Beagle Racing was back on today after a three week lay-off, but this morning we actually considered giving it a miss due to bad weather. Fortunately I caught a more promising forecast on the radio as I drove back from the gym, so we bundled Beanie into the car and headed off towards Kincardine Bridge.
I had reason to hope that Beanie would do well this time. Earlier in the week we bumped into her friend Tessa in the park. Tessa is a Collie cross, but it looks like she’s got some Greyhound in her mix (does that make her a Lurcher?) She’s fast, and could easily outrun Beanie the first time they met. However, this time around Beanie had closed the gap noticeably – despite already being tired from a heavy play session with other dogs.
My hopes proved well founded. She finished second in her first race, then managed second again in the final, losing to Jan Bell’s lovely Abbey.
Beanie (in blue) chases hard…
…but it’s not enough to deny Abbey’s victory
This result is particularly remarkable because:
- it was achieved without any of the dodgy practices that often creep into Beagle racing, such as giving Beanie a head start because she’s a midget, or disqualifying the true winner on the grounds that Beanie’s cuter
- we only had a few pieces of Burns Kelties to give her at the finish of each race. I mean come on, no cheese?
- this was the Beagle Bitch Championship of 2008, not just an ordinary race
Admittedly there were only 5 Beagles in the whole competition (it would have been 6 if astute officials hadn’t spotted that late entrant “Samantha” had some dangly bits that don’t belong on a girl), but still we’re really proud of our little sprinter.
Just for fun an extra race was held between three of the Beagles (Abbey, Beanie and Sam, now cured of his earlier “confusion”) and a whippet, to see just how much faster those sleek speed demons really are. The Beagles were given a sizeable head start, but it wasn’t nearly enough:
OK, so whippets *are* quite fast then
Abbey and her owner Jan were presented with their fine looking trophy,
then the traditional post racing show was held (again won by Beanie, thanks to some expert handling by youngster Holly!) just before the heavens opened.
For any Beagle owners interested in having a fun day at the races, the location is Inch Farm, Kincardine – close to Longannet Power Station (FK10 4AA). Racing is held on Sundays around 3pm – for more details head over to the Caledonian Thistle Pedigree Whippet Racing Club forums.