Keith Mott writes about winning fanciers past and present...

Three Borders Federation News 

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 Tolworth, in the form of Iran Malik. Although the racing name is I. Malik & Partners, there are in fact three partners, including his best friend, Dean Shah and his cousin, Samir Khan. The three lads have worked very hard with their young birds and taken the Federation by storm, winning: 1st Federation West Bay (2,183 birds), 1st, 2nd Federation Kingsdown (1972 birds), 5th, 6th, 7th Federation Wincanton (1991 birds). 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.

One of the partner’s best seasons was in 2006 winning: 12th, 21st. Federation Blandford (1831 birds), 1st, 2nd Federation Lulworth (1) (1620 birds), 4th, 7th, 14th, and 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. The Malik loft came off the ‘darkness’ on the 12th June that 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 2006 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 in 2009. 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!

An email from Australia.

Dear Keith, 

A wonderful recent article on Brian Denney, I shall print it out and there are also several others that I shall put in my scrapbook. I am not sure how much you know about me, but I am now in my 70s (where the hell do all the years go?), born and bred in Yorkshire and educated in York where we lived for some years after leaving a farm my father bought when he got out of the forces after the war. Mentored by my grandfather, who was well known identity for his Marseilles wins, 780 miles to Bridlington. I never met Brian Denney as I left the UK at seventeen in the forces then worked around the globe looking at the world's wildlife in my free time. My greatest mentor was Billy Little of Huntington, between York and Strensall. He was one of the very greatest pigeon fanciers and a gentleman, still racing in his old age but long since died. (Have you heard of him?) Brian Thornton, assistant editor of the ‘Gazette’ was a great friend and wrote to me weekly of his racing exploits, wherever in the world I might be. I knew well lots of the top old names like Tom Clarke of Frampton, George Thatcher, Ron Mitchieson, Fred Empson and so many more. Eric and Pat Cannon, I idolised through your writings, but I never met them but obviously charming people specialising in the distances I love.

For me racing always started at 450 miles and ended at 750 miles. Long distance racing was bred into me and in the 50s the longest races were the only ones worth winning - still the same here in Australia, but we oldies with the know how to get the birds home in the marathons are practically all gone into the history books. I still have some racers but the old bones grew weary humping heavy tripods and camera gear over mountains, deserts and rainforests so that though the mind is willing the body don’t like all the hard work involved with racing. Being a perfectionist, I either do it right or not at all! Still I set my targets and achieved many fine wins as well as almost annually breeding the winners of the longest races for others, so I have no regrets, just regret that perhaps I could have used my time more wisely as there seems to be a very uncertain future for the sport in the modern age of technology. Still my love of all creatures, wild and domesticated, has been my passion and I would have had it no other way!

As a child the family had friends in your neck of the woods in Claygate and we used to summer holiday there. As children we fishing at the sewer outfall at Molesey Lock nearly every day, Dace, Roach, Perch and Chub packed our keep nets in the late 40s and early 50s.  I had better close! Will write more when I have opened the rest of your emails .Will make a list of requests for DVDs of Eric and Pat and others if available, please keep in touch!

Many Thanks - Roger Brown.

What a nice email! Roger is a long distance enthusiast and is a friend of our own Doug McClary who now lives and shows his birds in Australia. That’s our article for this week! My phone number is: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.