Tuesday night saw the last of the three trails to be held at Dearham and all three meetings have definitely made a difference in the senior championship race.
Certainly the local Dearham kennel of Joseph Abram and Nicola McMaster have improved their chances of winning it with Silver Dream.
For the last trail there was a small field of eight hounds. Silver Dream was odds-on favourite at 1/3 with Strawberry Mick and Busy Again at 7/2.
Out on the trail it was Silver Dream and Busy Again who were leading the race followed by Audacity. Strawberry Mick was at the back of the field but at least it didn’t look as though he had stopped to have a mud bath.
Once back on the finish Strawberry Mick had made up ground and was hard on the heels of Silver Dream who had broken away and established a good lead.
Although Strawberry Mick was closing he just had too much to do and as Silver Dream finished well she won easily for Darren and Julie McMaster.
Strawberry Mick was about 20 yards behind in second place for Graham Reid with the dog running really well over the second half of the trail.
Busy Again wasn’t too far behind in third place for Alan Blacklock and daughter Carol. Lisa and Holly Whitfield’s Audacity had ran a good race and finished in fourth place with Bill and Pat Mellon’s Cracking Last One Two in fifth. Lucky Moon for Geoff Higgins and co took the last ticket.
The win for Silver Dream takes her three points clear of Huntsman’s Rebel.
Next to slip were the open pups with 13 of them and over the previous two Dearham trails had been a battle between Thornton, Minnie Million and Huntsman’s Trouble with all three in the line-up again.
As the hounds crossed at the half-way point it was Thornton and Thorn Soul who had a few yards from Huntsman’s Trouble in third. Minnie Million was a little way back in eighth or ninth place.
However, once on the finish it was Thornton and Huntsman’s Trouble who were racing each other as they came in to the last field.
Huntsman’s Trouble had dropped to fifth when they showed having made a couple of mistakes on the fences coming in and did well to get up with Thornton.
It was touch and go as to which one was going to cross the line first but Thornton dug in and just managed to get there with half a yard to spare. Millie’s Lass had ran a good race for George McGimpsey and daughter and granddaughters Gillian and Millie, with Joy and Brian Lister’s Minnie Million finishing in fourth place having made up ground but just off the pace on this occasion.
Thorn Soul, who had been there at the half-way point, finished in fifth place for the Burrow’s family with David Clifford’s Eden Rosanna in sixth place.
The win for Thornton take him to 17 wins but still remains three points behind table leader Huntsman’s Time. The win also gave the kennel a double win on the night with Silver Dream and Thornton.
The open restricted race was next with a slip of 10 hounds. Milo Moon was 6/4 along with Foxparke Fair Lady. High Crag had dead-heated with Milo Moon last time round and was 3/1.
At the half-way point it was Milo Moon who was leading from Bretton in second place and Eleanor’s Lass in third place. Spring Rhyme was fourth and Foxparke Fair Lady was in fifth place.
Once back on the finish it was still Milo Moonin front but she was being chased down by Foxparke Fair Lady as they neared the line. In the end Milo Moon just got there by a short head to win for the Hills with the Napier and Butler kennel having to make do with second place. It had been a great race between the two hounds to the finishing line.
Spring Rhyme stayed on well for Jenny Horn to finish in third place with Eleanor’s Lass claiming fourth for Brian Graham and Eleanor Chisholm. Julie Burkinshaw’s Bretton finished in fifth place with High Crag for Ian Fleet and Jayne Petersen claimed the last ticket.
The last race was for the Veterans with a slip of six hounds. Adele was the odds-on favourite after her strong performance at the weekend at Seaton. She was 4/6 with Miterdale Duchess also running and she was 6/4.
As they came onto the finish Adele, who had led the race at the half-way point, had established a good lead and finished well to win comfortably. The two wins narrows the gap between her and Miterdale Duchess in the veteran points competition to just six points.
Kinniside Jacko ran on well to finish in second place for Geoff Higgins, Tony Jackson and Ian Rudd. Foxparke Jiggly Puff finished in third place for the Napier and Butler kennel with Miterdale Duchess notching up a few extra points to keep her out in front in the veteran competition in fourth.
Bob for Tony, Marlene, Connor and Carter Irving was fifth with the last ticket of the night going to Brian Graham’s Reebok.
Action moves north of Carlisle to Edges Green on Thursday afternoon with a three-race meeting with the first trail getting underway at 2.30pm.
Dearham – October 15
- Hounds – 1. Silver Dream; 2. Strawberry Mick; 3. Busy Again; 4. Audacity; 5. Cracking Last One Two; 6. Lucky Moon. 8 ran, time 29.59.
- Pups – 1. Thornton; 2. Huntsman’s Trouble; 3. Millie’s Lass; 4. Minnie Million; 5. Thorn Soul; 6. Eden Rosanna. 13 ran, time 15.47.
- Open Restricted – 1. Milo Moon; 2. Foxparke Fair Lady; 3. Spring Rhyme; 4. Eleanor’s Lass; 5. Bretton; 6. High Crag. 10 ran, time 16.06.
- Veteran – 1. Adele; 2. Kinniside Jacko; 3. Foxparke Jiggly Puff; 4. Miterdale Duchess; 5. Bob; 6. Reebok. 6 ran, time 16.25.
