If it’s horses for courses the same maxim applies to pigeons!
The West Cumbria Amalgamation and Derwent Valley Federation race from Marlborough were topped by the same pigeon that won from there last year.
Liberated at 10.45am in a light north east wind and after a 234-mile fly the Workington loft of Morris and Wayne McLuckie clocked at 3.40pm.
Flying at 47mph the three year-old blue cock won both Workington Victoria and Workington Social Limit clubs, as well as the Copeland North West, Cumberland Social Circle and the Victoria show race.
But topping those off was the distinction of winning both the Fed and the Amal for the second year in a row from the Marlborough race-point.
He’s now had three firsts in club racing and several other tickets when he’s been beaten by loft mates.
His sire is from Alan Devlin through his Pitbull lines and Van den Bulcke off Mike Hibbert of Doncaster.
The dam is a blue hen which won Bedhampton and Guernsey for the brothers and is a Janssen from a pal Ronnie Wilson of Chorley.
The brothers have won more than 20 Feds in their racing career with most of them over 200 miles.
It’s been a case of seconditis this season for the Lowca loft of Andy Holliday and Ken Dixon.
But on Saturday they ended the sequence with a West Cumbria Federation topper from Marlborough.
Junior partner Gary Holliday said: “After three consecutive 2nd Feds it was nice to be top of the sheet this week.
“The winner is a two year old blue cock flown on the roundabout system who was inning for the second time.
“He is bred from our number one stock pair who are now responsible for six individual Fed winners and 18 individual first prize winners.
“The dam is our Fougeres Combine winner bred by T. and K. Garman while the sire is from Peter Fox at Syndicate Lofts, and he is a son of Desperado x Bella.”
Following the 10-45am liberation and after a 231-mile fly Holliday and Dixon clocked their winner at 3.36pm.
Winning Egremont and taking second Fed was David Harrison with a yearling blue cock that had topped the Fed last year in the final young bird race from Cheltenham.
He has Fed, Section and Amal winners in three generations of his breeding and is a grandson of Big Willie Brennan’s 811 cock which is a son of Jimmy’s Lad and Hayley, which both topped the Up North Combine for Willie.
The dam is The Bullit – so named by clubmate Neil Buchanan after her Amalgamation winning trap from Tewksbury in 2018. She won the Fed and was 7th Amal the following year from Marlborough before being put to stock where she has excelled.
Winning Cleator Moor, and fourth Federation were Rodgers and Benn with a yearling chequer cock.
Both parents of the winning pigeon were from Ian Stafford’s bloodlines.
The sire was from a son of Big Smithy while the dam was a Stefan Lambrecht who was a daughter of one of Ian’s top stock hens, The Beautiful, when paired to Red Rocket.
Back in the Derwent Valley Federation Andrew Berwick, Kenneth Watson and co were winners in the Flimby HS with an in-form widowhood cock.
Andrew said: “He’s been on fire the last four races with fourth Cannock, third Cannock, first Stratford and first Marlborough.
“Her was bred by Kevin Evans of Workington Victoria from his Holker brothers pigeons.
“He won as a young bird, then won from Salisbury last year and he’s a rare bird in that he likes east winds and we don’t have many that do.”
John Devlin is enjoying a very good season in the Harrington Central club and he had another winner on Saturday – as well as picking-up fourth and fifth tickets.
He’s a Leo Heremans, bred through a hen John calls the Bradda hen.
“She is in-bred to a Leo Heremans hen and the three wins I’ve had this season she is either the dam or the grand dam to them,” he says.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (1,319 birds): 1, McLuckie bros (Workington Victoria) 1399; 2, Holliday and Dixon (Lowca) 1397; 3, 4, D. Harrison and son (Egremont) 1380.3, 1380.1; 5, Rodgers and Benn (Cleator Moor) 1378; 6, Mr and Mrs Walters and son (Workington Victoria) 1375.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (364 birds): 1, Holliday and Dixon (Lowca) 1397; 2, 3, D. Harrison and son (Egremont) 1380.3, 1380.1; 4, Rodgers and Benn (Cleator Moor) 1378; 5, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon (Cleator Moor) 1338.73; 6, Wilson and Buchanan (Egremont) 1338.709.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (9 sent 208): 1, Rodgers and Benn 1380; 2, A. and T. Kenmare 1361; 3, 5, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1359.57, 1352; 4, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1359.53; 6, M. Mingins 1343.
LOWCA HS (3 sent 58): 1, 2, 3, 4, Holliday and Dixon 1397, 1354, 1320, 1319.
EGREMONT RANGERS (66 birds): 1, 2, 5, 6, D. Harrison and son 1380.3, 1380.1, 1343, 1342; 3, 4, Wilson and Buchanan 1358, 1357.
SANDWITH HS (5 sent 58): 1, 5, McGrady and son 1323, 1285l 2, 3, 4, Cottier and Patrickson 1308, 1300, 1292; 6, Davidson and son 1278.
DERWENT VALLEY
FEDERATION (955 birds): 1, 3, 5, 6, McLuckie bros (Workington Victoria) 1399, 1373, 1370.98, 1370.90; 2, Mr and Mrs Walters and son (Workington Victoria) 1375; 4, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1372.
FLIMBY HS (11 sent 294): 1, 2, Berwick and co 1388.77, 1388.70; 3, R. Hodgson 1370; 4, 5, 6, Nelson and Crellin 1347.48, 1347.41, 1347,2.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (11 sent 289): 1, 3, 5, 6, 1403, 1377, 1375.40, 1375.3; 2, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1379; 4, Martindale and Lawman 1375.45.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (7 sent 158): 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, McLuckie bros 1399, 1373, 1370.98, 1370.91, 1348.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (9 sent 176): 1, 4, 5, J. Devlin 1362, 1346, 1341; 2, 3, I. and D. Wood 1361.4, 1361.3; 6, N. and G. Wordsworth 1334.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (22 sent 44): 1, McLuckie bros 1399; 2, A. Kenmare and son 1356; 3, Berwick, Watson and co 1346; 4, A. Graham and co 1340; 5, Nelson and Crellin 1339; 6, I. and D. Wood 1323.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (Show race, 15 sent 80): 1, McLuckie bros 1399; 2, 5, D. Harrison and son 1380, 1343; 3, Martindale and Lawman 1361.7; 4, Hodgson and Saldert 1361.1; 6, Evans and Abraham 1324.
DEARHAM (7 sent 121): 1, 3, Todhunter and Grisedale 1367, 1333; 2, L. Norris 1338; 4, 5, Berwick and co 1324.49, 1324.42; 6, Dempsey, son and Reay 1314.
SEATON RBL (4 sent 50) : 1, 2, 3, F Scott 1357, 1318.9, 1318.9; 4, Dobie and Palmer 1315; 5, Mr and Mrs Dustin 1302; 6, A. Parker and son 1259.
FURNESS
FEDERATION (603 birds): 1, J. Walker (Askam) 1409; 2, D. Quirk (Barrow) 1399; 3, 6, D. L. T. Fallows (Millom) 1394, 1378; 4, Wilson and Barrie (Millom) 1380; 5, A. and K. Young (Millom) 1379.
MILLOM SOCIAL (13 sent 263): 1, 4, D. L. T. Fallows 1432, 1416; 2, Wilson and Barrie 1417.4; 3, 5, A. and K. Young 1417.3, 1413; 6, A. Grieve 1411.
EAST CUMBERLAND
HARRABY FC (4 sent 88): 1, 3, R. Mitchell 1406, 1379; 2, 4, 5, 6, P. Kirkwood 1383, 1377, 1376, 1373.