Hound trailing action last night at Potter’s Park provided the all-important look round for the hounds in advance of the Dog Produce Stakes which will be held on Saturday, June 1.
This is where all the dog pups for 2024 race against each other to the exclusion of the year’s bitches, who have their own day in the sun later on.
The Dog Produce will have prize money of £290 and the Whitehaven Area are hosting the trails on behalf of the Hound Trailing Association.
The trails are being collectively sponsored by 37 Freemasons from the province of Cumberland and Westmorland. All other races are worth £160.
For their look at the course last night the seniors went first and there was a good slip of 20 hounds including reigning champion Winterfell who had been rested since Saturday.
There was no Rodney Raider in the field, but instead his Dearham kennel was represented by Maverick.
Out on the trail the 2022 puppy champions Huntsman’s Rebel, for Denise and Jenny Bland, Jim and Alan Little established a lead early on but she was soon caught by a group of the chasing hounds including the favourite Miterdale Duchess.
However as they dropped into the bottom Huntsman’s Rebel established her lead again and came on to win easily, having won their previously she seemed to know the trail well.
Chasing her down were Winterfell and Maverick with last season’s champion just hanging on to take second place for Barry Laidler and Caroline Clough. Maverick ran a good race to finish in third place for the Dearham kennel of Joe Abram and Nicola McMaster.
Not far behind was Mel, who seems to be running consistently for Graham Reid, although just slightly off the pace to take a win.
Sportsman seems to returning to form so will be one to watch for the major trail at Potters Park in a couple of weeks, this time finishing in fifth place for Daphne and Willie Mark.
Graham Reid’s second hound Money Talks took the last ticket.
There was a great slip of 41 hounds for the open pups with the majority of owners wanting to get a look round before the big race.
Huntsman’s Time was out and was odds on favourite to win having just narrowly been beaten on Monday night at Bridekirk.
Once slipped a few of the pups made a mistake on the trail and a number had taken themselves out of the race, including the favourite Huntsman’s Time.
For the ones that went round fine, as they came back onto the finish it was a good race with four or five hounds in with a chance.
Barry Laidler and Caroline Clough’s Snowfell had the best of the chances to win but 10 yards before the line decided to put his nose to the ground and put a loop in which took him out of the winning tickets and allowed Thornton for Darren McMaster, Anthony Skelton and Sadie Wilson to come through and take his first open puppy race win.
He was followed home closely by Huntsman’s Trouble for Denise and Jenny Bland and Graeme Little in second place with Stephen Irving and Caroline Graham’s Zeta staying on well to claim third.
Snowfell eventually crossed the line in fourth place with another of Denise and Co’s hounds Huntsman’s Trust taking fifth while Sarah Bell’s Baz finished in sixth.
Next to run were the open maidens with another good slip of 40 hounds. More popular these days than the open restricted, the open maiden race had a good field of runners.
The hounds had run the course well outside and as they came onto the finish it was David Clifford’s Eden Romina who had a lead over three or four other dogs. When she cleared the last fence all she had to do was run on and cross the line.
However, she seems to have developed a taste for having a good look round on the finish and veered off to the right before turning to come on again.
This allowed the other hounds to pass her and it was Eagle Rock who finished the best out of the chasing bunch to come clear by half a length and take the win for the Bryden and Neale kennel.
A close second was Paul Airey and Joanne Hodgson’s Meadow Maggie with the Bell family’s Adele taking third place. Eden Romina eventually decided to cross line and only ended up with fourth place.
From the remaining chasing hounds Thorn Thunder for Martin, Joanna, Molly and Teddy Burrows finished in fifth with the last ticket of the night going to Meadow Artisan, also owned by Paul Airey and his daughter.
The week had started with the first of four trails planned for Bridekirk. The trail offers a different type of running for the hounds over fields and dykes which can be tricky for some hounds if they haven’t honed their jumping skills.
The finishing field at Bridekirk can also prove to be tricky as it is undulating terrain and if the hounds don’t get their stride right it can affect their balance with many a dog losing what should have been an easy win.
The senior hounds got things underway with the current Championship leader Rodney Raider out for his first run in a while.
There was a decent slip of 14 hounds and out on the trail Rodney Raider was pushing on and leading for most of the way after a slight hitch at the half way point when a number of the hounds doubled back but soon corrected themselves.
As they came onto the long finish there were three hounds together Rodney Raider, Busy Again and Sarah Jane. It was a good battle up to the line but Busy Again who usually finishes like a train couldn’t get up for the win and Rodney Raider crossed the line with a couple of yards to spare over Alan Blacklock’s bitch.
In third place it was the Dearham kennel’s team other hound Sarah Jane who stayed on well. There was a gap to the fourth hound Mel for Graham Reid and then a bigger gap to Brian and Joy Lister’s Lady Million. Sophie Steele and Co took the sixth ticket with Miterdale Dust.
The win for Rodney Raider took him two points clear of Winterfell with connections taking a considered approach when to run and when not to run to ensure the hound can maintain form throughout the season.
The open puppies were next with a number of the leading pups taking part and it was a good slip with 35 taking part. Huntsman’s Time was looking for her fifth win in a row.
Out on the trail some of the pups were making hard work of completing it, perhaps not having experienced fields and dykes for a full course.
However, as they came onto the finish three hounds were clear – Huntsman’s Time, Countess Ava and Baroness Ava and they battled right up to the line.
Countess Ava, who in the past has seemed to lack a strong finish, ran on well and managed to get in front of Huntsman’s Time for the win for James and Ava McClelland.
Denise and Jenny Bland, Graeme Little and Lisa Crosby’s Huntsman’s Time had just faded a little on the finish which allowed Countess Ava to come past her.
James and Ava’s other hound, Baroness Ava, put in a really good performance to finish in third place also just easing when getting to the line. James was really pleased with her performance given that she hadn’t perhaps been running as well as she had shown in the early trials.
Denise and Co’s other hound Huntsman’s Trouble finished in fourth place with the Dearham kennel of Joe Abram and Nicola McMaster taking fifth with their hound Thornton, who seems to be steadily improving. Thorn Heart for Colin Satterthwaite took the sixth ticket.
The open restricted hounds were next with 26 runners taking part. With the changes in the rules that were brought in at the start of the season the open restricted races seem less popular than the open maiden races but there was still a good mixture of top hounds running.
As they showed on the finish Dream Catcher for Brian and Joy Lister had a lead from the others but as they ran the long finish the second hound was catching up fast.
However Dream Catcher just managed to hang on with half a length to spare from Colin Satterthwaite’s Thorn Pop. Kirkhead Rebel ran well to stay on and finish in third place. This was his first run back at Bridekirk for over twelve months following an injury he acquired the last time he ran there.
Lisa and Holly Whitfield’s Tommy’s Dream also ran a good race to finish in fourth place with Tania Satterthwaite’s Sam Cro staying on well to take fifth.
Sandra Mordue and Lee Wall’s Denton Shamrock took the last ticket of the evening in sixth place.
Action moves back to Bridekirk on Saturday with a four race card with the first trail getting underway at 1pm.
May 13 – Bridekirk
- Hounds – 1. Rodney Raider; 2. Busy Again; 3. Sarah Jane; 4. Mel; 5. Lady Million; 6. Miterdale Dust. 14 ran, time 26.26.
- Pups – 1. Countess Ava; 2. Huntsman’s Time; 3. Baroness Ava; 4. Huntsman’s Trouble; 5. Thornton; 6. Thorn Heart. 35 ran, time -19.20.
- Open Restricted – 1. Dream Catcher; 2. Thorn Pop; 3. Kirkhead Rebel; 4. Tommy’s Dream; 5. Sam Cro; 6. Denton Shamrock. 26 ran, time – 17.45.
- All In – 1. Silver Dream; 2. Silver Streak; 3. Meadow Maggie; 4. Dundee; 5. Meadow Artisan; 6.- Glamorous Ava. 12 ran, time 17.11.
May 15 – Potter’s Park
- Hounds – 1. Huntsman’s Rebel; 2. Winterfell; 3. Maverick; 4. Mel; 5. Sportsman; 6. Money Talks. 20 ran, time 31.18.
- Pups – 1. Thornton; 2. Huntsman’s Trouble; 3. Zeta; 4. Snowfell; 5. Huntsman’s Trust; 6. Baz. 41 ran, time 24.34.
- Open Maidens – 1. Eagle Rock; 2. Meadow Maggie; 3. Adele; 4. Eden Romina; 5. Thorn Thunder; 6. Meadow Artisan. 40 ran, time 19.31.
- All-In – 1. Sarah Jane & Silver Dream; 3. Thorn Pop; 4. Foxparke Honk Honk; 5. Eden Rayna; 6. Foxparke Side Kick. 26 ran, time 19.04.
