The West Cumbria Amalgamation beat the weather after a switch to Friday racing – and enjoyed a splendid race.
Because of the weather forecast for the week-end the decision was taken to race on the Friday and it proved a sound move.
It didn’t look like it early on when visibility at the race-point was limited on Friday morning but the patient approach proved the right one to take.
The birds were liberated at 12.05pm in a light east wind and David Lofthouse clocked the winner at 2.27pm after it had covered the 142 miles at a fraction under 60mph.
David has been racing for 40 years and this was the first time he has topped the Amalgamation.
It’s a blue cock, flying to the perch, which was bred off a pair he got off Barry Irving, a leading fancier in the Sandwith club.
The sire goes back to Sugar Wilson’s breed while the dam is out of Barry’s top racers.
He had 30 at the race and he dropped three – all A rings being prepared for the Cleator Moor Gold Ring race on September 17.
However another A ring took third in the Amalgamation. A dark hen, she was bought at the A ring sale and is one from the Rodgers and Benn and loft. She is going to Cheltenham this week-end for the final Amalgamation race before being sent to the A ring race from Yeovil.
“I actually got three together but only two of them got down,” said David, who topped the West Cumberland Federation from an old bird race earlier in the season.
Splitting the two Lofthouse birds on the sheet was a bird to the Egremont loft of John Wilson and Neil Buchanan.
He’s a blue cock, a Frans Zwols whose sire is a double grandson of Tip Top Junior and his dam is a daughter of the loft’s number one son of Bert the 685 sire of many winners all over the UK when paired to a daughter of the Prince of Rekkem and the Queen of Rekkem – all the best Zwols bloodlines.
In the fast race the West Cumberland Federation dominated with the first 14 on the Amalgamation sheet.
The Derwent Valley Federation winners, for the second week in a row were Richard Martindale and George ‘Pal’ Lawman of Workington Victoria.
They clocked a chequer hen just before 2-34pm flying five and a half miles further than the winner.
She is off one of their top stock cocks, Red Lecter who is already the sire of Amalgamation, Federation winners band grandsire of club winners. He is a recent addition from Andy Quirke in Ireland.
The same hen that has topped the Federation this time was 8th Amal a few weeks ago.
Incidentally this is the loft’s 24th Derwent Valley Federation win since they started the partnership seven years ago.
The Amalgamation’s young bird season ends this week-end from Cheltenham.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATIOIN (1,231 birds): 1, 3, D. Lofthouse (Lowca) 1759, 1757.03; 2, 4, Wilson and Buchanan (Egremont Rangers) 1757.6, 1756.6; 5, W. McGrady and son (Sandwith) 1756.5; 6, Tomlinson and Banks (Cleator Moor) 1756.4.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (484 birds): 1, 3, D. Lofthouse (Lowca) 1759, 1757.03; 2, 4, Wilson and Buchanan (Egremont Rangers) 1757.6, 1756.6; 5, W. McGrady and son (Sandwith) 1756.5; 6, Tomlinson and Banks (Cleator Moor) 1756.4.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (7 sent 227): 1, 5, Tomlinson and Banks 1758, 1755,4; 2, 3, 4, 6, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1757.9, 1757.7, 1757.3, 1755.08.
LOWCA HS (5 sent 119): 1, 2, D. Lofthouse 1759, 1757; 3, 5, 6, Tomlinson and Banks 1756, 1753.7, 1753.1; 4, Waddington and Taylor 1754.
EGREMONT (76 birds): 1, 2, 5, 6, Wilson and Buchanan 1757, 1756, 1737, 1734; 3, 4, D. Harrison and son 1753, 1752.
SANDWITH (4 sent 94): 1, 3, W. McGrady and son; 2, Cottier and Patrickson; 4, 5, 6, B. Irving.
DERWENT VALLEY FEDERATION (747 birds): 1, 2, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1753, 1752; 3, 4, 5, G. Best (Workington Social Limit) 1751.2, 1751.03, 1750.83; 6, N. and G. Wordsworth (Harrington Central) 1750.81.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (8 sent 180): 1, 5, 6, N. and G. Wordsworth 1750, 1731, 1730; 2, 3, Telford and Pooley 1745.7, 1745; 4, Mr and Mrs D. Wood and son 1739.
DEARHAM (2 sent 101): 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, Todhunter and Grisedale 1731, 1719, 1704, 1689.3, 1689.3; 4, Berwick, Watson, Harker and Thompson 1694.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (6 sent 244): 1, 2, 3, G. Best 1751,2, 1751.02, 1750; 4, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1749; 5, Williams and Hadfield 1749; 6, McLuckie bros 1748.
WORKINGTON (8 sent 240): 1, 2, Martindale and Lawman 1762.7, 1762.5; 3, Williams and Hadfield 1761.6; 4, McLuckie bros 1761.2; 5, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1760; 6, Evans and Abraham 1757.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (18 sent 36): 1, Martindale and Lawman 1742; 2, I. and D. Wood 1719; 3, A, and T. Kenmare 1713; 4, J. Devlin 1698; 5, Mr and Mrs D. Wood 1696; 6, Mr and Mrs W. Carter and sons 1695.
FLIMBY HS (5 sent 177): 1, A. Bromley and co 1721.4; 2, 3, 5, Rushforth and Hunter 1721.1, 1700, 1687.6; 4, 6, J. Varty, son and grandson 1687.9, 1687.4.
