THREE BORDERS FEDERATION ‘FOCUS’ WITH KEITH MOTT 

IMRAN MALIK

of Tolworth

That’s the end of another racing season! It only seems like we started racing about four or five week ago, but here we are in September and it’s all done and dusted. The Federation has had a very successful young bird season, with good birdage and a new young star has emerged from the Hersham club, in the form of Iran Malik. Although the racing name is Iran Malik, there are in fact three partners, including his best friend, Dean Shah and his cousin, Samir Khan, and next season all three will have their names in the racing title. The three lads have worked very hard with their young birds and taken the Federation by storm, winning: 12th, 21st. Federation Blandford (1831 birds), 1st, 2nd. Federation Lulworth (1) (1620 birds), 4th, 7th, 14th, 17th. Federation West Bay (1404 birds), 1st, 2nd, 23rd. Federation Lulworth (2) (2101 birds), 5th. Federation Exeter (1327 birds), 2nd, 7th. Federation, 6th. open S.M.T. Combine Yelverton and finished up the season by winning the Federation Individual Points Trophy. Fantastic young bird flying by any ones standards!

The youngsters are put on the ‘darkness’ system on the last weekend in March and they come off normally at the back end of June. The loft houses 50 young birds for racing each and they race the whole programme, although Imran says, he wished he had it in him to stop a few and save them for old birds racing, but he is to greedy and want to win every thing he can with young birds. He maintains, he just loves young bird racing! Ten cocks are put on the widowhood system and the rest are raced to the perch, although they are allowed to pair up and have eggs and youngsters if they want. Training starts two weeks after they come off the ‘dark’ and this is worked up in stages to 25 miles and they get three 25 mile tosses ever week during the racing season. The widowhood cocks are treated like old birds and are not trained during the racing season.

The Malik loft came off the ‘darkness’ on the 12th. June this year and they paired ten young cocks to old hens and allowed them to rear a youngster each. The old hens were taken away when the youngsters were 15 days and the young cocks finished rearing the squeakers, and once they were weaned, the cocks were on widowhood. The next time the young cocks saw the hens, it was the marking night of the first young bird race from Blandford, but Imran says, they didn’t come to well. The following week three of those widowhood cocks were well up in the Federation result.

Imran’s first Federation winner of the season was from Lulworth (1) and he won it with his good Janssen blue chequer hen, ‘Lady Ace’, and she was sent feeding a pair of five day old youngsters. She was 90 seconds in front of the next pigeon to the loft, which recorded 2nd. Federation. Imran says, she was very keen on her babies, because she wouldn’t let the cock bird sit on them and they knew she was going to do well in the 97 mile race. This game little hen was bred from two gift Janssen stock birds from his uncles, Khan Brothers of Kingston , and they are down from their successful ‘Zola’ bloodlines. The Lulworth (2) race produced the biggest young bird birdage of the 2006 season, with 2101 birds being sent, and the Malik loft won the Federation with their dark chequer hen, ‘Classic Ace’. She was bred down from the Wall, Lunt, Green & Galley of Manchester bloodlines and is a grand daughter of their famous racer, ‘The Classic Cock’. The Federation’s longest young bird race was flown from Yelverton (180 miles) and the birds had a hard fly in a north wind. Imran tells me he had a really bad trap as his good widowhood dark chequer cock, ‘The Special Cock’, came home with a hen in tow and spent a lot of time clapping around the sky with her before surrendering his race rubber. When he finally got on the clock he recorded 1st. club, 2nd. Federation, 6th. open S.M.T. Combine and secured the Federation Individual Points Trophy for the Tolworth loft. This game cock was first bird on the clock the weekend before from the L.&S.E.C.C. Yelverton race and is a full brother to the dark hen, ‘Classic Ace’, the partner’s Lulworth (2) Federation winner, being a grand son of Wall, Lunt, Green & Galley’s ‘The Classic Cock’. A great line of winners!

Imran started racing pigeons in the 2004 season with a team of young birds purchased from Louella Pigeon World and in the 2005 season Janssens were introduced from Imran’s uncles, Khan Brothers of Kingston .  The 2005 young bird season saw him smash his novice status and recorded 1st, 2nd, 9th, 10th. Federation in that season. He races 16 old bird cocks on the widowhood system. The old birds racers are paired up in January to rear a pair of youngsters and are trained on their second round of eggs, before going on the widowhood. The cocks are trained twice a day for eight day from 25 miles and are only sent to sprint races. Imran only likes short racing and has no interest what so ever in long distance pigeon racing. Whether it be the old bird or young bird widowhood system, the birds are broke down for several days each week and the hens are shown on marking night, but if it looks like being a very easy race, they might only be shown the nest bowls. The cocks get their mates for a couple of hours on their return from the race.

The partners loft is a 22ft. brick structure, which was converted from a brick garden shed already in Imran’s garden. The original floor was concrete, but the partners have fitted a new wooden floor over the concrete and all trapping is through the open window for both young and old birds. The loft has three sections, with an aviary on one end, which houses a few latebreds and the loft is cleaned out every day, with the floor and perches being burnt off. Imran tells me, they keep 12 pairs of stock birds and they are all Janssen, but different lines. The breeders are paired up on Boxing Day and any new introductions into the stock loft are selected on the pedigree, and never type. I must say, it’s great and very refreshing to witness three young lads do so well, with their pigeons! Congratulations to Imran, Dean and Samir on their wonderful young bird season and on becoming the Federation Individual Points Champions for 2006. Fantastic pigeon flying!

There you have it, Imran Malik, Dean Shah and Samir Khan, three new up and coming young star in the pigeon racing world! Any Three Borders Federation news, please give me a phone call on: 01372 463480.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (FEDERATION PRESS OFFICER).