Last night saw the last of four meetings at Wardhall, near Gilcrux and the turnout was down on the previous trails there.
Many owners were resting their hounds before the major trail to be held at the weekend – the annual International meeting which will take place at Spadeadam.
There is prize money totalling over £2,000 on offer across the six trails and is a meeting which is open to hounds from other affiliated associations, including Ireland.
With a small field of eight runners the senior hounds got things off to a start.
Silver Dream and Silver Streak were running for the Dearham kennel of Joe Abram and Nicola McMaster with Silver Dream sent-off the even money favourite.
Silver Streak, who hasn’t really got back into form this year, and has been just off the pace, was 6/4 along with Mel.
As the hounds past the field at the half-way mark it was Silver Dream who was heading up the race but not far behind was Silver Streak although there was some debate in the bookies ring. Was it Silver Streak or Strawberry Mick as both dogs look very similar. Mel was also up with the leaders and in close contention.
In the bottoms the hounds showed and there were still four hounds close together. As they cleared the last fence and climbed up to the finishing line Silver Dream was the hound that pulled away and finished well to take the win for Darren and Julie McMaster and Anthony Skelton.
Not far behind was Silver Streak, also for the Dearham kennel, while Mel came in third and finished well for Les Reid and Ellie Napier.
Money Talks for Graham Reid finished well in fourth place and there was a gap to the next two hounds with Lady Million for Brian and Joy Lister finishing better than Strawberry Mick for Graham Reid who took the last ticket.
The warmer conditions on the night had obviously slowed the hounds down with the race time a good half a minute slower than previously. The win for Silver Dream was her second senior win of the season.
Next to slip were the open pups with 11 sent on their way with the in-form Thornton odds-on to make amends for his somewhat unexpected detour on Monday night on the finish which caused him to lose the race.
As the hounds past the trail field and dropped down into the bottoms the small crowd of punters were finding it difficult to identify which hounds were leading the race.
However as they came back up and started the climb up it was clear that Thornton was leading the race with two or three hounds in pursuit.
Then as they cleared the last fence there was no messing about this time as Thornton came on and finished well to win with a good few yards to spare.
It was a good race for second placed with Sonny Bill just fading slightly as they came to the line and Minnie Million finished well to come through and grab second place by half a length.
There was a gap to the next group of hounds where Peggy Sue, for Gillian Brown and Mickey O’Brien, finished well for fourth followed by Blue Striker for Erin and Brian Rowlandson. The last ticket being claimed by Thorn Heart for Colin Satterthwaite.
The win for Thornton took him to nine points, just four behind Huntsman’s Time, with Denise Bland opting to rest her table leader before Saturday so it will be interesting to see which approach pays off for the big races at the International.
The last race of the night was the open restricted with a small field of twelve runners and it was an open contest with the bookies.
As they went down past the trail field the punters were again unsure which hound was leading the race.
As they showed in the bottom the hounds were starting to get strung out but there were four hounds close together.
As they cleared the last fence two pulled away and it was a good race up the hill before Tania Satterthwaite’s Swamp Fox pushed on and crossed the line in first place by an easy couple of lengths from Bill and Pat Mellon and Tina and Robert Airey’s Cracking Last One Two, who seems to be coming back into form.
It was a closer affair for third and fourth place with Imagine for Brian and Joy Lister just easing down as he got to the line and letting the fast finishing Barncroft Express pass him to take third place.
There was a hundred yards gap to the next two hounds and it was Lisa and Holly Whitfield’s Audacity which just got up to take fifth place, with Erin and Brian Rowlandson’s Blue Diamond taking the last ticket of the night in sixth.
Hounds and owners get a rest now until Saturday when the major event takes place at Spadeadam. The first race starts at 1pm
June 19 – Wardhall
- Hounds – 1. Silver Dream; 2. Silver Streak; 3. Mel; 4. Money Talks; 5. Lady Million; 6. Strawberry Mick. 8 ran, time 27.17.
- Pups – 1. Thornton; 2. Minnie Million; 3. Sonny Bill; 4. Peggy Sue; 5. Blue Striker; 6. Thorn Heart. 11 ran, time 17.00.
- Open Restricted – 1. Swamp Fox; 2. Cracking Last One Two; 3. Barncroft Express; 4. Imagine; 5. Audacity; 6. Blue Diamond. 12 ran, time 17.01.
