West Cumbria’s two pigeon federations – the West Cumberland and the Derwent Valley – delayed their weekend race until Sunday.
Weather forecasts had ruled out Saturday so both decided to race on the Sunday, and although different types of races, reported good returns.
The Derwent Valley went first at 8.30am in a light south west wind and the winners were generally in just after 10am.
Meanwhile the West Cumberland went half an hour later at 9am and they were clocking their winners in just before their Derwent Valley counterparts.
Whatever the reason, the Derwent Valley birds seem to have had a check somewhere en-route, but in the end returns were on a par.
David Harrison won in Egremont and had 72 back out of his 73 entries led home by a blue pied hen from the stock loft with both parents being bred by Malcolm Scott of Gateshead and her nest- mate was second club.
One the same way bred won twice last year and also topped the Fed from Stratford, so although it’s early days it maybe a pairing worth keeping together.
But David’s winner was only 23rd on the West Cumberland Federation result sheet which was dominated by Sandwith flyer Barry Irving.
He didn’t manage top spot, which went to Lowca’s David Lofthouse with a blue cock but he had the next five, taking nearly half of the 30 positions on the Fed sheet, with 14.
The irony is that Barry also bred the winner so he did have the first six!
David explained: “Barry was very good to me. He bred me 16 young birds and gave them to me. This was one of them and I believe has some of McLuckie brothers’ Van den Bulkke blood in him”
Just to compare the pace of the two races – David won the West Cumberland Federation with his bird covering the 53 miles at 53mph.
The Derwent Valley hasn’t started Federation races but Morris and Wayne McLuckie, who won Workington Social Limit, were doing 37mph from the same race-point but liberated half an hour earlier.
Cleator Moor Central was won by Rodgers and Benn – ahead of a clatter for Tomlinson and Banks.
The winner is another out of their Stefaan Lambrecht family with the sire being off Ian Stafford’s Vale Attilla.
Danny Rodgers said: “We were a little worried because it was our first young bird race of the season as we weren’t totally happy with them the previous two weeks.
“We just got as much training into them as possible, and luckily they came really well.”
The Copeland North West club opened their programme from Lymm and it proved to be a hard one with birds missing.
John Maudling won with a blue hen and he also took the sixth ticket with a blue cock with club chairman Graham Berst taking the tickets in between.
In the Derwent Valley a couple of lofts had the first five in their respective clubs, but in Harrington Central Neil and Geoff Wordsworth took all six for the second week in a row.
Their winner is a young chequer hen out of the race loft through their stock from Kevin Hibbert of Rotherham.
Her sire scored in the old bird programme and her dam was the loft’s best performer in the old birds earning 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th in the Harrington club.
In Workington Victoria Kevin Evans continued his domination of the result sheet by taking the first five positions.
The winner is a blue hen from a batch of young birds that his new loft manager Bob Taylor brought up from a mate in Yorkshire and is a Geerinkx x Sylvester.
First five in Workington Social Limit were clocked by Morris and Wayne McLuckie and their winner is a blue pied cock off a son of Ricardo x daughter of UK Kittel when paired to a hen direct from Les Green which was off a pigeon called Harriet which had topped four Combines for him.
He’s the same way bred as Ian McGarr (Flimby) 2nd Combine while his brothers and sisters have been Ist and 2nd club, 4th and 5th Amal, the same as the two pigeons they presented for the Transporter Fund and were won by Alan Parker of Seaton.
Notching a hat-trick of wins in the Dearham Utd club was Liam Norris of Aspatria and this latest winner, a red pied hen flying to the perch, is the nest mate to last week’s winner from Flookburgh 2.
It’s a Johnny Pannis, with the dam off Adam O’Hara of Liverpool crossed with a Vandenabeele from his grandad Brian Reeves of Silloth.
Jimmy Nelson and Fleck Crellin won in Flimby HS with one of their successful Karel Boeckx family, whose sire and dam were in the race team. Both had done well last year but unfortunately were lost this year, the dam from training.
There was an interesting winner in Seaton RBL where Peter Dobie and Ralph Palmer topped the sheet.
Peter, in particular, is a big fan of the one-loft races and this blue cock’s sire is a German bird which was 14th in the Great Algarve 2020 and 21st Ace bird.
The dam was a Syndicate Lofts bird called Indian Wedding which was 28th Ace bird in the same race.
WEST CUMBERLAND
FEDERATION (973 birds): 1, D. Lofthouse (Lowca) 1557; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, B. Irving (Sandwith) 1556, 1555.6, 1555.2, 1553, 1552,
SANDWITH (6 sent 209): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, B. Irving 1556, 1555.6, 1555.1, 1553, 1552; 6, McGrady and son 1551.
LOWCA (4 sent 174): 1, 2, 3, D. Lofthouse 1557, 1545, 1544; 4, Tomlinson and Banks 1541.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (8 sent 452): 1, Rodgers and Benn 1552; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Tomlinson and Banks 1549, 1548.4, 1548.4, 1548.4, 1548.01.
EGREMONT RANGERS (205 birds): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, D. Harrison and son 1541.3, 1541.3, 1540.8, 1540.8, 1539, 1537.
COPELAND NW (4 sent 70): 1, 6, J. Maudling 1249, 1065; 2, 3, 4, 5, G. Best 1235, 1185, 1090, 1072.
DERWENT VALLEY
SEATON RBL (41 birds): 1, 2, 3, Dobie and Palmer 1139, 1136, 1116; 4, F. Scott 1106.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (5 sent 248): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, McLuckie bros 1112.9, 1112.9, 1112.9, 1112.7, 1112.5; 6, Williams and Hadfield 1111.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (10 sent 490): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Evans and Abraham 1166, 1165.2, 1165.2, 1164.8, 1164.1; 6, McLuckie bros 1163.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (8 sent 279): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, N. and G. Wordsworth 1111, 1110, 1106, 1105, 1092.8, 1092.8.
DEARHAM UTD (5 sent 115): 1, 6, L. Norris 1141, 1129; 2, 3, 4, 5, Dempsey, son and Reay 1133.6, 1133.2, 1133.06, 1130.
FLIMBY HS (7 sent 364): 1, Nelson and Crellin 1094; 2, 5, R. Hodgson 1092, 1088.8; 3, 4, I. McGarr 1091.6, 1091.4; 6, A. Bromley and co 1088.6.
