Sunday saw another hot day with racing resuming in the Wythop Valley.
There was a four-race meeting and the senior hounds started-off proceedings with eleven runners.
Foxparke Beep Beep went off the evens favourite with Busy Again.
Once slipped, the hounds can be seen as they run along the top of the fell and it was Busy Again leading for Alan Blacklock and Carole Harrison followed by Foxparke Sidekick and Foxparke Fairlady for the Napier and Butler kennel.
Hey Mac for Neil and Gillian Brown and Derek and Joel Bulman was next.
As they crossed the first road the first four hounds remained the same but when they climbed back up the fell towards Darling Howe it was the two Foxparke hounds who had taken over with Busy Again in third place.
Mel had moved up to take fourth place with the favourite Foxparke Beep Beep in fifth.
As they showed back on the top it was still the Foxparke hounds but they were slow to drop in and Busy Again took advantage, descending the best.
With the warm temperatures the race was longer than usually but when the hounds showed in the last field it was Busy Again who was clear as she finished well for the win.
There was a gap to second and it was Mel for Les and Graham Reid and Ellie Napier with Ellie’s other hound Foxparke Fairlady in third place.
Foxparke Beep Beep finished in fourth place with Dundee for Gillian, Neil Brown, Derek and Joel Bulman in fifth and Christine Brownlee’s Malia taking the last ticket.
The pups were next to slip with 16 taking part. Busy Rascal, another of Alan Blacklock and Carole Harrison’s hounds, was sent off as the favourite.
When they showed on the top it was Stephen Irving and Caroline Graham’s Zoya and the Napier and Butler kennel’s Foxparke Rita’s Rose who were first to be seen.
However, when they started to drop in Foxparke Rita’s Rose ran to the side which let Busy Rascal come through and the little bitch and Zoya took up the race as they dropped in.
As they came into the last field Busy Rascal had a few yards on Zoya and won the race nicely to complete a double for Alan and his daughter Carole.
Maggie was a close third for Les Graham, Erin Rowlandson, Barbara Jones and Stephen Walker.
Thorn Bee for Martin, Molly and Teddy Burrow finished to take fourth with Foxparke Dupe claiming the fifth ticket and Zaya for Stephen Irving and Caroline Graham in sixth.
The Open maidens were next with a slip of 20, the largest on the day.
Senor was sent off as favourite, but when the hounds showed on the top there was one hound Foxparke Whoosh on its own and she dropped in nicely to win with plenty of time to spare before the other hounds came in.
Senorita finished fast to take second place for Malcolm Holmes, with Audacity in a close third for Lisa and Holly Whitfield.
Chapel Style finished in fourth place for Ian Fleet and Jayne Petersen ahead of Castle Callant for Marti Borthwick and co.
Tanya Satterthwaite took sixth place with Sam Cro.
Next to run were the open restricted with 10 runners. Dream Catcher for Brian, Joy and Cathy Lister was sent off as the favourite.
When the hounds showed back on top of the fell one hound had a good advantage and it was Overwater Eddie for James and Emily Irving. He hasn’t had that much running and only started out this last month but he ran a cracking race and dropped in with plenty of time to spare to take the win.
It was a good race for second place between the favourite Dream Catcher and Milo Moon for Derek, Carolyn and Tracy Hill with the favourite just getting up to take second place.
Close behind was Ruby for Stephen Riley and Isla Hetherington with a gap to Donna Hetherington’s Flecky Jack. The last ticket went to Overwater Louie another hound not having had much action, but ran a great race on the day for Andy Horn.
The meeting had visitors from Australia as Sue and her husband Jim had travelled over on holiday and while up in Cumbria wanted to attend the hound races. Sue is a journalist and she wanted to write an article on hound racing.
They had a great afternoon chatting to the different members and watching the races take place. They are due to fly back to Australia in a couple of weeks and once they had spent a few more days in Cumbria they were off to Pembrokeshire in South Wales before heading home again to Melbourne.
August 17 – Wythop
- Hounds – 1. Busy Again; 2. Mel; 3. Foxparke Fairlady; 4. Foxparke Beep Beep; 5. Dundee; 6. Malia. 11 ran, time 44.17.
- Pups – 1. Busy Rascal; 2. Zoya; 3. Maggie; 4. Thorn Bee; 5. Foxparke Dupe; 6. Zaya. 16 ran, time 26.29.
- Open Maiden – Foxparke Whoosh; 2. Senorita; 3. Audacity; 4. Chapel Style; 5. Castle Callant; 6. Sam Cro. 20 ran, time 21.17.
- Open Restricted – 1. Overwater Eddie; 2. Dream Catcher; 3. Milo Moon; 4. Ruby; 5. Flecky Jack; 6. Overwater Louise. 10 ran, time 21.57.
