The 2025 season started at Oulton where there were large fields of 82 hounds.
Up first was the Seniors, with 17 taking to the trail.
Silver Dream was sent off as the favourite after recent form and being 2024 Senior Champion.
Once onto the beck edge it was Darren and Julie McMaster and Anthony Skelton’s 2024 Senior Champion Silver Dream who was heading the race ahead of Martin, Molly and Teddy Burrows and Sarah Jackson’s two-year-old Thorn Soul with Joy, Brian and Cathy Lister’s Dream Catcher in third.
Reports came in from the second to last road and it was Silver Dream and Thorn Soul still going well with a slight gap to Dream Catcher and another slight gap to Bill and Pat Mellon and Tina and Robert Airey’s Cracking Artist in fourth.
Once through the wood and over the last road, Silver Dream and Thorn Soul had broken clear and the pair had a fantastic race up the finish with Silver Dream just getting the upper hand to open her championship campaign by a head to take the win.
Finishing in third was Dream Catcher. There was a small gap to the fourth and fifth hounds who were having a good race up the hill with Nicola McMaster and David Toddhunter’s Rodney Raider – who suffered from an injury for most of last season – finishing in fourth. In fifth was Cracking Artist. The final ticket of the race went to Denise and Jenny Bland and Graham Little’s Huntsman’s Rebel.
Pups saw a reasonably large field of 20 hounds lining up at the slip.Tucker was sent off as the favourite.
The hounds were seen along the beck edge and from what people could make out it was Nicola McMaster and Anthony Skelton’s Tucker who was leading the race well ahead of littermate Busy Rascal for Alan Blacklock and Carole Harrison, following were Denise and Jenny Bland and Graham Little’s Huntsman’s Unite with Les and Graham Reid, Erin Rowlandson, Barbara Jones and Steven Walker’s Maggie in fourth and Darren and Julie McMaster and Sadie Wilson’s Silver Star in fifth.
Once out of the wood and over the last road 3 had broken clear from the pack with Tucker leading by about 10 lengths from Busy Rascal and Silver Star, Tucker looked as though he was going to come on and win but busy rascal showed an excellent turn off foot to keep coming to grab the win by a head from her brother with Silver Star in third. Huntsman’s Unite finished in fourth with Maggie in fifth and Ruth Graham and Charlie Dixon’s Let It Be in sixth.
The final race of the evening, and the largest, was the All In where 45 took to the trail.
It was Meadow Artisan for Paul and Joanna Airey who is littermate to Silver Dream, Rodney Raider and Cracking Artist, who all ticketed in the Senior race, who was leading from Sarah White’s Malfunction with Stanley and Carole Jackson’s Croft Lass in third and Denise and Jenny Bland, Graham Little and Ellie Napier’s Huntsman’s Trouble in fourth.
Once out the wood and over the last road Meadow Artisan had broken clear from the pack and won by 10 lengths from Croft Lass with Christopher Henderson’s Light Up in third, Huntsman’s Trouble in fourth and Sarah White’s We Get By and Malfunction in fifth and sixth.
The next trail takes place today, Thursday April 3 at St Helena, with Seniors, Pups and All in. The Seniors slip at 5.30pm.
