There hasn’t been a more consistent loft over recent years in the West Cumbria Amalgamation than that of the Workington Victoria partnership of Richard Martindale and George ‘Pal’ Lawman.
They were on top again at the weekend when their team dominated the Amalgamation sheet from Cannock.
But for an ETC malfunction they would have done even better than 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 13th, 14th and 17th in the Amalgamation with similar positions in the Derwent Valley Federation.
The loft had seven drop together but two of them didn’t register, and then right behind were another five with two more of those failing to register.
The winner is a yearling chequer cock bred through birds of Leach brothers from Hebdon Bridge. He’s a grandson of their number one breeder The Syndicate cock and is also a grandson of Brian Clennan’s Lady Lecter. Both these lines have been brilliant for the Workington loft in recent years.
As a young bird in 2021 he had a 5th Fed, 11th Fed and 12th Fed (12th Cumbria Combine).
Their second bird is from arguable the loft’s best ever racing hen The 72 hen, now at stock. This is one of the first to race from her, the sire being a Van den Bulck inbred grandson of Griepel.
Other names continue to dominate club sheets, particularly in Flimby HS and in Dearham Utd.
Jimmy Nelson and Fleck Crellin won again in Flimby and this time with the nest mate to the hen that was second last week.
She’s a two-year-old late bred from Karel Beockx stock birds and like a few of their pigeons flying well she was only trained with the young birds last year.
Over at the Dearham club there’s no stopping Robert and Albert Deacon who collected their fourth win in five races – annexing the first three tickets.
They race 26 widowhood cocks and the bird that was second has been ultra-consistent for the brothers – with a first (last week from Appleton), a second (Cannock) and a fourth (Charnock Richard).
The Derwent Valley fanciers dominated the Amalgamation result sheet taking 18 of the top 20 positions and all but six of the next 20.
The well-established Lowca loft of Holliday and Dixon topped the West Cumberland Federation and was 7th Amalgamation.
The birds were liberated from the Staffordshire race-point at 10.15am in a light south west wind and the winner was clocked, after a 145-mile flight, seconds before 1pm.
A yearling blue cock, racing on the roundabout system, the winner covered the distance at 53mph.
Earlier in the season he was 15th Fed from Garstang having arrived with two loftmates who were in the first five in the Fed.
His sire was bred by the loft’s number one stock pair (Syndicate Lofts x T. and K. Garman) who are now responsible for ten individual first prize winners including four first Fed winners.
The dam was bred by Trevor and Keiran Garman of West Bromwich and both the sire and dam of this Fed winner also won while racing.
Andy Holliday and Kenny Dixon have raced pigeons together now for 50 years with Andy’s son Gary involved too, although he reckons he’s only there to “scrape out.”
In Egremont, John Wilson and Neil Buchanan won again with a yearling blue hen who is a sister of the chequer hen bird that won the previous week from Appleton.
The Copeland North West club raced from Worcester, released at 8-30am in a light south-west wind and the winner was clocked three hours 23 minutes later by Jim Moreau at Cleator Moor – although not without incident.
Two blue yearling hens trapped together but one missed the pad. He then had the job of getting them both over again and the one he picked-up first was the one that had already been over! But he got there in the end and took first and second.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (2,615): 1, 2, 4, 5, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1558, 1557.89, 1557.7, 1557.589; 3, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria) 1557.87; 6, Mr and Mrs Walters and son (Workington Social) 1557.588.
DERWENT VALLEY FEDERATION (1,721 birds): 1, 2, 4, 5, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1558, 1557.89, 1557.7, 1557.589; 3, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria) 1557.87; 6, Mr and Mrs Walters and son (Workington Social) 1557.588.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (9 sent 428): 1, Evans and Abraham 1568.6; 2, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1568.1; 3, 4, 6. Martindale and Lawman 1566.7, 1566.4, 1566.2; 5, McLuckie bros 1566.3.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL (6 sent 279): 1, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1557; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, McLuckie bros 1555, 1554.5, 1554.3, 1553.7, 1553.4.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (9 sent 331): 1, J. Devlin 1555; 2, N. and G. Wordsworth 1551.7; 3, 5, I. and D. Wood 1551.6, 1542; 4, Mr and Mrs D. Wood 1547; 6, Telford and Pooley 1538.
DEARHAM UTD (9 sent 295): 1, 2, 3, Deacon bros 1576, 1575, 1572; 4, Berwick, Thomson, Harker and Watson 1565; 5, 6, Dempsey, son and Reay 1552.6, 1552.07.
FLIMBY HS (11 sent 462): 1, 3, 4, Nelson and Crellin 1549, 1545.2, 1545.1; 2, Rushforth and Hunter 1548; 5, A. Bromley and co 1544; 6, Tinnion and Aitken 1542.9.
SEATON RBL (4 sent 93): 1, Mr and Mrs Dustin 1552; 2, A. Parker and son 1550; 3, J. Gale 1549.7; 4, Dobie and Palmer 1549.6.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE: (21 sent 42): 1, 2, Martindale and Lawman 1557.7, 1557.5; 3, McLuckie bros 1554; 4, A. Graham and co 1549; 5, Nelson and Crellin 1545; 6, Varty, son and grandson 1542.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (894 birds): 1, Holliday and Dixon (Lowca) 1555; 2, D. Lofthouse (Lowca) 1553; 3, 4, B. Irving (Sandwith) 1550.9, 1550.7; 5, Graham and co (Cleator Moor) 1549; 6, Wilson and Buchanan (Egremont) 1548.
LOWCA (4 sent 155): 1, 4, Holliday and Dixon 1555, 1537; 2, 3, D. Lofthouse 1553, 1548.
SANDWITH: 1, 2, 6, B. Irving 1550.9, 1550.7, 1535.84; 3, 5, W. McGrady and son 1548, 1535.87; 4, J. Davidson 1536.
EGREMONT (142 birds): 1, 3, 6, Wilson and Buchanan 1548, 1538, 1530; 2, 4, 5, D. Harrison and son 1540, 1532.4, 1532.3.
CLEATOR MOOR (13 sent 444): 1, Graham and co 1552; 2, A. and T. Kenmare 1551; 3, 4, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1535.4, 1535.2; 5, Tomlinson and Banks 1534; 6, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1532.
COPELAND NORTH WEST (11 sent 174): 1, 2, J. Moreau 1458, 1454; 3, 5, Maudling bros 1428.4, 1428.2; 4, Cottier and Patrickson 1428.3; 6, Tinnion and Aitken 1422.