Just as they did with the old birds the David Lofthouse team has been to the fore at the start of young bird racing.
After dominating the West Cumberland Federation sheet from Garstang, they headed the follow up from Charnock Richard.
After taking the first eight positions a week earlier the Lofthouse birds were first and second as well as fourth.
The birds were liberated at 10am in a light north west wind and David had two drop together at 11.43am.
They had covered the 71 miles at 41mph.
It’s also been a good start in the Cleator Moor club for the Dobson family.
They took the first eight positions after clocking the first 11 from Garstang a week earlier.
The winning mealy hen is off a cock the partners won in a raffle organised for the transporter fund and was bred by Leach brothers.
The dam was bought at a Newcastle Show and it’s from Gerald Delaney and it’s their first year paired together.
In the Egremont club, John Wilson and Neil Buchanan won again.
Leading them home was a blue cock that was the loft’s second bird last week but was never registered on the system for the race so had gone as a trainer.
The sire was bred by Neil’s good friend Stewart Knowles of Widnes from his outstanding Leo Heremans family.
The dam is a home bred Frans Zwol from his direct imports, a son of the King of Rekkem when paired to a daughter of Tip Top Junior.
Performance of the week among the Derwent Valley members was put up by Mark Hodgson.
In the competitive Flimby club he took all six tickets.
They were racing from Charnock Richard – the third race of the young bird programme and had been liberated at 10am in light north west wind.
The winner in Flimby was clocked by Mark at 11.56am and he had all the tickets sewn up inside 21 seconds.
It’s 83 miles to the Hodgson and Saldert loft and the winner, a dark chequer hen, was doing nearly 43mph.
Mark said: “She is a Van den Bulck bred off stock I bought along with Barry Irving.
“Her sister was also in the leading six while the other four are a mix of my own crossed with McLuckie brothers pigeons.”
Back to the Derwent Valley and success in both Workington clubs for the Williams and Hadfield partnership.
They led home the Victoria and Social Limit birds with one of the youngsters bred off a Heremans Cuester pair which has provided them with lots of birds to score.
Neil Semple is flying well in Harrington Central putting together back-to-back wins.
This week’s winner is a blue hen off his number one stock hen which has now bred six birds to take first prize.
She’s Cuester/Lambrecht/Zwoll originally from Alan Devlin.
The sire is from John Haig and the second and third birds over the pad were both from kits he got from Alan Devlin, a former race partner.
Jason Dempsey continued his good run in Dearham with the first three tickets.
Winner is a red cock bred from a Bob Fenech hen (Lambrecht) and a cock from Ross Mitchell (Lambrecht).
As said last week it’s always interesting to hear of winners in the Seaton club from the loft of Peter Dobie and Ralph Palmer.
Their Charnock Richard winner is a chequer cock bred from a German pigeon which few in the 2023 Algarve Golden Race where he finished 329th ( 3,175 birds) in a brutal race with no day birds.
Bred by the top loft of Steffen Haggenmueller, his dam is a full sister to 1st Pattaya International one of the biggest races in the world where entries usually top 11,000 pigeons.
The dam of the winner is a Louella hen whose siblings were 194th and 200th in the same tough Golden Algarve race of 2023.
She is 50% Van Den Bulck and is a cousin to 2nd Scottish National Ancenis for John Hodgson.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (436 birds): 1, 2, 4, D. Lofthouse (Lowca) 1213.4, 1213.4, 1212.3; 3,5, 6, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle (Cleator Moor) 1212.8, 1212.09, 1211.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (5 sent 201): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1220, 1219, 1218.5, 1218.3, 1218.1, 1217.
EGREMONT RANGERS (97 birds): 1, 2, 4, 5, Wilson and Buchanan 1202, 1201.4, 1200.8, 1200.2; 3, Marr, Scott and Lofthouse 1200.1; 6, D. Harrison and son 1197.
FLIMBY HS (7 sent 254): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Hodgson and Saldert 1256.7, 1256.5, 1256.03, 1253.7, 1253.7, 1252.
DEARHAM (4 sent 105): 1, 2, 3, Dempsey, son and Reay 1209, 1208.9, 1208.9; 4, 5, 6, D. Todhunter 1202.9, 1202.9, 1201.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (8 sent 233): 1, 4, 5, Williams and Hadfield 1229, 1227, 1226; 2, 3, McLuckie bros 1228.5, 1228.2; 6, Mr and Mrs Walters 1222.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (5 sent 164): 1, 2, 3, 6, N. Semple 1220.8, 1220.6, 1219, 1214; 4, 5, N. and G. Wordsworth 1217, 1216.
SEATON RBL (2 sent 36): 1, 2, 3, 4, Dobie and Palmer 1225, 1217, 1200, 1191.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA FC (10 sent 379): 1,4,6, Williams and Hadfield 1248.7, 1247.1, 1245; 2, 3, McLuckie bros 1247.9, 1247.5; 5, Varty, son and grandson 1246.
