Last night saw the first of three trails to be held at Redmain and although punters were in short supply there was a reasonable turnout of dogs.
It wasn’t a bad effort really given that the meeting was competing with the England football match, and with the Bitch Produce trails taking place at the weekend many kennels were looking to rest their hounds prior to the big event.
The senior hounds got things off to a good start with a slip of 19 with Silver Dream and Busy Again the joint favourites at 5/2. They were followed in the market by Mel and Cautious at 3/1 with Glamorous Ava 7/2 and Sarah Jane 4/1.
As they showed in the bottoms three hounds had established a lead from the main bunch and they were identified as Busy Again, Money Talks and Cautious.
However, as they came into sight again as they approached the Bridekirk end of the trail Mel had moved up into the lead and when they came onto the finish she was still up there with Sarah Jane.
The pair were head to head as they came across the fields and once in the final field it was a ding dong battle as they came up the long straight finish.
In the end Mel came through to take the win by a few lengths for Les Reid and Ellie Napier, with Nicola McMaster and Sadie Wilson’s Sarah Jane finishing in second place.
Cautious had run a good race and finished well in third place for Isla Hetherington and Stephen Riley while Money Talks for Graham Reid was fourth. Silver Dream, for Darren and Julie McMaster and Anthony Skelton, finished well to come through and take fifth place from Dream Catcher who was just easing down as she approached the finishing line for Joy and Brian Lister.
The win for Mel takes her clear now in third place in the championship table just one point behind Embrace, Winterfell and Huntsman’s Rebel who are all in joint second place.
Next up were the open pups with a slip of 18 and Thornton was the 4/5 on favourite with Minnie Million at 2/1 and Sonny Bill and Blue Striker at 3/1. The rest of the field was 8/1 bar.
Once the hounds had crossed the bottom road, and were heading down into the bottoms, it was Thornton and Sonny Bill who had established a lead.
When they ran through the bottoms towards Bridekirk the pair extended their lead and were well clear of the chasing pack, which was headed up by Blue Striker.
Once they were on the finish it had developed into a cracking race between Thornton and Sonny Bill. About 100 yards from the tape it looked like Sonny Bill was going to come through and pass Thornton but Thornton just moved up a gear and came clear to win by a length.
The 11th win for Thornton takes him to just three points behind table leader Huntsman’s Time. Sonny Bill ran a great race for Laura Steele, Andrew Bulman and Billy Birkett to finish in second place.
Minnie Million hung on and claimed third place for Brian and Joy Lister with Blue Striker, who had been leading the chasing bunch, eventually taking fourth. Flecky Jack, for the Hetherington family has improved significantly and got his first open puppy ticket by taking fifth while Thorn Heart for Colin Satterthwaite finished not too far behind in sixth place.
The open maidens were next to slip with a strong Miterdale contingency and they dominated the betting as all three hounds – Miterdale Dust, Miterdale Dusk and Miterdale Honesty were priced up at 2/1 from Zola, who was 7/2 with Paddy The Plasterer and Foxparke Who Gives A Toss at 4/1 and the rest of the field 5/1 bar.
As they went through the bottoms there were three out in front with Miterdale Dusk and Miterdale Honesty leading the race with Paddy The Plasterer hanging on in third place.
When they came on the finish, after clearing the last fence, it was a good race between Miterdale Honesty and Miterdale Dusk with the former just getting up by a short head. They were followed not so far behind by Miterdale Dust in third place to make it a one, two, three for Sophie and her dad Tony.
Huntsman’s Rally finished well for Glenis and Raymond Farren with Tania Satterthwaite’s Paddy The Plasterer taking fifth place, and Zola was in sixth for Stephen Irving.
The All-In race had a slip of 12 and was dominated by entries from the Foxparke kennel.
As they came onto the finish, however, it was Shaun Hetherington’s Splendid Lilly who finished well to take the lead from Foxparke Side Kick. Foxparke Fair Lady was in third place with Carole and Stanley Jackson’s Charisma taking fourth place.
The rest of the tickets were claimed by Foxparke Dealer and Foxparke Majesty giving them four out of six.
Hounds will now be rested until the week-end when the Bitch Produce Stakes takes place. This is where the best bitch pup will be decided just as the best dog pup was decided in June at Potters Park.
Countess Ava and Baroness Ava will both be in with a good chance of taking home the trophy for James and Ava McClelland.
Other hounds worth a mention are Huntsman’s Trouble and Huntsman’s Trust for Denise Bland and Co. Her little star hound Huntsman’s Time doesn’t qualify for the Bitch Produce as she came over from Ireland but she will be in with a shout for the open pup race.
Thorn Soul for Martin, Molly and Teddy Burrows and Sarah Jackson will also be in with a chance, as will Millie’s Lass for George McGimpsey and Gillian and Millie Telford.
The senior hound race will also be worth taking note of and it should prove to be a good race between Rodney Raider if he is back out running against Winterfell, Huntsman’s Rebel and Embrace all hounds that prefer the open running that Sewing Shields will offer.
The first race gets underway at 1pm. All races are sponsored and each race is worth £160. Sponsors this year include EnviroSkip, Penny Rose Photography, R Skelton Livestock Bedding, AJ Lambert Fencing, Fisher Farming Limited and the Border Supporters.
July 10 – Redmain
- Hounds – 1. Mel; 2. Sarah Jane; 3. Cautious; 4. Money Talks; 5. Silver Dream; 6. Dream Catcher. 19 ran, time 27.12.
- Pups – 1. Thornton; 2. Sonny Bill; 3. Minnie Million; 4. Blue Striker; 5. Flecky Jack; 6. Thorn Heart. 18 ran, time 1946.
- Open Maiden – 1. Miterdale Honesty; 2. Miterdale Dusk; 3. Miterdale Dust; 4. Huntsman’s Rally; 5. Paddy The Plasterer; 6. Zola. 14 ran, time 19.42.
- All-In – 1. Splendid Lilly; 2. Foxparke Side Kick; 3. Foxparke Fair lady; 4. Charisma; 5. Foxparke Dealer; 6. Foxparke Majesty. 12 ran, time 19.25.
