Barry Irving produced the top performance in Saturday’s race from Stratford-upon-Avon.
The Sandwith fancier took the first three positions in the West Cumbria Amalgamation, the West Cumberland Federation and his club.
Early indications are that he might perform the same feat in the Cumbria Combine, although that result still has to be confirmed.
Barry will be a popular winner because he’s had some bad luck with his birds over the last two years after being one of the most consistent inland fanciers in the West Cumberland Federation.
His winner was actually a gift bird from a good friend, David Harrison of the Egremont Rangers club, who has already topped the Amalgamation this season.
A yearling mealy hen she was 5th Charnock Richard as a young bird and this season was 6th Fed from Charnock Richard and then 11th in the Amalgamation from Cannock 2.
She followed up on Saturday with the win, being clocked at 1.23pm after the 9.35am liberation in a light north east wind.
Flying 179 miles to her home loft she covered the trip at 47mph.
She went over the timing pad a second in front of her two loft-mates who were clocked on the same time.
Second pigeon was a blue yearling hen, bred off birds from the McGimpsey brothers of Northern Ireland. She scored twice in the Fed last year as a young bird – 5th Fed Appleton and 7th Fed Charnock Richard.
Her sister, a blue pied went over the pad with her, to take third and she was scoring for the first time.
David Harrison, the man who bred the winner for Barry, had a clean sweep in Egremont Rangers taking all six tickets – and he was also sixth Fed with the whole half dozen in the top 30 of the Fed.
The winner was the same blue cock that won last week being a son of the lofts double Amal winner Capey’s Choice, the gold watch winner who was third to the loft on this occasion.
His dam is also full sister to three Amal winners and she has taken two prize cards so far this season. Their breeding lines are a mixed bag from Busschaerts to Leo Heremans with one or two others thrown in.
Last week’s Amalgamation winners Graham and co won Cleator Moor again but had to settle for fifth this time.
But it’s a cracking pigeon – a three-year-old blue pied hen being raced on a new system the loft is trying.
She’s now won four first tickets in the strong Cleator Moor club and that’s very rare. On another occasion she was 2nd club but won the Fed.
She’s been on 8 Fed sheets and 7 Amal sheets and was bred by Owen Simpson and John Smith of Darlington.
Winning in Lowca were Holliday and Dixon with a yearling blue cock which was also 2nd club, 4th Fed at Charnock Richard and first club Cannock 1.
For good measure the loft also took second and third in the club.
Richard Martindale and George ‘Pal’ Lawman led the way again in Workington Victoria and the Derwent Valley Federation.
They were dominant again with eight of the first 13 on the Fed sheet, winning with a yearling red cock which went over the pad just in front of a yearling chequer cock, one of the loft’s A ring birds in 2023.
First over the pad, the red cock was a Van den Bulkke cross with Dehon/Demonsou (Best Kittel), who had prizes as a young bird but hadn’t done anything this season but was sent in terrific condition.
The A ring, which came with him, was bred by good friend Brian Clennan of Whitby.
Richard explained: “We didn’t send him to the A ring race last year as we didn’t think he was in good enough condition at the time which has proved to be a good decision.
“He was fourth Fed last week, only beaten by loft mates on the drop.”
The McLuckie brothers won Workington Social Limit with a top class pigeon which was reported to have ‘trapped like a missile’ to win.
This two-year-old chequer cock has appeared in this column before – old bird of the year last season as a yearling in the West Cumbria Amalgamation.
That has been built upon this year with two firsts and two seconds in the Workington Social Limit, along with a first and second in the Cumberland Social Circle.
He’s off a grandson of Alfie Hawthorn’s champion Mars, and on Saturday two of his sisters scored as well in the Social Limit and were on the Fed sheet.
Morris and Wayne clearly have a consistently good pigeon there, and Alan Parker will be pleased with the efforts of his latest winner in Seaton RBL.
This is a yearling blue cock on widowhood who has now earned back-to-back club wins.
He’s of Van den Bulkke/Syndicate Loft bloodlines, bought by Alan at last year’s A ring auctions and was bred by Andrew Weightman of Colwyn Bay.
Winning Harrington Central again were Neil and dad Geoff Wordsworth with a yearling blue hen who was best young bird in the club last season with two firsts and a third.
This season she was 2nd club, 14th Fed last week from Cannock 2 followed by Saturday’s winner from Stratford.
She’s bred from Bob McAvoy’s Cumbria Combine winner from Bedhampton crossed with the loft’s own double Bedhampton Combine winner and RPRA award winner.
The other side of the pedigree has all the best bloodlines from Kevin Hibbert of Rotherham who has provided the loft with several top pigeons.
Cream certainly rises to the top and in a week where consistently good pigeons have shone there’s another example in Flimby HS with the winners Jimmy Nelson and Fleck Crellin.
Fleck told Cumbria Crack: “The winner, a chequer hen, is the most consistent pigeon in the loft. Although this is her first win it is her 11th ticket in three years of racing.
“She didn’t score as a young bird but started picking up tickets on a regular basis as a yearling and two-year-old, and has continued this season.
“She’s been second before, only beaten by a loft mate, Last year she came with another two to the loft and went in first but must have gone over the pad too quick and it didn’t register.
“She’s off the original Karel Boeckx we got from Keith Rafferty a few years ago.”
The Copeland North West club should have raced from Wincanton but because of thunderstorms in the area were brought back to Cheltenham.
Graham Best from Workington took first and third with two full brothers, both blue white flights and are bred from Bart Geerinckx pigeons at Premier Stud.
They were originally bought in 2015 and have proved really good pigeons for Graham.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (1,485 birds): 1, 2, 3, B. Irving (Sandwith) 1379.7, 1379.6, 1379.6; 4, W. McGrady and son (Sandwith) 1378; 5, A. Graham and co (Cleator Moor) 1377; 6, D. Harrison and son (Egremont) 1376.
WEST CUMBERLAND
FEDERATION (605 birds): 1, 2, 3, B. Irving (Sandwith) 1379.7, 1379.6, 1379.6; 4, W. McGrady and son (Sandwith) 1378; 5, A. Graham and co (Cleator Moor) 1377; 6, D. Harrison and son (Egremont) 1376.
SANDWITH: 1, 2, 3, B. Irving 1379.7, 1379.6, 1379.6; 4, 5, W. McGrady and son 1378, 1374; 6, J. Davidson 1372.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (10 sent 268): 1, 4, Graham and co 1379, 1373; 2, 5, 6, Rodgers and Benn 1378, 1372.7, 1372.5; 3, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1377.
LOWCA HS (4 sent 87): 1, 2, 3, Holliday and Dixon 1365, 1347, 1314; 4, D. Lofthouse 1297.
EGREMONT HS (95 birds): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, D. Harrison and son 1376.2, 1376.1, 1364, 1357.1, 1357.07, 1354.
COPELAND NW (Cheltenham, 4 sent 30): 1, 3, G. Best 1224, 1220; 2, 4, J. Fitzsimmons and son 1221, 1215; 5, 6, Rodgers and Benn 1208, 1206.
DERWENT VALLEY
FEDERATION (880 birds): 1, 2, 4, 6, Martindale and Lawman (Workington Victoria) 1370.8, 1370.4, 1363.9, 1363.4; 3, McLuckie bros (Workington Victoria) 1368; 5, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria) 1363.8.
DEARHAM HS (6 sent 204): 1, Varty, son and grandson 1350; 2, Berwick, Watson, Harker and Thompson 1347; 3, 4, Dempsey, son and Reay 1329, 1328; 5, 6, Todhunter and Grisdale 1327, 1325.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (9 sent 192): 1, N. and G. Wordsworth 1350; 2, Mr and Mrs D. Wood and son 1347; 3, 4, 5, 6, J. Devlin 1346, 1338.07, 1338.07, 1329.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (6 sent 144): 1, 4, 5, 6, McLuckie bros 1368, 1341.5, 1341.4, 1341.2; 2, 3, Wilson and Johnston 1362, 1361.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (10 sent 302): 1, 2, 5, Martindale and Lawman 1372.6, 1372.2, 1365.6; 3, McLuckie bros 1371; 4, Evans and Abraham 1367; 6, Wilson and Johnston 12365.3.
SEATON RBL (3 sent 35): 1, 2, Parker and son 1341, 1335; 3, 4, 5, Dobie and Palmer 1331, 1295, 1291; 6, F. Scott 1271.
FLIMBY HS (9 sent 240): 1, 2, 3, Nelson and Crellin 1356, 1354, 1350; 4, J. Varty, son and grandson 1246; 5, A. Bromley and co 1344; 6, Rushforth and Hunter 1318.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (22 sent 44): 1, A. Graham and co 1377; 2, McLuckie bros 1368; 3, Martindale and Lawman 1363; 4, Nelson and Crellin 1350; 5, Mr and Mrs D. Wood and son 1348; 6, Varty, son and grandson 1346.
