The 2024 race programme in West Cumbria started with a pipe opener from Garstang.
A poor forecast for Saturday meant the race was put back 24 hours and the birds were liberated at 8.30am on Sunday into a south-west wind.
Both the Derwent Valley and West Cumberland Federation were liberated together but it was not a West Cumbria Amalgamation race.
It was, however, a West Cumberland Fed race and topping the sheet was Mike McGrady of the Sandwith club with a two-year-old blue cock bred by David Calvin from Northern Ireland. This was the bird’s first win, although he has picked up minor tickets.
It proved a good race for Mike as he took all six tickets in the Sandwith club and was just missing one at clocks, which was there when he returned to the loft.
Second in the Fed result was the Egremont club winner to the loft of David Harrison and son.
It was a late bred red chequer cock bred in the stock loft who’s sire is inbred to Malc Scott’s No1 stock hen Becky who is dam to a boat load of winners. The dam of the winner is a grand-daughter of a pigeon called “Bolt” which has bred winners for David with different mates.
Cleator Moor was won by the team of Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle with a two-year-old blue pied hen which as out of a kit of 10 obtained from a leading Workington loft of Richard Martindale and George Lawman.
Jackie Dobson said: “She’s out of their best Adrian Leach pigeons and she has been very consistent for us, winning numerous tickets in club and Federation.”
As far as the Derwent Valley Federation was concerned it was just a club race and in the competitive Harrington Central Club there was a ‘surprise’ winner.
Mike Walker is better known for his distance successes, including a big finish to the old bird season last year, and it’s a long time since he won the first race of the season. Doesn’t normally have a clock set for inland races
But that was achieved on Sunday with a three-year-old chequer hen which had been third club, 13th Fed last year.
No surprise in the two Workington clubs – Victoria and Social Limit – with the McLuckie brothers, Morris and Wayne taking the honours in both.
The brothers got 12 together but only two dived in and went over the timing pad at the same time – both two-year-old Van den Bulkkes, a blue and a blue pied.
It’d a family that has done outstandingly well for the brothers since they introduced them into the loft, particularly a pigeon called Ricardo and a hen, which is the daughter of a famous pigeon UK Kittel.
Thereby hangs a tale, which ended with the brothers selling two youngsters off this pair to a leading German fancier Jurgen Asmik.
Morris explained: “Jurgen had the nest mate to Ricardo, a pigeon called Nabali and he also had UK Kittel which bred winners of One Loft Races in the Algarve, Portugal and in Rumania.
“Unfortunately Jurgen had the two top breeders stolen and he got in touch with us to see if we would sell him two off our pair. We agreed and we got them to Belgium where they were in quarantine for three weeks before going on to Germany.
“Our pair have bred us a stackful of winners and this latest one is off them. We have a number now of two-year-olds off them in the stock loft.”
Familiar names at the top of the sheet in the competitive Flimby HS club with Peter Rushforth and Billy Hunter leading the way.
They took three tickets – first, second and fourth – and the winner was a yearling blue white flight cock on the roundabout system.
He scored twice last year as a young bird and he was sent to Garstang well fancied, with the result they took the main loft pool. On both sides of the pedigree he’s a Van den Bulkke, going back to Les Green.
The Copeland North West club started from Lymm and it was a brilliant race for newcomer Jason Dempsey from Maryport. Flying 102 miles he took all the six tickets except third in what proved an exceptional debut.
His winner is a yearling hen, a Van Reet from Mark Cauldwell and a hen he bought off Luke Pearson. He got three yearlings together, including one that had lost it’s ETS ring and was sent as a trainer.
WEST CUMBERLAND
- FEDERATION (843 birds): 1, W. McGrady and son 1310 (Sandwith); 2, D. Harrison (Egremont) 1303; 3, 4, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle (Cleator Moor) 1301, 1300; 5, Rodgers and Benn (Cleator Moor) 1296.8; 6, M. Mingins (Cleator Moor) 1296.3.
- CLEATOR MOOR (10 sent 384): 1, 2, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1315.7, 1315.4; 3, 4, 5, Rodgers and Benn 1312, 1311.5, 1311.19; 6, M. Mingins 1311.16.
- EGREMONT (119 birds): 1, 2, 3, D Harrison and son 1303, 1240.3, 1240.03; 4, 5, 6, Wilson and Buchanan 1228, 1225, 1223.
- SANDWITH (6 sent 234): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, W. McGrady and son.
- LOWCA: 1, 2, D. Lofthouse 1283, 1281; 3, Holliday and Dixon 1263; 4, J. Moreau 1257.
- COPELAND NW (8 sent 175): 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, Dempsey, son and Reay 1446, 1445, 1421, 1421, 1420; 3, G. Best 1429.
DERWENT VALLEY
- FLIMBY HS (8 sent 160): 1, 2, 4, Rushforth and Hunter 1301, 1299, 1292; 3, I. McGarr 1293; 5, 6, J. Varty, son and grandson 1291, 1286.
- WORKINGTON VICTORIA (10 sent 307): 1, 2, McLuckie bros 1407.5, 1407.5; 3, 4, 5, Martindale and Lawman 1405, 1404.8, 1404.8; 6, Williams and Hadfield 1404.1.
- WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (6 sent 273): 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, McLuckie bros 1345.8, 1345.8, 1340, 1339, 1337; 3, Williams and Hadfield 1342.
- SEATON RBL (76 birds): 1, 2, 3, 4, F. Scott 1385, 1383, 1379, 1371; 5, A. Parker and son 1363; 6, J. Gale 1338.
- HARRINGTON CENTRAL (7 sent 140): 1, M. Walker 1305; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, N. and G. Wordsworth 1303, 1277,1276, 1275, 1268.
- DEARHAM (6 sent 190): 1, 2, 5, Berwick, Thompson, Harker and Watson 1381.8, 1381.1, 1360; 3, 4, 6, L. Norris 1378.9, 1378.6, 1346.
