Sandwith club fancier Mike McGrady has enjoyed a wonderful start to the new season and landed his third West Cumberland Federation win out of four races on Sunday.
Because of the poor weather forecast the West Cumbria Amalgamation decided to race 24 hours later and it proved a sound move.
The birds were liberated at 11.30am from Cannock in a light north east wind and Mike clocked the Federation winner at 2.09pm with his second bird just three seconds behind. They had covered the 142 miles at over 52mph.
The winner, a three-year-old mealy hen had scored several times prior to this, while the second pigeon a two-year-old blue hen had won two races previously in Sandwith.
The Fed winner’s sire had two first Feds to his name and one second Fed when he was beaten only a second by a loft mate. The dam had also two first Feds as well as an 8th Fed.
The winner is a half sister to the pigeon that won the Fed two weeks ago, both having the same father and have the best of Davey Calvin’s blood lines as well as Curtis, Wall and Lunt.
His second Fed, the blue hen is the daughter of a cock which had two first Feds, first Amal and other prizes. The dam is the winner of several prizes including equal first Fed. She is from the best of Curtis, Wall and Lunt.
Winning Cleator Moor Central and taking third Fed were Joe and Brian Fitzsimmons with a yearling grizzle cock that has been first to the loft three times this season.
The sire was actually second in the Copeland North West club on the same day racing from Cheltenham.
Brian said: “He was a gift bird from my old class mate Liam Dobson and brother Jackie. Liam bought the Pitbulls from the P and D Breeding Stud so I scrounged three off him. He did tell me they’d put us back on top so thanks lads.
The dame was one of a kit of 12 from Ron Hillcoat of Sowerby Bridge in Yorkshire. The kit was bought without pedigrees but they are predominantly Van den Bulkkes.
Holliday and Dixon won Lowca with a yearling blue cock that had been 2nd club, 4th Fed from Charnock Richard.
David Harrison and son won Egremont again with the same mealy hen that was 2nd Amal last week, beaten by a loft mate. She was bred in the stock loft and her sire is a mealy cock from Mal Scott’s no1 stock pair Bret and Becky.
The dam is a granddaughter of “Donkere Leo” and she has bred winners with two different cocks. This pair are of Heremen Ceuster bloodlines.
The Copeland NW club was at Cheltenham and it was the Cleator Moor loft of Rodgers and Benn that won with a chequer cock, a Stefaan Lambrecht direct from stock birds obtained from Ian Stafford.
This cock has been among the prizes a number of times including first club, 5th Fed from Marlborough.
In the Derwent Valley, the successful loft of Richard Martindale and George ‘Pal’ Lawman were on top again – winning the Federation and also the Amalgamation, in which they are expected to take the first four positions.
The winner, a chequer two-year-old cock, has had a few tickets including fourth club earlier this year, beaten on the trap by three loft-mates.
His sire is a direct son of Leach brothers number one stock cock and has previously bred winners. The dam was purchased directly from the loft of Peter van der Merwe and is a half sister to his champion hen Nathalie and she has also previously bred winners.
The second pigeon, a yearling blue hen, was bred by the hugely successful, now retired Egremont fancier David ‘Sugar’ Wilson from his Euro stock when crossed with a hen which is a sister to Martindale and Lawman’s first Cumbria Combine winner.
Morris and Wayne McLuckie were just pipped in Workington Victoria by Martindale and Lawman but they won Workington Social Limit with a bird familiar with the winner’s enclosure.
Geordie Lass was bred by their good friend in the north east, Alfie Hawthorne and he gave her to the lads to race.
She’s off a son of champion Rachel and the dam is Rik Heremans, and she’s an ultra consistent pigeon for the brothers. She won the bad Yeovil race last year when she was 2nd Cumbria Combine.
There’s a good story about the Harrington Central winner for Ian Wood. She’s a yearling chequer hen – a Jan Hooyman x Kees Bosua with both parents bred by Paul Fisher of Blackpool.
As a young bird, racing from Appleton, she was picked-up in Coniston by a family on holiday having been hawked and had half her wing missing.
Ian said: “I went and collected her and she was rested for the remainder of the season. I put her back on the road for this year.
“She was my first bird from Garstang, my second bird from Appleton and she won Cannock on Sunday.”
First and second in Seaton RBL were Peter Dobie and Ralph Palmer for the second week in a row.
The winner is a blue cock which flew the programme as a youngster. He was bred in the stock loft and his sire was 14th in the Algarve Great Derby Final. The second is a blue hen sitting seven days which was 8th Combine as a YB from Cheltenham last year and this was only her second race of the season.
Alan Bromley won Flimby HS with a yearling chequer pied hen, a Busschaert which had been paired up but was put on the roundabout system a week ago.This was the first time she had scored and she won the club comfortably.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (1,935 birds): 1, 2, 3, 4, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1574.2, 1573.5, 1573.4, 1573.2; 5, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria) 1571.7; 6, McLuckie bros (Workington Victoria) 1571.5.
WEST CUMBERLAND
FEDERATION (738 birds): 1, 2, 5, W. McGrady and son (Sandwith) 1570.9, 1570.4, 1569.8; 3, J. Fitzsimmons and son (Cleator Moor) 1570.1; 4, 6, B. Irving (Sandwith) 1570.01, 1569.6.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (11 sent 321): 1, J. Fitzsimmons and son 1576; 2, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1571; 3, 4, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1569.5, 1569.04; 5, A. Graham and co 1561; 6, Rodgers and Benn 1556.
LOWCA (5 sent 128): 1, Holliday and Dicon 1514; 2, 4, D. Lofthouse 1510, 1490; 3, Tomlinson and Banks 1491.
SANDWITH (6 sent 192): 1, 2, 4, W. McGrady and son 1570.9, 1570.4, 1569.8; 3,5, 6, B. Irving 1569.9, 1569.6, 1563.
EGREMONT (114 birds): 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, D. Harrison and son 1568.5, 1568.02, 1558, 1541, 1540; 3, Wilson and Buchanan 1563.
COPELAND NW (Cheltenham, 8 sent 87): 1, Rodgers and Benn 1494; 2, 3, 4, J. Fitzsimmons and son 1493, 1467, 1467; 5, G. Best 1465; 6, Dempsey, son and Reay 1460.
DERWENT VALLEY
FEDERATION (1197 birds): 1, 2, 3, 4, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1574.2, 1573.5, 1573.4, 1573.2; 5, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria) 1571.7; 6, McLuckie bros (Workington Victoria) 1571.5.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (6 sent 241): 1, 2, 4, 5, McLuckie bros 1571, 1568, 1559.3, 1559.08; 3, Wilson and Johnston 1567; 6, M. and L. Cape 1523.
DEARHAM (6 sent 189): 1, 6, Varty, son and grandson 1518, 1492; 2, 3, 5, Todhunter and Grisedale 1516, 1510, 1493; 4, Berwick, Watson and co 1500
SEATON RBL (4 sent 74): 1, 2, 5, Dobie and Palmer 1531, 1530, 1441; 3, A. Parker and son 1508; 4, J, Gale 1467; 6, F. Scott 1435.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (10 sent 360): 1, 4, 5, 6, Martindale and Lawman 1582.8, 1582.2, 1582.04, 1581; 2, McLuckie bros 1582.7; 3, Evans and Abraham 1582.5.
FLIMBY HS (9 sent 359): 1, 3, 4, A. Bromley and co 1554, 1513.3, 1513.1; 2, Rushforth and Hunter 1520; 5, Varty, son and grandson 1512; 6, I. McGarr 1511.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (9 sent 248): 1, 6, I. and D. Wood 1529, 1518; 2, 4, N. and G. Wordsworth 1524, 1521.58; 3, R. McAvoy and son 1521.6; 5, N. Semple 1521.56.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (22 sent 44): 1, McLuckie bros 1559; 2, A. Graham and co 1550; 3, 4, A. Kenmare and son 1543, 1529; 5, Martindale and Lawman 1511; 6, Varty, son and grandson 1485.
