Monday saw the first of five major Hound Trailing Association trails for 2024 with the traditional May Day Premier Trails at Helton, near Penrith.
The weather was forecast to be fine with showers and as the evening trails started there were threatening clouds building in the distance.
There was a good turn out of dogs and a decent crowd of people with some coming as far as Shropshire to see the hounds running.
As the sun was breaking through the clouds the senior hounds got things under way with a relatively small field of 16. The majority of seniors had been aimed at the senior maiden trail or in the open restricted.
However out of those that were running in the senior hounds there was plenty of quality to choose from. Championship contenders Winterfell and Rodney Raider were running, both having a good record round the Helton trail while others under consideration by punters were Foxparke Beep Beep, Embrace and Lady Million.
Once slipped, the hounds went out with some pace and were soon out of sight as they raced down towards Pooley Bridge. Once they were back in sight on the back fell there were plenty of dogs in the race.
As they came over the final fell it was Foxparke Beep Beep who had a good lead from the rest of the chasing hounds. Busy Again, Rodney Raider, Maverick and Embrace were all chasing hard with Winterfell just off the pace a little.
As they dropped down to the beck before making the final climb up Embrace was the hound with the most pace as he came from fifth place to pass everything and start to chase down Foxparke Beep Beep.
When they came into view again Embrace was in front and he came away from Foxparke Beep Beep to win for Andrew Bulman, Laura Steele and Ian Rumney.
Foxparke Beep Beep for Robyn, Ellie, Grace Napier and Brook Butler finished well in second place but had just found the climb up a little tough to maintain the pace that Embrace showed on the finish.
Alan Blacklock’s stayed on well to finish in third place with Rodney Raider and Maverick for the Dearham kennel of Joe Abram and Nicola McMaster finished in fourth and fifth place.
Barry Laidler and Caroline Clough’s Winterfell had made some ground up and finished in sixth.
Embrace was very impressive on the last section of the trail to come from fifth place to win the race, only having returned from injury a couple of weeks prior.
Many people in the bookies ring felt that he may have been short of running and may have needed another couple of runs to get back to good form but he ran a cracker of a race and took a few people in. Laura and Andrew were well pleased with his performance. Embrace had been 8/1 in the bookies ring.
After the excitement of the senior hounds it was the senior maidens to go next and there was an impressive slip of 41 hounds, a great spectacle to see when they are all lined up ready to go.
It was a wide-open race with so many runners and many were backing Huntsman’s Quirk without with the bookies.
As they came back into sight over the last fell there were three hounds together and they raced neck and neck down in to the bottoms and were still together as they came back into sight.
All three really put it in up the hill but a hundred yards off the tape the 5/1 shot, Carol and Stanley Jackson’s Croft Lass, just pulled away to win nicely from Stephen Irving’s Zola who had stayed on well coming up the hill. Isla Hetherington and Stephen Riley’s Ruby also stayed on well to claim third ticket.
There was a gap to the fourth hound which was Denise Bland’s Huntsman’s Quirk who was followed home closely by Foxparke Dealer for the Napier’s in fifth and Annabelle Connolly’s Border Reign who was also returning from a minor injury in sixth.
The weather was turning increasingly dark looking as clouds gathered and it wasn’t long before the rain came but it was only a short shower and it eventually turned out quite a pleasant night ideal for trailing.
Next to go were the open pups with a small field of fifteen hounds, again with the majority of owners of pups opting to run in the puppy maiden race.
Although a small field, like the senior hounds there was a bit of class amongst the runners. Barry Laidler and Caroline Clough and the Bells from Yorkshire had their hounds running. Denise and Jenny Bland, Graeme Little and Lisa Crosby also had Huntsman’s Time running which was the red hot favourite in the bookies ring.
As the hounds showed coming over the last fell there were four hounds together before three of them ran on and didn’t drop down on the trail.
However Huntsman’s Time stuck to the trail and did drop in and came on to win the trail well in front of any competition. Lassie, for the Bell’s, came in second and finished well just in front of her brother Snowfell for Barry Laidler and Caroline Clough.
Andrew Bulman, Laura Steele and Billy Birkett’s Sonny Bill ran a good race to finish in fourth place having nearly missed the slip with Debbie and Lana McGee’s Apache Brave and Apache Chief finishing in fifth and sixth.
The win for Huntsman’s Time now takes her well clear of her nearest rival with seven wins, four clear of Countess Ava in second place.
As the evening warmed up the puppy maidens were next to slip with an equally impressive slip of 37 hounds.
As they came into view there were plenty of hounds with every chance of winning the race. Coming up the hill they started to spread out but it was Thornton, the 2/1 favourite, who just pushed on and gained a couple of yards to take first place for Darren McMaster, Anthony Skelton and Sadie Wilson from Huntsman’s Trouble who just started to fade a little as they came to the line for Denise and Jenny Bland and Graeme Little.
Christine Brownlee’s Maeve finished well in a close third place. All three hounds are out of the same litter Charisma and Cuckoo lane which were bred by Carol Jackson.
Martin, Molly and Teddy Burrows Thorn Sass finished well in fourth place. The Napier’s Foxparke Elliot’s Lad, who continues to show promise, finished well in fifth place and Sarah Harper’s Delta Scribble collected her first ticket of the season.
Last to slip were the open restricted with a total of 46 hounds. Sarah Jane was the stand out dog in the bookies ring and was well gambled at 6/4.
When they showed on the fell there were a good few dogs running together but up the last climb Sarah Jane, the odds on favourite came away to take the win easily for Nicola McMaster and Sadie Wilson, followed in second by good old Thorn Pop who just can’t get enough of being second for Colin Satterthwaite.
Foxparke Honk Honk was a clear third and Foxparke Fair Lady just pipped Thorn Gift in to fourth from Colin’s other hound Thorn Gift. The last ticket of the day went to David Clifford’s Eden Rayna.
Sarah Jane is the litter brother of Embrace, bred out of Silver Dusk by Miterdale Copper so a nice family double.
Action moves back to Lowther Park on Wednesday night, following the trails there which had been planned for Saturday having to be cancelled due to the misty/foggy conditions which had prevented the trailers from running the trail.
No such problem this week as the weather is set to be fine at least until Monday next week. First trail starts at 6pm with four races over the evening.
May 6 – Helton, May Day Major Trails
- Hounds – 1. Embrace; 2. Foxparke Beep Beep; 3. Busy Again; 4. Rodney Raider; 5. Maverick; 6. Winterfell. 16 ran, time 29.15.
- Maidens – 1. Croft Lass; 2. Zola; 3. Ruby; 4. Huntsman’s Quirk; 5. Foxparke Dealer; 6. Border Reign. 41 ran. time 30.03.
- Pups – 1. Huntsman’s Time; 2. Lassie; 3. Snowfell; 4. Sonny Bill; 5. Apache Brave; 6. Apache Chief. 15 ran, time 18.45.
- Puppy Maiden – 1. Thornton; 2. Huntsman’s Trouble; 3. Maeve; 4. Thorn Sass; 5. Foxparke Elliot’s Lad; 6. Delta Scribe. 37 ran, time 19.04.
- Open Restricted – 1. Sarah Jane; 2.Thorn Pop; 3. Foxparke Honk Honk; 4. Foxparke Fair Lady; 5. Thorn Gift; 6. Eden Rayna. 46 ran, time 18.27.
