Event: Miller's High Heat Index wins title; Erin's Envy annexes Runner-up of the
Result: Northeastern Open Championship

Location: East Windsor, Connecticut

Post Date: Oct 28, 2025

Submitted By: Tom Gates

Northeastern Open Championship Winners (l-r): Haley Moreland with Erin's Envy and Mike Tracy with Miller's High Heat Index. (Standing): Amilcar Pereira, Gene Casale, Mary Tracy, Tom Tracy, Alene Levasseur, George Tracy, John Malone (judge), and Kevin Stuart (judge).

Last year's runner-up champion is this year's new champion! Miller's High Heat Index, owned by Allen Linder of Livingston, Tennessee, and Casey Tracy of Blakely, Georgia, put on a show that will be talked about for decades to come! The 7-year-old white and orange pointer male was again handled by Mike Tracy. Emerging from the seventh brace, which was away at 10:18 on Tuesday morning, he was braced with Smoke'N'Mirrors (PF/ M. Basilone). Both dogs were very stylish, fast-going with snappy tails and a hard-driving gait. Talk about dogs that make you stand up in the saddle--these were two! They both pointed at 7, with Index having the big covey on the right and Smoke with a sizable quail covey on the left side of the road. Both very classy pointing dogs! At Fox Hill, both dogs again had birds in separate locations. Nice find, they looked like statues! I didn't know which one to watch! Index had a two-bird find with extreme style at the top of the hill, all in order. Smoke had a single up towards the clubhouse with great pointing style and was then lost on point not to return. Too bad, as this dog was 'getting it done' also! Index ran a far-reaching race with incredible drive and style. He was always in just the right spot and made just the right turn at the exact perfect moments recalled by the judge. He was next found standing high and tight out to the Dearborn property with quail well located. Adding singles at 50 and 55, Index finished strong on the edge, going away. One judge glanced over and said, "This is the dog that I want to take home with me!" Incredible dog!

Runner-up laurels went to Erin's Envy. The 3-year-old white and liver pointer male is owned by Joe McHugh of Barton, Georgia, and was also handled by Mike Tracy. Envy ran in the 15th brace on Wednesday afternoon. Braced with Mohawk Mill King Pen (PM/ M. Basilone), both dogs were fantastic on the ground. Envy swapped ends at 7 for the big covey with a high tiptoed posture. A statue at flush! Both dogs scored singles behind Fox Hill in separate locations. Envy is a hard charger with a fast, driving gait that makes you look at him as the high-cracking tail catches your eye. We nearly rode past Envy at the top of the hill, buried in the thick cover with birds well located. King Pen scored going toward the clubhouse, all in order. Envy was found standing the covey out to Dearborn. What a picture! Super nice pointing dog! King Pen logged a single coming back toward the middle. Envy added two more singles and didn't slow down a step, only getting bigger and bigger; finally finishing as a dot on the distant edge. Wow, great job! This young dog has a fantastic future.

The judges gave Honorable Mention to two dogs, which were very close to the winners. Miller's Heat Seeker with George Tracy, and Waybetter Rebel with Mike Tracy. Both had more than championship-caliber braces. Great dogs!

The Field Trial
The Northeastern Open Championship is by far a nationally recognized premier event. This was the 67th renewal of the Northeastern with an entry of 31 championship-caliber contenders. We would like to thank George and Mike Tracy, along with Matt Basilone, for their continued support.
The Casale family has run this prestigious event for over 50 years. Hall of Famer Eugene Casale chaired and ran this event for decades. His son, Gene Casale Jr., took the reins of running the event about 35 years ago. Gene Sr. stayed active in the trial until his passing in 2009. It has always been the most prestigious event in the Eastern United States. Thank you, Gene!
This year brought a new era to the Casale family's participation. All three of Gene and Pam's children have had babies within the past year. Instead of holding a family celebration for the new arrivals, the whole family came together to help run the championship. Son, Dr. Joel, came from Louisiana and planted birds with his 1-year-old son Julian on the saddle. Daughters Heather and Anna brought their new arrivals, Harper and Zoe, to help Pam with the meals and cleaning. The Northeastern Open Championship now has a fourth generation of the Casale family insuring its prestigious future. Thank you all!
A major championship of this level requires judges of the highest caliber and experience. John Malone of Bolton, Connecticut, was back to judge again this year. Having judged dozens of championship trials and hundreds of weekend trials all over the country, John is nationally recognized as a top judging choice and adds a high level of expertise to the event. His dedication and focus are quite visible when judging. Kevin Stuart needs no introduction. His 50-year resume of judging major championships is unparallel. From setting and maintaining the pace to complementing each other, covering a find, these judges were certainly the best. Thank you both for another fantastic job. Their placements were well-received and applauded by all attending.
Purina has sponsored this event for over 50 years. Wow! Greg Blair of Purina is a very knowledgeable dog man and provides a huge amount of support to the Northeastern Championship. A great man and a great dog food. Purina is the only dog food any of our New England people use. Thank you, Purina, and thank you again, Greg!
As stated last year, NO ONE leaves the Northeastern Championship hungry! Pam Casale and her whole family deserve a huge THANK YOU for their tireless efforts in providing the best and most food imaginable. From coffee and donuts in the morning to subs, pizza, soup, and stews at lunch, to incredible dinner offerings of stuffed shells, meatballs, lasagna, salad, and five desserts, you are unquestionably the best. Thank you! Tony Forte, now 86, donated a huge offering of his famous eggplant to the dinners (everyone's favorite!). He has contributed to the dinners for over 45 years. Thank you, Tony! With over 30 attending each night, a good time was had by all.
You can't run a top event at this level without good help. We had the best! Thank you to Amilcar Pereira, Tom Tracy, Alene LeVasseur, Bill Bonnetti, John Olfson, Dr. Joel Casale, Anna (Casale) LaRose, Heather (Casale) Whalen, Tony Forte, Craig Santos, and Gary Tavares.
I have run dogs, run trials, judged countless braces, and manned hundreds of hours on work parties at the Flaherty area since 1972. This year was unquestionably the worst running conditions that I have ever experienced at the Flaherty Field Trial Area. You couldn't see a dog in many places, and I know that a few dogs were lost on point because of this. Another year or so of this and the grounds will be overgrown and useless.
Fortunately, the Flaherty Association has Keith Cagle as our Government Relations Representative. Keith addressed the issue at the Commissioner level. He brought the Director to our trial, put him on a horse and had him ride a few braces to see the issues firsthand. Fantastic job, Keith. Thank you again!
The weather for the championship was less than desirable. A Nor'easter came through Sunday, Monday, and half of Tuesday with high winds and lots of rain. The grounds were muddy, but not slippery for the horses.

The Running
Brace 1: Limbsmoke Urban Lullaby (PM/M. Basilone) with Mo's Curtain Call (PF/M. Tracy). Away at 12:35 on Monday, these were two pretty going pointers. Unfortunately, they eventually got into a foot race and were lost, not returning within time.

Brace 2: Mohawk Mill Jacked Up (PM/M. Basilone) with Miller's Heat Seeker (PM/G. Tracy). Stylish and hard driving, this was a great brace. Both dogs had a covey find at 7 in separate locations. Manners and style were perfect. Heat Seeker had a two-bird find at Fox Hill, with Jacked Up recording a stylish back. Both dogs again had a quail covey in separate locations at the top of the hill. Jacked Up scored near the Clubhouse with a single taking wing. Heat Seeker was putting on a show for George! He added a single at the Dearborn property while just eating up the course. Snappy tail and having a good time. He added two more finds near the end and finished strong.

Brace 3: Waybetter Rebel (PM/M. Tracy) with Wild Covey Derecho (PM/M. Basilone). Rebel had the covey at 7 with plenty of style. Derecho logged a nice covey at 9 with birds well located. He hunted hard but was lost on point. Rebel found the Fox Hill birds and a pair of bobwhites at the top of the hill with plenty of style. Rebel added two single finds out to Dearborn and finished strong.

Brace 4: The Grey Ghost (ESM/M. Basilone) with Miller's Little Duce Coupe (PF/M. Tracy). These were bird dogs! Both had big covey finds in separate areas at 7. Again, near Fox Hill, both dogs recorded excellent covey finds. Coupe locked up for a pair of bobwhites near the old Tobacco Barn area with plenty of style pointing. Coupe got the Dearborn covey while Ghost carded a dug-up find nearby. Coming back toward the middle, Ghost was a picture on another dug-up find. Both dogs added a single near the end and finished strong.

Brace 5: Red Alert Lane (PM/M. Basilone) with Miller's Extreme Heat (PF/M. Tracy). These two pointers were very big going. Heat recorded a nice find at 7, but both were eventually lost to the front. Too bad, as they both looked great going!

Brace 6: Cool Hand Luke (PM/M. Tracy) with Miller's Strolling for Gold (PF/G. Tracy). These two pointers were big going and stylish on the ground. Gold scored first at 8 with a single. Luke was found standing at Fox Hill with a nice covey. Additional finds were reported for each at the Dearborn area with perfect manners. Nice dogs!

Brace 7: Smoke'N'Mirrors (PF/M. Basilone) with Miller's High Heat Index (PM/M. Tracy). This brace was covered above.

Brace 8: Steel Valley Raven (PF/M. Tracy) with Hirollins Bad Boy (PM/M. Basilone). Away at 1:35 after lunch, these dogs were top contenders on the ground-- fast, snappy, excited, and focused! Boy looked like a million dollars on point at 7. His straight tail and motionless stand impressed. Raven had a single at Fox Hill and another single at the top of the hill. Boy scored at the top of the hill and added finds near the clubhouse and out to Dearborn. He was lost after that, which I feel he may have been missed while standing on point. Too bad, as he was a very nice dog.

Brace 9: Miller's Southern Gossip (PF/G. Tracy) Bittersweet War Cry (PM/M. Tracy). Gossip locked up on the big covey at 7 with nice pointing style. George called point again at the top of the hill with Gossip standing high and proud. War Cry took in a lot of country finding birds at Fox Hill and near the clubhouse. Nice running dogs.

Brace 10: Mohawk Mill Lady Justice (PF/M. Basilone) with Erin's Big Casino (ESM/M. Tracy). Lady Justice was a "very nice dog," according to the judges. I believe she is still a derby or a young first-year dog, but she impressed everyone this day! Casino scored singles at 4 and 16 but was too much dog for these grounds today. He was evidently lost on point to the front. Lady Justice had the big covey at 7. Pretty pointing dog. She added a pair of bobwhites going up the hill in the back. Great dog!

Brace 11: Miller's Automatic Upgrade (PM/M. Tracy) with Fort River's Lucky Charm (ESM/ M. Basilone). If you like setters, you'll love this one! Charm is a powerhouse with plenty of style going. A cracking tail and animated gait that makes you look at him. Charm had the big covey from 30 feet away. He added a nice little covey on top and ran like the wind. Nice dog! Upgrade also had birds at 8 with a more than adequate stance. He hit the cover hard and scored again at 16. Very animated race!

Brace 12: Millers Customized Upgrade (PM/G. Tracy) with Calico's Sky's the Limit (PF/ M. Tracy). George called point for Upgrade at 7 with the big covey well located. Intense pointing style and great manners. Limit jacked up for Mike a few minutes later with a good-sized covey of her own. Very pretty on point! Both dogs flowed stylishly on the ground; Upgrade traded ends on top with a nice find and ran the limits. Limit added singles at 16 and 24 also running an exciting race.

Brace 13: Mohawk Mill Patriot (PM/M. Basilone) with Miller's Special Cinderella. (PF/M. Tracy). A great challenging brace. Patriot took the lead with a hard-charging race that caught your eye. Cinderella was all class going and scored first at 7 on a covey. Patriot also logged a dug-up covey near the tree line at 8. Pretty pointing dog! He added singles at 15 and 22 with a far-reaching race. Nice dog! Cinderella again found birds at Fox Hill and near the clubhouse with perfect manners and style.

Brace 14: Mohawk Mill Gangster (PM/M. Basilone) with Trumped (PM/M. Tracy). Trumped, last year's champion, had his running shoes on and was out of sight early. Gangster was all business! The young pointer ran hard and took in a lot of country. He carded an excellent find at 10 with plenty of style. Gangster added two singles to a fast-driving effort.

Brace No.15 (covered above): Mohawk Mill King Pen (PM/M. Basilone) with Erin's Envy (PM/M. Tracy).

Brace 16: Faithful (PF/M. Tracy). Bye dog. This pointer female attacked the course with purpose and a high cracking tail. She tallied three finds at 7, 15, and 24. Great running dog!

East Windsor, Conn., October 15
Judges: John Malone and Kevin Stuart
67th NORTHEASTERN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 28 Pointers and 3 Setters
Winner-MILLER's HIGH HEAT INDEX, F1685674, pointer male, by Just Irresistible-Miller's Bring the Heat. Allen Linder & Casey Hollander, owners; Mike Tracy, handler.
Runner-Up-ERIN'S ENVY, F1705275, pointer male, by Dominator's Rebel Heir-Erin's Miss Maggie. Joe McHugh, owner; Mike Tracy, handler.

Seven-year-old Owen Malone, a third-generation field trialer, rides braces as Grandpa John Malone judges.

The Casale Family (l-r): Kevin and Anna LaRose with baby Zoe, Dr. Joel and Kaitlyn Casale with baby Julian, Jon and Heather Whalen with Grandpa Gene and baby Harper, and Grandma Pam Casale.