West Cumbrian fanciers had their second young bird race from Flookburgh at the weekend with quicker and better returns than the opener from the same race-point.
The West Cumberland Federation liberated on Saturday at 7am in a light west wind and the Cleator Moor Central winner was clocked nearly 56 minutes later after a 24-mile fly. Dobson, sons, grandson and Kyle topped the sheet with a chequer cock which travelled the distance at just under 37mph.
The sire of the winner was bought from Maryport fancier Keith Rafferty when he finished in the sport while the dam was bred by Ray Lunt of Endfield Lofts.
Holliday and Dixon were top of the sheet at Lowca with a blue white flight hen whose sire was through Alan Devlin pigeons while the dam was predominantly Syndicate Lofts in her bloodlines.
The leader at Egremont Rangers was the partnership of John Wilson and Neil Buchanan taking five of the six prizes on offer.
The winner is one of their successful Frans Zwols breed, a chequer cock whose sire has bred Federation winners and four pigeons to be second in the West Cumbria Amalgamation.
He is bred from Zoon Bokito and Princess while the dam is Ella-Mia, a brilliant stock hen who is the dam of several winners.
She is the nest sister to Stuart Wilcox’s ace breeder Beau, direct from the King of Rekkem and Smeuders 91.
Sandwith members again sent their birds as trainers but will start club racing this weekend from Garstang.
In the Derwent Valley Federation there were two examples of fanciers taking all the tickets on offer.
They had raced on Friday afternoon, liberated at 2.30pm in a south west wind.
Ian McGarr had the first six at Flimby HS while Neil and Geoff Wordsworth replicated the achievement in Harrington Central.
Now in charge of the former Tinnion and Aitken loft, with help from Lawrence, Ian had his first full house from Flookburgh 2.
The first two went over the pad in the same time but the bird given first slot is a chequer cock out of the stock loft.
His dam is a McLuckie brothers Van den Bulkke while the sire is a pigeon that Ian bought from Robert Langrish of Chorley out of his Pitbull x Rene Vervoort lines.
The pigeon that went over the pad in the same time to take second is a chequer white flight hen that is off pigeons bought for Ian as a Christmas present.
Sophie sounds the kind of girl all fanciers would like on their side as she bought them out of Darren Ede’s sale which are Jan Hooymans x Mark Gilbert.
They are more for the distance so she would be looking for Sophie’s Girl popping up from over the channel in a couple of years!
Four seconds covered the first six and following the first two were a Karel Boeckx out of the stock loft; one off his Cumbria Combine winner last year; fifth was one off a good friend Ian Sharples of Egremont out of his Staff Von Reet x Pitbull pigeons and sixth a pure Van den Bulkke from McLuckie brothers.
Repeating the trick in the Harrington Central club were Neil and Geoff Wordsworth.
Their winner is a white hen off Adam and Keith Young of Millom. She’s a daughter of their double Combine winner from Guernsey and Cheltenham comeback race this year.
Neil explained: “We won the bonus ball earlier in the year that Richard Martindale and John Ellwood ran for the Derwent Valley Fed transporter fund.
“Adam and Keith put up the prize of two young birds, one from each of their Guernsey Combine winners from last year.
“When Adam contacted me he generously gifted my dad and myself an extra young bird off his Bedhampton Combine winner.
“I missed the race due to work but dad got nine together and the first and second over the pad were two of the three from Adam and Keith.”
It might have been a first six in Dearham but Jason Dempsey was denied by Liam Norris who won with a chequer white flight cock.
Jason took the other tickets after young Liam clocked a Jonny Pannis x Vandenabeele to win.
In Workington Social Limit Williams and Hadfield were first and second, as well as sixth.
Their winner is a dark cock out of the stock loft and is a Lambrecht x Wright.
Kevin Evans finished the inland programme with a bang, rattling in a couple of 1, 2, 3s in Workington Victoria – and he repeated the trick from Flookburgh 2.
The winner is a blue hen bred through a son off the red cock of Steve Foster’s that has bred a fountain of winners for Kevin, this time paired to a blue hen of Tony Holker from Manchester.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (7 sent 357): 1, 5, 6, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1085.8, 1083.9, 1083.6; 2, 3, P. and S. Byers 1085.3, 1084.7; 4, Tomlinson and Banks 1084.1.
EGREMONT RANGERS (172 birds): 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, Wilson and Buchanan 1113, 1047, 1044, 1043, 1040; 2, D. Harrison and son 1060.
LOWCA HS (3 sent 125): 1, Holliday and Dixon 1092; 2, 3, 4, Tomlinson and Banks 1073.8, 1073.1, 1073.1.
DERWENT VALLEY FEDERATION
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (6 sent 185): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, N. and G. Wordsworth 1549, 1547, 1545, 1543, 1538, 1537.
FLIMBY HS (8 sent 229): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, I. McGarr 1524.3, 1524,3, 1523.8, 1523.3, 1522.8, 1522.2.
DEARHAM UTD (4 sent 104): 1, L. Norris 1605; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Dempsey, son and Reay 1570, 1568, 1567, 1566, 1565.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (9 sent 410): 1, 2, 3, Evans and Abraham 17623, 1621.9, 1621.9; 4, Williams and Hadfield 1620; 5, 6, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1619, 1618.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (6 sent 341): 1, 2, 6, Williams and Hadfield 1555, 1554, 1547.5; 3, 4, 5, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1549, 1548, 1547.9.
