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 HUNTSMAN’S Dazzler suffered a set-back to his HTA senior championship hopes when he lost a win “in the steward’s room.”
The Executive Committee discussed at length the rules about the judging of finishes, with particular reference to the recent meeting at Goosewell, when some hounds came up the wrong side of a broken wall.
On that occasion, they were judged, but the Committee decided that this was incorrect, and the hounds concerned have been discounted from the results.
The finish had been slightly changed to avoid the rushes, humps and hollows of the usual route, and this foxed some of the seniors, particularly Huntsman's Dazzler (pictured at Bower House) who came up the wrong field.
The senior result is now: 1, Huntsman's Charm; 2, Mayfly; 3, Tarantino; 4, Jenny's Pride; 5, Della; 6, Molly Malone.
There was similar confusion in the veterans, because not only were some in the wrong field, but some jumped over or went back down, and confusion reigned. The new veterans result is: 1, Jordan's Miracle; 2, Outrageous; 3, Pinfold Skye; 4, The Real Bandit.
Following on from Sunday’s meeting it has now been recommended that when the finishing tape is laid out, it is extended to its full capacity, both in front of the judge and behind the judge (where possible).
HTA chairman Barry Laidler said: “This will comply with rule 56.4 and stop any further confusion.”
The Committee also discussed ways of making it safer for incoming trailers, and they are asking all areas to try the method recently introduced by Whitehaven.
A gap of 3 -4 yards is left in the centre of the line-up of hounds at the slip, and the trailer, either on the live rag or dead rag, walks right in close. Good discipline by both starters and hound handlers is needed!
It was decided at the meeting that Snow Hill will stage the Premier trails on 7th August.
Meanwhile, the trails manager for the Bitch Produce meeting at Gaisgill is cutting down the senior trail to make it a little shorter.
So who will be the winner of the prestigious Bitch Produce Stakes, the highlight of the week-end’s trailing.
Owners had the chance to have a run over the course on Wednesday, June 16 and 38 contested the puppy trail with two bitches leading them home – Sawdust and Tagget. Quiet Lass in fifth was the only other ticketing bitch.
Bitches with recent winning form, Westgate Gypsy and Lady Agenda have to be considered and in the likely absence of championship leader Angel you must also include on your short-list Enoch and Medwyn.
Taking the view that winning course experience is invaluable for a pup I’ll go for Sawdust to beat Westgate Gypsy and Tagget with Medwyn, Lady Agenda and Enoch fighting it out for the minor tickets.
There will be a Tipster competition on the Produce trail - enter on the day at the tent.
We start our look back at the week’s trails with Tuesday’s double set of action at Staveley Head and Grange Grassings.
At Staveley Head there was a good turn-out with 102 hounds contesting the four trails, twenty of them in the opening senior trail.
It was very open as they approached the finish with Ivy Crag, prominent throughout the trail, forging into the lead as they jumped he last wall. Jim Batty, Mike Slee and Norman Fallows- Millom bitch Ivy Crag stayed glued to her task and kept going well to beat Velvet by two lengths with Desire another two lengths behind in third.
Four pups settled down to fight-out the finish of the junior trail but Jackie Boy and Nike were dropped and it became a straight scrap between Tagget and Bingo.
Bingo seemed to have the race there for the taking but seemed to get in a tangle approaching the line which allowed Brian Graham and Les McTear’s bitch to grab the win by a whisker.
The open maidens produced a good finish, too, with four hounds in with a chance and in the Charlotte Stobbart and Brian Graham's Gifted had a couple of lengths on Wattmore with Eden Roberta and Davina all close-up.
Lofty has been a popular hound in recent years and he was contesting the final trail, the open restricted with quite a few punters hoping he would produce some of his old magic.
But it was Margaret Baxter’s Halloween who had the answers, prominent in second place for most of the trail finally coming through impressively to beat Lofty by two lengths. The camera had to be consulted to settle third spot and in a desperately close finish Jordan’s Tyke was given the nod.
At Grange Grassings there was a tight finish between former double champion Westgate Kyza and Westgate Ripple who had pulled clear. In the end Kyza prevailed but only by half a length.
The first four all had a chance in he open restricted but Waver Rock didn’t help itself by running off and eventually finishing fourth, it’s doubtful, though, whether that would have changed the result because Pot Look and Sky’s the Limit looked the dominant pair. In the end Pot Look got home with a couple of lengths to spare.
Bon Jovi led the open restricted but ran-off and although recovering could only manage fourth place as Hunter’s Lane just beat Wisla by half a length with That’s a Deal in third.
On Thursday there were two more meetings at Grasmere and also at Gamelsby but there were practically twice as many entries at the Lakes trails.
Conditions were beautiful at Grasmere where Pawley, Burrow, Hodgson and Bell's Desire showed some of her best puppy form by taking the senior trail for her third success of the season.
She had surrendered a good advantage to Ivy Crag by opting to try and cut through the bracken instead of sticking to the trod. But she showed her finishing speed again when the whistles went on and flew past her rival to win by four lengths from kennelmate Davina.
Sarah Mackereth’s Westgate Gypsy is starting to hit form at the right time and she won the puppy trail by a distance after her nearest challenger Tagget decided to take he Desire route through the bracken but couldn’t extricate herself in the same fashion and dropped away to finish fourth. Colourful just beat Medwyn for third place
Peter Green's Superseven is more or less a standing dish at Grasmere and didn’t disappoint his supporters in the open restricted.
Coming through to lead on the finish he saw his through well and had a handy lead at the tape from Seven Up ands kennel-mates Dynamite and Beyonce in good style.
At Gamelsby only five contested the senior trail and they were well strung out but Quiet Swallow had edged ahead on the line with a three length victory over Splendid Star with Owtback well back in third.
Lady Agenda has been quietly doing the business in the Aspatria and Wigton Area for Maurice Bewley and grad-daughter Hannah and she was impressive again, winning by half a field in the puppy trail with Sawdust nearest to her at the finish.
Escala won the open restricted by a length from Wisla but the runner-up did decide to run-off twice or might have turned the tables. Busy Night was third.
The warm weather may be well received by the punters but it’s not so clever for the hounds who laboured on Saturday at Wath Brow in the heat.
Fourteen went in the senior trail and it was Alliance who emerged from a recent barren spell to record a win which keeps her in the title hunt.
The bad luck story of the race concerned Cinnabar who had a big lead only to take he wrong route and although getting sorted eventually could only take third as Random Star gave the winner most to do in the closing stages.
Medwyn and Justify did the same as Cinnabar when they looked likely to contest the finish of the pups, but could only manage third and fourth. Da Look also seemed in with a very good shout but must have stopped for a drink and in the meantime Night Spirit showed most application to stay to the required course and win easily from Enoch.
The beck was tempting again for the maidens and it was Bushie who made shortest work at the water which was a significant factor in the victory.
There was never any doubt about the open restricted as Amy Jo was sent off a hot favourite and obliged like one, winning by a country mile.
Huntsman’s Dazzler scored his 12th win of the season at Coniston Tops in the evening but that was back to 11 as a result of the executive committee’s decision over the Goosewell finishing episode.
The Dazzler did falter in the run to the line but still had twenty yards on Habana who had pulled well clear of the rest, headed by Westgate Ruby.
Jim Batty, Mike Slee and Norman Fallows had he winner of the open maiden – and the runner-up for good measure.
Ramblin' Rose finished best of all and had three or four yards on kennelmate Farmer with Davina only a head away in third.
Championship leader Angel was among the 21 pups who contested the junior trail but didn’t ticket.
Sarah Mackereth's Westgate Gypsy showed a great finishing dash to come through and score her seventh win of the season, a couple of lengths ahead of Poker Face and Nemesis.
The meeting finished with the open restricted in which Superseven showed he was in the right frame of mind again after his Grasmere victory on Thursday.
He was clinical in his finishing, bounding clear of Sophisticated Lady and Bonny Lass.
They were at Redmain on Sunday when senior title challenger Darling put in an appearance but didn’t look anywhere near her best, eventually finishing well back in fifth.
It was Tarantino who finished the strongest to win by half a dozen lengths but Westgate Ripple, who had laid down the gauntlet on the finish, had second spot snatched from her by the fast-finishing Owtback.
There was dismay in the pups when none of the juniors looked comfortable in hunting the scent. Although Sawdust got round to beat Thorn Boy it was outside the allotted time so the trail was declared void.
True Blue took the open non-winners, but only just inside the 30 minute time allowance as the hounds struggled with the scent.
To complete a miserable afternoon the open restricted was also declared void, over-time, although Rhinestone Cowboy did put in a bold effort to get round under the time limit.
At Newlands on Tuesday 89 entries served-up some interesting fare with former puppy champion Dairy Singer scoring her first senior win of the season, beating Gifted and Miss Molly.
Arthur and Irene Temple’s other racing former puppy champion Dairy Diamond was in fourth place.
The Millom boys had to settle for a 2-3 after their 1-2 at Grasmere as this time Ramblin Rose and Farmer found one too good in the maidens – Temptation.
Jacob McClink raced to his sixth puppy win, beating the in-form Westgate Gypsy and Colourful.
In the open restricted The Penny Arcade won for the first time this season from Bonny Lass and Lofty.
At Grange Grassings, also on Tuesday, Owtback beat That's a Deal by one and a half lengths in the senior trail while there as a good finish to the pups with Pot Look beating Night Spirit by two lengths with five in with a chance.
There was a one-two in the open maidens for Lynn Brown and Joan Hutchinson and only half a length between Magic Bay and Tidal Bay.
Latest results in the Border Association have been as follows:
Tuesday 22nd June, Wintershields. (BHTA)
Seniors: 1, Houxty Beck; 2, Telltale; 3, Tune; 4, Spring Dream; 5, Spring Midget; 6, Summer Delight. 13 ran 21:56.
Senior Maidens: 1, Houxty Bank; 2, Skylark; 3, Lakeland Mist; 4, Jedi; 5, Georgie's Girl; 6, Lakeland Echo. 9 ran 23:15.
Pups: 1, Spring Rambler; 2, Eagle Heart; 3; Gizmo; 4, Flanagan; 5, Spring Roamer; 6, Delta Diva. 20 ran 19:03.
Open Restricted: 1, Farm Time; 2, Castle Corrie; 3, Lauren's Gift; 4, Fire Dream; 5, Summer Virtue; 6, Marshman. 16 ran 18:38.
Thursday 24th June, Spadeadam Farm. (BHTA)
Seniors:1, Spring Dream; 2, Fire Ranger; 3, Farm Time; 4, Trust; 5, Tune; 6, Jacko. 10 ran 25:26.
Pups: 1, Delta Diva; 2, Border Lily; 3, Denman; 4, Border Pal; 5, Amber Didier; 6, Spring Rambler. 17:38.
Puppy Maidens: 1, Spring Rhythm; 2, Castle Piper; 3, Silver Lining. 3 ran 1:39.
Open Restricted: 1, Gold Finger; 2, Summer Virtue; 3, Houxty bank; 4, Fire Dream; 5, Jedi; 6, Newman. 13 ran 16:00.
Saturday 26th June, Sorbie's Farm. (BHTA)
Seniors: 1, Summer Delight; 2, Marshman; 3, Houxty Beck; 4, Telltale; 5, Fire Ranger; 6, Gold Finger. 6 ran 29:56.
Senior Maidens: 1, Lakeland Mist; 2, Lakeland Echo; 3, Georgie's Girl; 4, Fire Cracker. only four finished, 6 ran 36:03.
Pups: 1, Eagle Heart; 2, Spring Rambler; 3, Spring Roamer; 4, Border Lily; 5, Lotto; 6, Gizmo. 11 ran 18:05.
Puppy Maidens: 1, Spring Rhythm; 2, Castle Piper; 3, Merlin; 4, Jasper. 4 ran 20:51.
Open Restricted: 1, Fire Dream; 2, Houxty Bank; 3, Castle Corrie; 4, Castle Cairn; 5, Summer Virtue; 6, Peter. 6 ran 16:02.
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