Keith Mott writes about winning fanciers past & present

GABI ROMASCAN

of Worcester Park

Gabi Romascan has had pigeons since he was twelve years old in his native Romania and only started racing them since moving over to England to live, three years ago. In his first season racing in the London Federation, he recorded an incredible seven firsts in his local club, the Mitcham R.P.C., against premier opposition including Terry Goodsell, Johnny Barrett and Alfie Jones. Gabi won 1st. & 2nd. club La Ferte Bernard and in the next race sent one pigeon and won Messac by nine minutes.

He won, only sent small teams of about four old birds to the races and then went on to win four races on the trot with young birds. The loft recorded several premier positions in the Federation that season, including 2nd. open and also 5th. & 8th. open Combine. The next year his mother was taken ill and Gabi had to return to Romania for a while, but still managed to race half the season and record four wins in the club. In 2006 he moved house to Worcester Park and only flew in five young bird events recording three first. A brilliant racing record for a fancier who has only been in the sport three years! When Gabi resided in Romania he lived in the mountains and there was only one local fancier and he raced long distance. There are very few pigeon fanciers in Romania and they race a few inland events, then they go into Hungary, Germany and Poland for the long distance races.

Gabi races 12 cocks on the widowhood system and maintain that in future seasons is going to concentrate on National and Classic racing. He has three lofts, with the main racing shed being 14ft.x 8ft.and pairs up on 10th. December, as he likes his young birds to go on a natural darkness system with the short days at that time of the year. When the racers have reared their first round of youngsters, the hens are taken away with the youngsters at about 14 days old and then are repaired about a month before the first Federation race. The cocks are given several training tosses while sitting their eggs and Gabi told me he preferred long distance races. Gabi is not a driver and his birds very little training. The racing cocks are fed on a first class widowhood mixture and are never broken down, as Gabi sets them up with channel racing in mind.

The Worcester Park loft houses several pairs of stock birds which Gabi mates up the same time as the racers so the eggs can be floated in the racing loft. He has several pairs direct from M. & D. Evans and purchased pigeons at the late, great Jim Biss’ dispersal sales including a son of ‘Basher’. When bringing in new stock birds he goes winning bloodlines and not type, and told me his stock loft houses four direct children of 1st. open National winners. He keeps his 50 young birds in an 8ft.x 6ft. loft and being a none driver they get very little training, but flies them out a lot around the loft. They are fed on widowhood mixture, the same as the old birds and race the whole programme.

Well, that’s it for this week! My telephone number is: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.   

14/2/07