Both West Cumbrian organisations raced on Friday and the decision appears to have been another good one.
The weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday was poor so the decision was taken to race on Friday. Two previous races have been on Mondays.
The West Cumberland Federation were at Appleton, liberating into a north west wind at 1.25pm, while the Derwent Valley Federation raced from Charnock Richard, some 20-odd miles shorter. They were liberated at 2.30pm in the same wind.
Mike McGrady won the West Cumberland Federation as the Sandwith club took the first nine positions on the sheet.
McGrady and son had the first three, all timed within five seconds after the 91-mile fly into Whitehaven. The winner covered the distance at just under 40mph, being clocked at 3.43pm.
The red chequer cock that won is off a cock that contains all the best bloodlines of Curtis, Wall and Lunt stock birds. The dam is from the best of Davy Calvin from Northern Ireland and she had scored 3rd and 8th Fed before damaging a wing and being retired.
Paul Byers is having a great start to the young bird programme in the Cleator Moor club and this was his third win.
He bought the parents online last year from Gary Holliday who was helping raise money for a friend’s wife to receive treatment for MS.
Gary had two young birds in the nest from his number one stock pair and offered them for sale. Paul bought them at a good price so Gary threw in another young bird off their fantastic breeding Belgium hen.
A subsequent pairing has produced this latest winner for Paul in Cleator Moor.
David Harrison and son won Egremont with a full brother to last week’s winner.
These are Hereman Ceuster’s bred from a son of Mal Scott’s top stock cock Bret paired to a granddaughter of Kittle. Bret is a grandson of a pigeon called Messi and has bred winners at all levels, including 6th UNC.
John Walsh went along to the Stainburn, Workington loft of Peter Dobie and Ralph Palmer, who are members of the Seaton RBL club, to watch their birds arrive from the Derwent Valley Fed race from Charnock Richard.
He said: “I chose this particular loft because I know Peter has been a long-time supporter of one-loft races and has had plenty of success in them.
“I wanted to hear more about these popular races and see the increasingly cosmopolitan make-up of his stock loft.”
With an ever aging membership, perhaps the one-loft races offer fanciers the opportunity to stay involved with the sport without all the hassle of running their own loft when new problems seem to arise each year.
One interesting tip that Peter has picked up is that entries to the overseas One Loft races are double-vaccinated for ParaMyxo and after doing that this season the loft (touch wood) has been free of young bird sickness for the first time in years.
“Now whether it’s just a coincidence or there’s something in it I don’t know,” said Peter.
The loft had 33 away at the race and most had returned by the time I left, and I learnt later that their first arrival had taken fourth in the Seaton club.
It was also good to have a chat with Peter’s father, Humphrey, the former Workington Reds chairman who is in his 90s now but still as bright as a button.
A fall, and subsequent broken hip last year, might have slowed him down but he’s still keen to learn new things and has now developed a keen interest in astronomy.
Well here’s hoping it’s written in the stars that Dobie and Palmer are going to be successful in this year’s major One Loft races, two of them being on the Algarve.
You can hear John’s chat with Peter and Ralph above and subsequent musings on the race from Charnock Richard.
Elsewhere in the Derwent Valley I think the best result – for obvious reasons – was in the Workington Victoria club.
Varty, son and grandson were winning for the third time in four races and that has been a great tonic for the patriarch of the loft, Jim Varty.
Jim is currently recovering in a Newcastle hospital after a major operation and this latest win has acted as something of a tonic. All the very best to you Jim.
The loft’s latest winner is a Stefan Lambrecht which was obtained from top fancier Ian Stafford, who has been a good friend to the loft.
Graham Best won Workington Social Limit comfortably with a chequer hen whose sire is a Heremans/Van den Bulck bred by John Campbell from the south east.
The dam is David Peeters/Syndicate Lofts bred by Mike Darby.
Her brother won earlier this year as a yearling and took 5th Cumbria Combine.
Both organisations are due to liberate together this week-end from Appleton as they compete in the West Cumbria Amalgamation.
WEST CUMBERLAND
FEDERATION (677 birds): 1, 2, 3, W. McGrady and son (Sandwith) 1170.3, 1170.2, 1169.6; 4, 5, 6, J. Davidson (Sandwith) 1169.3, 1169.1, 1169.05.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (7 sent 266): 1, P. and S. Byers 1169; 2, 4, 5, 6, Rodgers and Benn 1168.5, 1168.09, 1167.3, 1167.2; 3, Dobson, sons, grandson and Kyle 1168.3.
SANDWITH: 1, 2, 3, W. McGrady and son 1170.3, 1170.2, 1169.6; 4, 5, 6, J. Davidson 1169.3, 1169.1, 1169.05.
EGREMON RANGERS (4 sent 102 birds): 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, D. Harrison and son 1166, 1165, 1148.6, 1148.6, 1148.5; 3, Wilson and Buchanan 1148.8.
DERWENT VALLEY
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (6 sent 238): 1, G. Best 1180; 2, 3, 4, 6, McLuckie bros 1151.1, 1151.1, 1150, 1136.4; 5, Williams and Hadfield 1136.7.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (9 sent 282): 1, N. and G. Wordsworth 1182; 2, 6, Mr and Mrs Carter and sons 1179, 1130; 3, 4, 5, J. Devlin 1132, 1131.5, 1131.05.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (8 sent 372): 1, Varty, son and Grandson 1208; 2, 3, 4, Evans and Abraham 1200.3, 1200.1, 1199; 5, Martindale and Lawman 1183; 6, McLuckie bros 1169.
SEATON RBL (3 sent 69): 1, 3, A. Parker and son 1207, 1204; 2, Mr and Mrs Dustin 1206; 4, Dobie and Palmer 1147.
FLIMBY HS (7 sent 240): 1, 4, Berwick, Watson and co 1221, 1181; 2, Rushforth and Hunter 1215; 3, Varty, son and grandson 1209; 5, A. Bromley and co 1167; 6, Tinnion, Aitken and McGarr 1166.
DEARHAM (3 sent 103): 1, 5, Todhunter and Grisedale 1181, 1145; 2, 3, 4, 6, Berwick, Watson and co 1150.5, 1150.4, 1150.1, 1138.
