West Cumbria Federation’s oldest racing member was flying high at the weekend after topping the sheet again.
Billy Cottier is coming up 94 and still enjoying his pigeons, especially after winning the race from Appleton when the loft was also second.
In August he topped the Fed after winning the young bird race from Charnock Richard.
Billy started flying with his brother John and their father on Greenbank in 1953. Since then he and John flew as Cottier brothers and then he was in partnership with his late son Mike.
He’s now in partnership with Barry Patrickson and they have help from Willie Henderson, so a loft team packed with experience.
The winning bird is a blue white flight cock and the runner-up a blue cock, both gifts from Barry Kegg out of birds from Sandwith ace Steve Chambers who is not able to fly this season because of health issues.
They were in a flock of 12 that went over and they got down well to trap and claim first and second Fed.
The partnership got 12 from the Cambers loft and seven of them have either won or scored in the Sandwith club. They acknowledge their debt to Steve Chambers and have sent their best wishes for a return to good health for him.
The West Cumbria Amalgamation birds were liberated at 8.45am in a light south west wind and the Fed winner was clocked at 10-11am after a 92-mile flight – which equates to around 64mph.
Sandwith club-mate Barry Irving is making up for lost time after a 2021 season badly hit by health problems with the birds and was prominent again on the Fed sheet with 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8TH and 9th.
Nipping in to take fourth was David Harrison of Egremont Rangers who won the club with a yearling mealy cock which had also led the field from Garstang. He’s bred from eggs that David was given by his very good friend Malcolm Scott of Gateshead. The cock is of Johan van Herck and Carl Lambrecht bloodlines.
Best velocity, though, in the West Cumbria Amalgamation was put up by a dark chequer yearling cock flying to the Workington Victoria loft of Kevin Evans who took first three spots in his club.
His winning bird was clocked just before 10-17am after the 98-mile flight from Appleton.
Kevin, who flies as Evans and Abraham as a tribute to late racing partner Willie Abraham, has established himself as one of the most consistent inland fliers in the Amalgamation.
His first two birds were yearlings while third home was a well-fancied two-year-old hen and all are Lambrechts from stock birds obtained from Steve Foster.
Long-time fancier John Pooley is enjoying a terrific start to the season with three successive wins in the Harrington Central club, and for good measure he was second and third in the Fed,
Flying on his own since the death of his racing partner Harry Telford a number of years ago, John is one of the most respected fanciers in the Derwent Valley.
The latest winner, a yearling chequer hen has now won twice on the roundabout system and is through a Belgian import of Kevin Murray’s which he borrowed to breed off.
John had previously won three in a row, a few years ago, but with his young birds.
The other loft in the Derwent Valley which has started with three straight wins is that of Williams and Hadfield in the Workington Social Limit club.
To add to first and second at the week-end they were also fifth and sixth as the birds have made a fine start to the season.
The bird that won is a blue yearling cock out of a kit of six Lambrechts from Steve Foster .He actually came at the first race from Garstang, landed with a hen but stood there five seconds before going over the pad and he only managed 7th when he could have gone in first and won.
The bird that took second is a chequer hen, also out of a kit of six, but from top Midlands flier Terry Rigney. Both birds are on the roundabout system.
The Copeland North West club raced from Cannock and it was a particularly good race for club chairman Graham Best of Workington.
He won the race and took five of the first six tickets, only denied a clean sweep by Billy Cottier and Barry Patrickson in fifth.
The winner was a yearling mealy hen bred off a red Lambrecht cock gifted to Graham by good friend Kevin Evans (who won the Derwent Valley Fed at the week-end). Mother of the winner is a blue Van den Brande hen from Ronnie Wilson of Chorley.
The winning hen’s full brother was fourth having only the second race of his life as Graham only trained the cocks last year.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (2,635 birds): 1, 4, 5, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria) 1882, 1879.2, 1878.9; 2, 3, Telford and Pooley (Harrington Central) 1880, 1879.6; 6, N. and G. Wordsworth (Harrington Central) 1878.2.
WEST CUMBERLAND
FEDERATION (890 birds): 1, 2, Cottier and Patrickson (Sandwith) 1877, 1876; 3, 5, 6, B. Irving (Sandwith) 1873, 1871, 1870; 4, D. Harrison and son (Egremont Rangers) 1872.
SANDWITH: 1, 2, Cottier and Patrickson 1877, 1876; 3, 4, 5, 6, B. Irving 1873, 1871, 1870, 1869.
LOWCA HS (4 sent 172): 1, Tomlinson and Banks 1868; 2, 4, Holliday and Dixon 1865, 1831; 3, D. Lofthouse 1845.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (12 sent 436): 1, Dobson, son, grandson and Lyle 1873; 2, Tomlinson and Banks 1871; 3, 5, Fitzsimmons and son 1858, 1813; 4, 6, Graham and co 1848, 1807.
EGREMONT HS (141 birds): 1, 3, 4, D. Harrison and son 1872, 1842, 1820; 2, 5, 6, Wilson and Buchanan 1861, 1820, 1819.
DERWENT VALLEY
SEATON RBL (143 birds): 1, 2, 5, Dobie and Palmer 1877, 1871, 1816; 3, 4, Mr and Mrs Dustin 1820, 1818; 6, A. Parker and son 1811.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (10 sent 463): 1, 2, 3, Evans and Abraham 1903, 1900.7, 1900.2; 4, Williams and Hadfield 1899; 5, 6, McLuckie bros 1897, 1895.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (9 sent 333): 1, 3, Telford and Pooley 1880, 1879; 3, 4, N. and G. Wordsworth 1878, 1877; 5, 6, J. Devlin 1876, 1870.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (8 sent 306): 1, 2, 5, 6, Williams and Hadfield 1877.6, 1877.2, 1873.2, 1872; 3, 4, McLuckie bros 1875, 1873.5.
DEARHAM UTD (10 sent 262): 1, 2, Berwick, Harker, Thompson and Watson 1811, 1810; 3, 4, 5, Deacon bros 1807.4, 1807.1, 1807.1; 6, Dempsey, son and Reay 1806.
FLIMBY HS (10 sent 422): 1, 5, 6, A. Bromley and co 1837, 1818, 1821; 2, 3, Nelson and Crellin 1830,6, 1830.3; 4, Rushforth and Hunter 1821.
NORTH WEST
COPELAND (9 sent 159): 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, G. Best; 5, Cottier and Patrickson.
