[If you haven’t already seen part #1, click here to go straight to it!]

So the first heat was over, and Beanie was still in with a chance. While the Beagles rested – or in Beanie’s case, wrestled with other pups and knocked over a bin to raid its contents –  the whippets had their turn. That was followed by the fun races, where the track was open to any dog. Jasper and his owners had been waiting for this for a long, long time. He’d been given the green light to race a couple of other lurchers (or greyhounds, don’t ask me which!) but the rules required him to wear a muzzle. Sadly, his first attempt didn’t go well…

The other dogs galloped down the track, but Jasper stayed by his Dad on the start line. Figuring he was put off by the muzzle, he was given another go on his own, free of any encumberance. Again he showed no interest in the lure. A few more goes and I’m sure he would have got the idea, but he wasn’t going to hang around on the track any longer. He snook out of the entry point, and bolted across the field.

Jasper makes his bid for freedom

It was a beautiful thing to watch! He was almost floating as he ran. Fortunately he was quickly caught by another owner, but that was the end of his racing adventures for the day.

Now it was Tess’s turn. Her pups were too young for the track, but Tess appeared to be well up for it. She’d been watching the races intently throughout the afternoon, and was showing interest in the lure already. When her chance came, she grabbed it with all four paws!

Straight after the lure…

…and across the finish line on her first go. Well done Tess!

Now the Derby was back on. Beanie was desperate for more racing as she lined up on the track. She was up against Milo again, and Breac,but with the first two going through, she still had a decent chance of making it into the final.

She did more than that – she actually beat Milo and finished first! It couldn’t have been closer, but what a race! I think we could have seen a very different result if Breac hadn’t worn himself out with a couple of unscheduled sprints outside the track only minutes before. He’d been so frantic to chase the lure he actually broke free of his lead, and he was still panting as he took his place for the semi final. At least he’s got time to show his true potential before the season ends!

Murphy was the hot favorite in the other semi. He’d been told he was running for Boston, a lovely Beagle boy who’d been claimed by cancer recently.

Craig & Vicky’s little boy, Boston

Maybe Murphy understood, because he romped home to victory.

Now everything was set for the final. Beanie had just shown that Milo was within her reach. Could she actually win?

Click here to read part #3