Cannock 1 was a very poor race for West Cumbrian fanciers, but Cannock 2 on Saturday proved a much better one.
It was especially good for the Cleator Moor “solicitors” – Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon – as they dominated their club, West Cumberland Federation and West Cumbria Amalgamation result sheets.
They had the first three in the club, took the first six places in the Federation and also the Amalgamation – a great piece of flying, particularly after they had suffered big losses from the previous Cannock race.
The birds were liberated at 10am in an east north-east wind and the winners rattled home, covering the 141 miles in two hours 33 minutes, which equates to 55.1mph. They were all clocked inside 12 seconds.
In the picture of the first three home, Michael is holding the winner – a chequer pied hen out of Keith Rafferty stock and she is related to the blue hen that topped the Fed and was 3rd Combine for the partnership earlier in the old bird season.
Danielle is holding the 2nd bird which was on the same second as the winner. This chequer white flight hen is off a red Lambrecht cock from Danny Rodgers, a Cleator Moor clubmate which was gifted to them for stock.
The mother is a mealy hen from the loft’s own stock, and goes back to the chequer hen that topped the Combine back in 2018. It’s nest mate was also 4th Fed and Amal.
David has the third bird clocked, a blue hen which is an A ring bought at the sale and belongs to Lamb brothers from the north-east.
Danielle said: “It was a good race with us getting six landing together and four of them getting a first-time trap.
“We had 100% returns which was great because of the bad returns last week was a big hit to our loft, and to the Fed as a whole. It was great to watch them coming home as they did.”
The penultimate race at Egremont Rangers this week was won by Dave Harrison and son with a blue Ceuster x Busscheart cock bred in the racing loft and flying to the perch.
His sire has topped the Amal on two occasions and his dam was 2nd Amal and Combine from Salisbury this year beaten on the pad by a loft-mate.
She is also full sister to three other Amal winners and was bred in 2022 when her sire was 14 years old and dam was 7 years old.
There was an exceptional performance from a Lowca loft in the Derwent Valley Federation.
David and Sandra Wood, members of the Harrington Central club, only sent one to the race – again after heavy losses the previous week – and they topped the Federation.
Over the years there won’t have been many – if any at all – of single entries from lofts for inland races topping the Derwent Valley Federation sheet. Indeed, that’s probably true of Federations throughout the country and is a remarkable achievement.
The winning bird for David and Sandra is a chequer hen who was sent sitting on eggs, almost ready to chip-out.
The bird was bred by Bob McAvoy and was the exchange bird in the Harrington Central club and has subsequently been christened Bobbi Dazzler.
Sire of the hen is Van den Bulke of Keith Rafferty’s while the dam is Bob’s successful Marcellis family which has scored in the Combine. Her half-sister was mother of the Exchange winner last year for Mike Walker.
She was clocked at 12.39 after the 145-mile flight which was 54.6mph.
Both Sandra and David come from families steeped in pigeon racing. Sandra is an Ennis whose dad Bill and brothers Thomas and Trevor all used to fly birds while David raced with his father Derek.
There aren’t many who have been flying a better young bird this season than Kevin Evans and he was at it again on Saturday when he picked up all the tickets in Workington Victoria except third.
His first bird is no stranger to the winner’s enclosure as she was successful from Flookburgh 2. She’s a blue hen bred through a son off a red cock of Steve Foster and a blue hen from Tony Holker of Manchester.
Williams and Hadfield led them home in the Workington Social Limit club and the Steve Foster bloodlines are in evidence here as well.
A red hen her sire is a Foster Van den Bulke through Micky Collins and the dam is a Lambrecht bred from Foster birds.
Her nest mate has a King’s Coronation ring and the partners are hoping she will go this week to compete in Social Circle once in a lifetime race from Cheltenham.
In the Seaton and Dearham clubs only one loft sent in each and both were able to take spots on the Fed sheet with their first arrivals.
Peter Dobie and Ralph Palmer of the Seaton club were 20th while David Todhunter and Mark Grisedale in Dearham were 26th and 27th.
The Dobie and Palmer bird had won in Seaton earlier in the season from Leyland, was 4th Appleton 1 and also 3rd Appleton 2,
The sire raced in the RPRA One Loft Race of 2019 and finished third, also 10th Ace bird and was bred by Paul Bunclark.
The dam is called Errin’s Dream, bred by Syndicate Lofts and finished 31st Open in the Great Algarve Derby. They have also bred birds to perform well in other one loft races for the partnership.
Todhunter and Grisedale had all their 11 birds back inside 17 minutes including two A ring birds which will be ready for the big day – fingers crossed.
First into the clock was a chequer hen which was bred in the stock loft from a pair of Jepson pigeons bought in the transporter auction.
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (493 birds): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon (Cleator Moor) 1619.3, 1619.3, 1618.9, 1618.6, 1618.4, 1617.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (188 birds): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon (Cleator Moor) 1619.3, 1619.3, 1618.9, 1618.6, 1618.4, 1617.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (6 sent 91): 1, 2, 3, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1621.7, 1621.7, 1621.3; 4, 5, 6, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1621.09, 1621.09. 1621.09.
EGREMONT RANGERS (50 birds): 1, 4, D. Harrison and son 1616, 1545; 2, 6, Marr, Scott and Lofthouse 1599, 1543; 3, 5, Wilson and Buchanan 1568, 1543.
LOWCA (2 sent 24): 1, 3, D. Lofthouse 1606, 1569.6; 2, 4. Holliday and Dixon 1588, 1569.6.
DERWENT VALLEY
FEDERATION (305 birds): 1, Mr and Mrs D. Wood (Harrington Central) 1604; 2, 3, N. and G. Wordsworth (Harrington Central) 1593.9, 1593.1; 4, I. and D. Wood (Harrington Central) 1588.9; 5, 6, Evans and Abraham (Workington Victoria) 1588.03, 1588.03.
FLIMBY HS (6 sent 122): 1, 3, J. Varty, son and grandson 1562, 1543; 2, R. Hodgson 1551; 4, 5, 6, A. Bromley and co 1530.7, 1530.4, 1515.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (16 sent 30): 1, Mr and Mrs D. Wood and son 1604; 2, Varty, son and grandson 1562; 3, R. Hodgson 1551; 4, Todhunter and Grisedale 1530; 5, Williams and Hadfield 1522; 6, A. and T. Kenmare 1517.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (7 sent 102): 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, Evans and Abraham 1598.9, 1598.9, 1588.6, 1588.4, 1588.2; 3, Martindale and Lawman 1596.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (3 sent 44): 1, 6, Williams and Hadfield 1522, 1509; 2, 3, J. Dolan, son and daughter 1521.9, 1521.6; 4, 5, Wilson and Johnston 1521.3, 1516.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (6 sent 56): 1, Mr and Mrs D. Wood and son 1604; 2, 3, 5, 6, N. and G. Wordsworth 1593.9, 1593.1, 1586, 1581; 4, I. and D. Wood 1588.
