Puppy table leader Huntsman’s Time returned to winning ways at last night’s Cold Fell meeting, the second of the charity trails to be held there.
All proceeds go towards local and national cancer charities and the trails on Tuesday were sponsored by the Bewley family in memory of Maurice.
The battle for the puppy title is really close with only one point between Huntsman’s Time and Thornton and both hounds were running at Cold Fell where they have both won round the course this season.
However, as the hounds showed on the finish it was Huntsman’s Time who had a lead as she came back and crossed the line to win with Minnie Million a close second for Joy Lister.
There was a gap to third with Darren McMaster, Anthony Skelton and Sadie Wilson’s Thornton doing his usual leap over the line followed closely by Countess Ava and then kennel mate Baroness Ava both for James and Ava McClelland. Gillian Bulman-Brown and Mickey O’Brien’s Peggy Sue took the last ticket in the race.
With this win Denise and Co’s Huntsman’s Time extends her lead to two but it remains close and the pair can expect to clash on several more occasions.
The senior hounds had got things underway with a small slip of only six when Huntsman’s Rebel and Miterdale Duchess were joint favourites with the bookies, followed by Busy Again and then Lady Million.
Lady Million is only just coming back into form with a few tickets over the last week or so and she had managed fourth last week at Cold Fell.
However, when they showed on the finish she had developed a good lead and finished well clear of the rest of the field to a highly delighted Joy Lister.
Huntsman’s Rebel, who also has a pretty good record round Cold Fell, couldn’t make anything of Lady Million and had to settle for second place for Denise Bland and Co.
Miterdale Duchess for Denis Pear and Jackie Gill finished in third place but was some way back with Busy Again for Alan Blacklock taking fourth place and then Cracking Last One Two took fifth for the Mellon and Airey kennel, another hound who is also just coming back to form following time off. The last ticket of the race went to Black Edition for Lisa and Holly Whitfield.
The open maidens had a slip of 19 hounds and like many of these type of races the betting was wide open with Eden Romina made favourite by the bookies.
As the hounds showed on the finish it was Stanley and Carole Jackson’s Croft Lass who had a slight lead from kennel mate Clementine with both hounds finishing well to make it a a one-two on the night.
George Burgoen and Carole Logan’s Tallulah has been steadily improving over recent weeks and claimed third ticket. Eden Romina took the fourth ticket for David Clifford and continues to extend her lead in the open maiden points competition.
Plucky little Off-Spring for Stuart Jeynes took fifth with Thorn Thunder for Joanna, Martin Molly and Teddy Burrows claiming the last ticket.
The last race of the night was the open restricted race in which Huntsman’s Sparkle was favourite but it was a risky fancy as she doesn’t always play the game, sometimes deciding not to finish where you would expect her to get there.
However as they came on the finish owner Tracey Hill must have had a word with her as she came straight in and finished well to take the win from Ian Donaldson’s Huntsman’s Quartz.
Tracey also had third ticket with Milo Moon and David Clifford took fourth with Eden Rayna. Stephen Riley and Isla Hetherington’s Ruby finished well in fifth place with Tracey’s sister Donna and family taking sixth ticket with Splendid Lily.
Both the winner of the open maiden and the winner of the open restricted were bred out of the same litter – Jenny’s Aura and Foxparke Billy Elliot.
Next meeting is on Thursday with a return to the annual Ambleside Sports. There are four races on the day and it is usually a good day as the hounds take place alongside some of the other Lakeland traditional sports in the main ring, well worth a ride out to see the action.
Prize money on the day for the hounds equates to £960 so well worth an entry if a particular likes a bit of fell running.
There’s more good money up for grabs on Friday at the Langholm Common Riding which hosts one trail and again there is a decent amount of prize money on offer for the winning hound as well as all the ticketing hounds.
The winner will take home £300, not to be sneezed at, but it’s an early start with the race taking place at 6.30am.
July 23 – Cold Fell
- Hounds – 1. Lady Million; 2. Huntsman’s Rebel; 3. Miterdale Duchess; 4. Busy Again; 5. Cracking Last One Two; 6. Black Edition. 6 ran, time 30.36.
- Pups – 1. Huntsman’s Time; 2. Minnie Million; 3. Thornton; 4. Countess Ava; 5. Baroness Ava; 6. Peggy Sue. 21 ran, time 18.58.
- Open Maiden – 1. Croft Lass; 2. Clementine; 3. Tallulah; 4. Eden Romina; 5. Off Spring; 6. Thorn Thunder. 19 ran, time 19.27.
- Open Restricted – 1. Huntsman’s Sparkle; 2. Huntsman’s Quartz; 3. Milo Moon; 4. Eden Rayna; 5. Ruby; 6. Splendid Lily. 12 ran, time 18.19.
