and it was a wide-open race with any number of hounds in with a chance of winning.
As they showed there were eight hounds in a bunch running together climbing up but it was Darren McMaster, Anthony Skelton and Sadie Wilson’s Thornton that just came through at the last minute to take the win from Jenny Horn’s Spring Remedy in second place.
Foxparke Elliott’s Lad for the Napier and Butler kennel finished in third while Thorn Heart for Colin Satterthwaite finished fourth. The Green boys, Zack and Jake, took fifth and sixth with Green Power and Green Queen.
Second place for Jenny Horn takes her hound top of the Open Non-Winner’s points competition at a very early stage.
The last race of the night was an All-In which is a non-championship race and was introduced to help hounds who were short of running come back into form.
It had the biggest slip of the night with forty three hounds running. Sarah Jane crossed the line in first place for Nicola McMaster and Sadie Wilson, followed by Thorn Pop for Colin Satterthwaite.
April 20 – Helton
- Hounds – 1. Rodney Raider; 2. Foxparke Beep Beep; 3. Busy Again; 4. Maverick; 5. Winterfell; 6. Foxparke Fair Lady. 29 ran, time 29.30.
- Maidens – 1. Adele; 2. Clementine; 3. Ruby; 4. Hunter’s Flame; 5. Border Reign; 6. Miterdale Dust. 25 ran, time 30.53.
- Pups – 1. Snowfell; 2. Huntsman’s Time; 3. Minnie Million; 4. Lassie; 5. Peggy Sue; 6. Maeve.27 ran, time 18.58.
- Open Non-Winners – 1. Thornton; 2. Spring Remedy; 3. Foxparke Elliott’s Lad; 4. Thorn Heart; 5. Green Power; 6. Green Queen. 32 ran, time 19.55.
- All-In – 1. Sarah Jane; 2. Thorn Pop; 3. Mel; 4. Tesla; 5. Lady Million; 6. Foxparke Side Kick. 43 ran, time 18.25.