West Cumbrian fanciers had their final inland race on Saturday when they raced from Stratford-upon-Avon again – ahead of three more distance tests.
They go back to Guernsey for a Friday race and complete the old bird programme with two races from France.
Heading them home this time, after the 1.25pm liberation was the Flimby loft of Mark Hodgson who enjoyed a particularly good race with five of his birds in the top ten of the Derwent Valley Federation and three in the first six of the West Cumbria Amalgamation.
Mark’s winner, a yearling blue cock, was clocked at 5.42pm, covering the 188-mile in a west south-west wind at just under 44mph.
He’s bred through birds from McGimpsey brothers of Northern Ireland, inbred to a cock they called Oh So Sharp, crossed with his Vandenabeele family.
The cock was Mark’s first bird back from Marlborough 2 and is flown on the widowhood system.
Second Fed again, and also third was Kevin Evans who is flying really well in the Workington Victoria club and this clinched him both the Victoria inland averages and the Derwent Valley inland averages.
The club winner and second Fed is a two-year-old barless hen off Steve Foster’s old red cock and black hen – a Lambrecht based family.
She flew steady as a young bird but didn’t fly as a yearling as she was put in the stock loft and paired with her father.
The second bird is also Lambrecht based, a grandson of the red cock and through a hen from Tony Holker of Manchester.
Steve Foster was also the source of the Workington Social Limit winners Williams and Hadfield. The grizzle hen is off two racers from Foster’s Liam lines crossed with his grizzle lines which have been the best birds the partners have had.
Winning in Harrington Central was Ian Wood with a two-year-old blue pied cock, which didn’t fly last year because of injury bit had been consistent as a young bird.
This season he has flown all races up to Marlborough 1, then to Marlborough 2 before going to Stratford on Saturday. He was bred inn the stock loft from the breed – Paul Fisher’s Kees Bosua – which have served Ian so well over the years.
Topping the West Cumberland Federation was the successful Cleator Moor Central loft of Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle who were also second, fourth and fifth.
Their winner is a yearling blue hen which the partners bought in the Derwent Valley Federation’s transporter sale and which had been donated by former Egremont fanciers Shaun and Linda Trodden who now fly over the border at Gretna. She’s a Theo Rutter x Beverdam who has been scoring well recently.
Their second pigeon is a yearling blue cock which they got from the successful Workington loft of Richard Martindale and George Lawman, off their very good Leach brothers bloodlines.
In Egremont Wilson and Buchanan won with a Frans Zwols blue hen, whose sire is a brother to the Prince of Rekkem and her dam is a daughter of Willie Donachie’s Tip Top pair. The partnership also took second and fourth in the club and seventh and eighth Fed.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (244 birds): 1, 5, 6, Hodgson and Saldert (Flimby WC) 1287, 1276.4, 1276.004; 2, 3, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria)1279, 1277.6; 4, A. Bromley and co (Flimby HS) 1277.4.
DERWENT VALLEY FEDERATION (192 birds): 1, 5, 6, Hodgson and Saldert (Flimby WC) 1287, 1276.4, 1276.004; 2, 3, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria)1279, 1277.6; 4, A. Bromley and co (Flimby HS) 1277.4.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (6 sent 64): 1, 2, 5, Evans and Abraham 1282, 1280, 1227.4; 3, 6, Williams and Hadfield 1276, 1227.2; 4, McLuckie bros 1230.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (2 sent 20): 1, 3, Williams and Hadfield 1272, 1224; 2, 4, 5, 6, McLuckie bros 1227, 1223, 1222, 1203.
DEARHAM HS (2 sent 35): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Berwick, Watson, Harker and Thompson 1235, 1172, 1140.7, 1140.6, 1140.2, 1120.
FLIMBY HS (7 sent 89): 1, 3, 6, A. Bromley and co 1277, 1212, 1152; 2, 4, R. Hodgson 1224, 1200; 5, Berwick and co 1184.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (15 sent 30): 1, A. Graham and co 1218; 2, R. Hodgson 1200; 3, McLuckie bros 1166; 4, I. and D. Wood 1132; 5, Martindale and Lawman 1111; 6, R. McAvoy and son 1098.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (52 birds): 1, 2, 4, 5, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle (Cleator Moor) 1272, 1236, 1218.08, 1217; 3, A. Graham and co (Cleator Moor) 1218.3; 6, A. Kenmare and son (Cleator Moor) 1212.
CLEATOR MOOR (6 sent 37): 1, 2, 3, 5, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1274, 1238, 1220,4, 1220.006; 4, A. Graham and co 1220.1; 6, A. Kenmare and son 1219. .
EGREMONT RANGERS (12 birds): 1, 2, 4, Wilson and Buchanan 1204, 1166, 1049; 3, 5, 6, D. Harrison and son 1072, 1047, 938.
