The new pigeon racing season opened on Saturday with a pipe-opener from Garstang.
It’s a new look set-up this year with the West Cumberland Federation members now part of the Derwent Valley Federation as a southern section.
In the Derwent Valley there is no Dearham club and active members have joined the Flimby club which leaves just six member clubs plus the Cumberland Social Circle.
The old West Cumberland Federation had just three clubs who are now the southern section of the DVF.
There had been some doubt as to whether the race would be pushed back to Sunday but the decision was taken to go ahead as planned to take advantage of a bright window of weather before the rain came in.
The decision was applauded, too, as a fast race proved to be a good one with excellent returns for those who sent. Some fanciers had not liked the look of the forecast and kept their birds at home.
The birds were liberated at 10am in a south, south west wind and they skated home, with the leaders covering the 50-plus miles in under the hour.
Wayne McLuckie has new work commitments this season and is only flying a team of 25 hens but still managed to take the first three tickets in both Workington Social Limit and Workington Victoria.
The winning bird is a two-year-old blue hen whose bred through Les Green’s UK Kittel and has scored on lots of occasions, including winning the Cumbria Combine from Marlborough 2 last year.
In Harrington Central Neil Semple won with a yearling blue pied hen – who was actually his fourth pigeon to the lift.
Three came together but in windy conditions failed to trap and when they went round and missed again the blue pied hen arrived and made no mistake to win the race.
She’s off the last son of the Big Hen of Brian Johnson’s when she was paired to a direct Rudy Van Reeth cock and was in a kit that Neil bought last season from Alan Devlin, a retired former race partner, and she actually scored as a young bird.
There were familiar names at the top of the sheet in Cleator Moor Central where Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle started the season with a win and took the first four tickets.
The winner was a three-year-old chequer cock who was winning in the club for the third time. He is bred from the loft’s number one stock pair – the sire from Keith Rafferty and the dam from Mickey Collins.
There was also a very good performance in the Egremont club where Peter Bewsher and partner Wayne Park won with a yearling chequer hen and were also second and sixth.
Recent additions to the sport, they are building up a tidy team for the tests ahead this season.
The winning hen is home bred off a direct son and direct sister of Olympic Hurricane from Lynden Joesberry. The parents are co-owned by Bewsher and Park, along with Jim Moreau.
The bird that took sixth in Egremont was the same way bred while their second had been gifted off Paul Cree, a friend and top flyer from the North East.
The third former West Cumberland Federation club now part of the Derwent Valley Federation (south section) is Lowca and their result was also dominated by one loft.
Mike McGrady won with a blue hen which was bred from an original pair of Merlin pigeons he bought from Kevin Hibbert. They are actually now sire and dam of eight Federation winners and grand sire and grand dam of four Fed winners.
Racing continues this week-end from Charnock Richard.
- WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (8 sent 286): 1, 2, 3, McLuckie bros 1645, 1644.8, 1644.8; 4, Williams and Hadfield 1643; 5, J. Dolan, son and daughter 1637; 6, Mr and Mrs Walters and son 1621.
- WORKINGTON VICTORIA (10 sent 356): 1, 2, 3, McLuckie bros 1720.7, 1720.5, 1720.5; 4, Williams and Hadfield 1719; 5, J. Dolan, son and daughter 1710; 6, Evans and Abraham 1704.
- HARRINGTON CENTRAL (7 sent 147): 1, N. Semple 1623; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Mr and Mrs Carter and sons 1618,, 1617.7, 1617.3, 1616.8. 1616.8.
- SEATON RBL (2 sent 45): 1, 2, 3, 4, A. Parker 1702, 1695, 1690, 1649.
- FLIMBY HS (7 sent 162): 1, M. Varty, son and grandson 1588; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1586, 1586.05, 1586.05, 1585.2, 1585.2.
- EGREMONT RANGERS (58 birds): 1, 2, 6, Bewsher, son and Park 1563, 1554, 1514; 3, 4, 5, D. Harrison and son 1551, 1546, 1516.
- CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (7 sent 204): 1, 2, 3, 4, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1599, 1595, 1594, 1593; 5, 6, A. and T. Kenmare 1590.9, 1590.4.
- LOWCA (7 sent 210): 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, W. McGrady and son 1593.8, 1593.8, 1593.3, 1591, 1590; 4, D. Lofthouse 1592.
