“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.

“On a personal note”

I think it is common knowledge throughout the fancy that I packed up racing my pigeons three years ago because of my heavy commitment elsewhere in the sport and only keep about 12 pairs of birds down the garden to play with. I sell a very small number of youngsters for some corn money and give a lot of youngsters to Charity Sales and friends, so they can race them. In fact I gave away 55 youngsters in the 2018 season! Our racing record has been pretty good over a 45 year period, but I do enjoy the breeding side of our sport. ‘Foxwarren Lofts’ have a wonderful record of breeding countless top class winners for ourselves and other fanciers over many years. As I’ve stated, the Keith and Betty Mott loft in Claygate has gifted a lot of youngsters to our friends and charity auctions over the years, and in the 2013 season our birds produced several premier prize winners including 1st open Combine, 1st open Amalgamation, 1st Federation (twice), and 2nd Federation (twice) in that season. The loft has recently produced 1st open Combine two years on the trot and our birds have also produced 1st open Amalgamation Bourges (581 miles) two years on the trot. This week I’m having a little update on the highlights of some of the breeding successes at ‘Foxwarren Lofts’ in recent years.

2008: One of Brian Denney’s greatest champions was ‘Brian’s Blue’, winner in 2008 of 1st section K, 61st open NFC Tarbes Grand National (4,035 birds), NFC record holder being clocked at 748 miles on the day of liberation. He also won 1st North East 700 Mile Club, 1st RPRA UK Long Distance Champion, plus RPRA Region Long Distance Award. A fantastic performance! The dam of Champion ‘Brian’s Blue’ was ‘Foxwarren Pretender’ bred by us at ‘Foxwarren Lofts’ and she flew the English Channel twice as a young birds, recording 4th club Guernsey and then as a yearling flew Bergerac (455 miles) on the day of liberation to win 151st open L&SECC. ‘Pretender’s’ nest sister, ‘Betty M’, was gifted to Brian Denney out of the nest and she bred several top performers for the Strensall loft including: ‘Elton’ winner of 30th, 182nd open NFC Tarbes ( 748 miles) and ‘Class Blue’ winner of 2nd section K NFC Fougeres. ‘Foxwarren Pretender’ was loaded to Brian for a season when she bred Champion ‘Brian’s Blue’ and she was a half-sister to our champion racing and breeding hen, ‘Foxwarren Complete’, being a daughter of ‘Pathfinder’ who was bred by Brian Denney out of the wonderful racing and breeding hen, ‘Blue Pau’. Champion ‘Brian’s Blue’ proved to be a great breeder of winners, including: ‘Blue Boy’, winner of 12th, 130th open NFC Tarbes (748 miles). 

2011: After Clive Turner’s great success in 2011 when he won 1st open London & South East Classic Club Alencon (1,811 birds), he repeated his very high quality performances the following season, winning 1st Horsham RPC, 1st South Coast Federation, 1st Combine Saintes (374 miles), 1st, 2nd Horsham RPC, 1st, 3rd South Coast Federation (800 birds) Fougeres (192 miles), plus many other premier prizes in the club and Federation. Clive won the Combine from Saintes with his good widowhood mealy pied cock, ‘The Saintes Cock’, and he was bred by Keith & Betty Mott of Claygate from two Busschaert / Staf Van Reet stock birds bred by Richard and Ken O’Connor of South Norwood. The Saintes Combine winner was latish bred in 2010 and had very little racing, but as well as winning the Combine he won several top positions inland in the strong Horsham club that season. His sire was the mealy pied stock cock, ‘Young Roman’, who was the sire of several good winners and is son of the champion Busschaert, ‘Roman Nose’, winner of four times 1st Federation, when mated to the Paul Arnold / Staf Van Reet hen, ‘Dawn’, winner of 1st Combine. The dam of ‘The Saintes Cock’ was a daughter of the O’Connor’s ‘Champion of Champions’, ‘Batman’, winner of 17 first prizes, including five times 1st Federation and 4th open Combine.  Champion ‘Batman’ was a Busschaert and half-brother to Champion ‘Roman Nose’. A fantastic family of winners! Clive Turner’s 3rd South Coast Federation Fougeres winner in the 2012 season was also bred from Keith & Betty Mott blood line.

2013: Our small team of Mark and Dick Evans / Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds have really been breeding fantastic and have produced some brilliant racers, including 1st open Combine and 2nd Three Borders Federation in 2013. The key pigeon has been the blue WF, ‘Myrtle Exile’ and she has produced premier winners with two of our M. & D. Evans stock cocks. The Gaby Vandenabeele stock birds were mostly bred by Mark & Dick Evans of Whitley Bridge and ‘Myrtle Exile’ is a granddaughter of the world famous Champion ‘Golden Gaby’, winner of 1st open National Orleans (12,875 birds). What a fantastic breeding hen! ‘Myrtle Exile’ produced, being paired to our grandson of ‘Pre-Olympic’, a cock we gifted to our great mate, Terry Haley of Watford and he recorded as a young bird in the 2013 season: 14th Spelthorne open Yeovil (650 birds), flew the L&SECC Guernsey Young Bird Classic (a really bad race), was then clocked from the NFC Carentan (France) Young Bird National to record 415th open (3,330 birds) and seven days later was turned 205 miles North Road to Aycliffe to win 1st club (by 20 minutes), 1st Thames Valley Federation, 1st open North Thames NR Combine. The 2017 saw Terry Haley win 1st club, 1st Thames Valley, 1st North Thames NR Combine again from Aycliffe (205 miles) with his good blue hen young bird, ‘Misty Missile’ and she is a granddaughter of the ‘Watford Wizard’. ‘Myrtle Exile’ and our grandson of the two ‘Myrtle Lofts’ legends, ‘Shadow’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Myrtle Supremacy’ was our original pair of stock birds from Mark & Dick Evans and they have been mate together for most of the time we have own them and they have proved to be a champion pair of breeders. ‘White Tail’, a daughter of ‘Myrtle Supremacy’ and ‘Myrtle Exile’ produced 2nd, 5th, 5th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 24th Federation in recent seasons for Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden. A fantastic Gaby Vandenabeele stock pair! 

Fred Dickson of Cramlington sent four birds to the Bourges (581 miles) race in 2013 and with the race turning out to be a very hard push home, the birds clocked in the Combine on the day of liberation could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Fred lives at the top end of the NEHU and clocked his good Eric Cannon blue chequer cock, ‘Northern Expected’, at 06.03hrs next morning to record 1st club, 1st Federation, 1st New North Amalgamation and 8th North of England Homing Union open result (2,355 birds). This wonderful round about cock had flown Bourges (581 miles) three times and won 1st, 3rd and 4th Federation. A fantastic achievement! ‘Northern Expected’s’ half-brother, a 100% Eric Cannon blue chequer cock, recorded 1st club, 1st Federation, 1st Amalgamation Bourges in the 2012 season and his dam, ‘Foxwarren Northerner’ was bred by us at Claygate. ‘Northern Expected’ is a son of Fred’s champion ‘Five Times Bourges Cock’ which was killed by a Sparrowhawk in front of the Cramlington loft and was the winner of 3rd, 5th, 8th Federation Bourges and sire of 1st, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 4th Federation, 1st, 1st Amalgamation Bourges (581 miles). ‘The Five Times Bourges Cock’ was bred from ‘Foxwarren Fred’, a red chequer cock bred by us at Claygate and he has proved to be one of the best 550 mile stock cocks we have ever owned and was bred from the very best of Eric Cannon’s wonderful long distance family. ‘Foxwarren Fred’ is the sire of many premier long distance champions including: 1st Federation Bourges (581 miles), 2nd Federation Bourges, 2nd Federation Bourges, 2nd Federation Bourges, 3rd Federation Bourges, 5th Federation Bourges, 8th Federation Bourges, plus 2nd Amalgamation Bourges and is grand sire of 1st, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 4th Federation, 1st, 1st Amalgamation Bourges (581 miles) in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. ‘Foxwarren Fred’ is also grand sire to ‘Charlotte’, winner of 2018: 2nd open NIPA St. Malo National (1,835 birds) and ‘Our Lass’, winner of 2016: 16th open EDC St. Malo National. Later in the 2013 season Fred Dickson won with a yearling blue chequer cock bred by ‘Foxwarren Lofts’, and he recorded 1st club, 2nd Federation, 12th New North Amalgamation Arras (377 miles) in a strong north east wind. This game cock was a son of our good Eric Cannon stock hen, ‘Foxwarren Katie’ when mated to a son of the Number 1 Brian Denney stock pair, ‘Sasha’s Boy’ and ‘Lady Tuff Nut’. ‘Foxwarren Katie’ is a daughter of our champion Number 2 stock pair and is granddaughter of the Eric Cannon champions: ‘Culmer Marion’ winner of 1st open NFC Sartilly and ‘Culmer Channel Queen’ the NFC Pau Merit Award winner. ‘Sasha’s Boy’ is a full brother to ‘Dark Charm’ and ‘Dark Dancer’, with ‘Lady Tuff Nut’ being a daughter of the champion of all champions, ‘Tuff Nut’. This Brian Denney stock pair have produced Federation winners and ‘Sasha’s Boy’ is grandsire of 1st open International Agen (10,500 birds) in the 2015 racing season. There were several other good winners bred from Keith and Betty Mott’s birds in the 2013 season including: Clive Turner who recoded 2nd open London & South East Classic Club Bergerac (450 miles) with a pigeon bred from K. & B. Mott  birds.

2015: Bobby and Anthony Besant won 1st open International Agen (10,500 birds) in the 2015 season and they named their winner ‘Noble Dream’, and their wonderful champion is a two year dark cock, raced on the widowhood system. Bobby remarked at the time that he thought it was a decent time when he came in from Agen and ‘Noble Dream’ did his usual party trick of landing in next doors tree before coming in to the loft to be clocked. He had won several premier positions before his Agen (499 miles) International win, including 3rd Three Borders Federation, 4th SMT Combine (699 birds) Nort sur Erdre (278 miles) as a yearling in the 2014 season. The dam of Champion ‘Noble Dream’ was the dark pied hen, ‘Half Crown’ and she was bred by Keith and Betty Mott of Claygate. She was one of three sisters that the Motts gifted to Bobby and Anthony in 2009 and Keith donated a full brother to the BHW Blackpool Show Charity auction in 2010, which raised for £740 for charity. ‘Half Crown’ was also the grand dam of Bob and Anthony’s second bird clocked on the day from the Agen International and she was crossed out with Mat Rakes and Geoff Cooper pigeons to produce this game dark cock. The sire of ‘Half Crown’ was the champion stock cock, ‘Sasha’s Boy’ and he was bred by Brian Denney. He was bred for the stock loft from Brian’s champion stock pair, ‘Maxi’ and ‘Dark Jan’ and is a full brother to the champion racing cocks, ‘Dark Charm’, ‘Dark Dancer’ and half-brother to ‘The Chequer Cock’. ‘Sasha’s Boy’ had proved to be outstanding at stock and had bred several top 550 mile racers, including Federation winners! 

The dam of ‘Half Crown’ was our champion hen, ‘Foxwarren Complete’, who was a great 550 mile racer and has now proved to be a champion breeder. ‘Foxwarren Complete’ was the winner of 2003: 32nd open L&SECC Dax (530 miles), 2nd East Grinstead CC Dax, 2004: 29th open L&SECC San Sebastian (560 miles), 2005: 116th open L&SECC Pau (552 miles), 2007: 109th open L&SECC Pau. A real class hen! Her sire was ‘The Cannon Cock’ bred by Eric Cannon and this cock was the original pigeon Eric bred for me on me restarting after ‘pigeon lung’ in 1998 and was a grandson of ‘Culmer White Flight’ and Champion ‘Culmer Sam’. The dam of ‘Foxwarren Complete’ was the brilliant blue cheque stock hen, ‘Pathfinder’, bred by Brian Denney and her dam was Champion ‘Blue Pau’ winner of 41st, 201st open NFC Pau (738 miles) and dam of many premier long distance racers including Champion ‘Classic Lad’ winner of 1st open Northern Classic Saintes (573 miles on the day of liberation). ‘Pathfinder’ was lightly raced before being put to stock and in 2001 flew 900 miles in three weeks to record 91st open L&SECC Perth, 52nd open L&SECC Thurso (520 miles). ‘Pathfinder’ was a champion breeder, producing many premier 550 mile racers, including ‘Foxwarren Complete’ and ‘Foxwarren Pretender’ dam of Champion ‘Brian’s Blue’, the winner for Brian Denney of : 2008: 1st section K, 61st open NFC Tarbes, being clocked on the day of liberation flying 748 miles,1st RPRA UK Long Distance Champion 2008. ‘Foxwarren Complete’ proved to be a ‘gold mine’ stock hen breeding many top 550 mile racers, as well as Bob and Anthony Besant’s champion stock hen, ‘Half Crown’, dam of Champion ‘Noble Dream’. ‘Foxwarren Complete’ is also the dam of the fantastic stock hen, ‘Foxwarren Northern Complete’, dam of many premier 550 mile racers including: 2nd Federation Bourges (581 miles), 3rd Federation Bourges, 4th Federation Bourges, 5th Federation Bourges, 8th Federation and is grand dam of 1st, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 4th Federation, 1st, 1st Amalgamation, 8th open NEHU (2,355 birds) Bourges (581 miles) in recent seasons. She is the dam of Fred Dickson’s champion cock, ‘The Five Times Bourges Cock’. ‘Foxwarren Complete’ is the grand dam of Ronnie & Jim Young’s champion racing and breeding cock, ‘The Wee Cock’. This wonderful cock is responsible for many National prize winners, including being the sire of: ‘Jack’s Legacy’ winner of 2017: 1st open EDC St. Malo National and grand sire of ‘Shallas Lass’ winner of 2018: 1st open EDC St. Malo National and ‘Our Lass’ winner of 2016: 16th open EDC St. Malo National. The fantastic ‘Foxwarren Complete’!

2016: The 2016 was another very successful season for our pigeons, with several premier winners being reported to us. Ronnie & Jim Young of Northern Ireland have had good success racing our birds since 2004 and they have had the very best of the Eric Cannon and Brian Denney bloodlines. The 2016 season saw their excellent blue hen, ‘Bonnie Lass’ record 2nd open St. Malo National, with only 17 birds home in race time and she was bred from a Eric Cannon stock bird from ‘Foxwarren Lofts’. The partners also recorded 16th open National in the same race from St. Malo, with their blue chequer hen, ‘Our Lass’ and she was also mainly our Eric Cannon and Brian Denney bloodlines. The next two seasons saw Ronnie and Jim win 1st open National twice. The 2017 St. Malo National winner, with only two birds home in race time was, ‘Jack’s Legacy’ and he also contained our Eric Cannon and Brian Denney bloodlines. The partner’s 2018 St. Malo National winner, with only eight birds’ home in race time, was ‘Shallas Lass’ and she is a granddaughter of ‘Bonny Lass’ the 2nd open St. Malo National winner of 2016. The partners two original stock cocks they obtained from us in 2004 were ‘48’ and ‘52’ and both figure in the breeding of all they premier national pigeons, when crossed with the Jack Anderson pigeons. The champion breeder, ‘The Wee Cock’ was a son of ‘The 48 Cock’ and he was a son of ‘Foxwarren Complete’ when mated to ‘Foxwarren Black Splash’, who was a grandson of ‘Culmer Gold’ and ‘Culmer Sam’. ‘The 52 Cock’ was a son of my champion Number 2 Eric Cannon stock pair, ‘Culmer Prince’ and ‘Culmer Rocket Queen’. Another great hen of world class quality was the Eric Cannon blue hen, ‘Foxwarren Northerner’ and I bred her for Fred Dickson in 2005, with her dam being ‘Foxwarren Express’, winner of 23rd open London & South East Classic Club San Sebastian (560 miles) and BOS at the Esher Open Show, being beaten by a loft mate. She bred several top 560 mile racers at Fred’s loft in Northumberland, including 1st club, 1st Federation, 1st Amalgamation Bourges (580 miles) and when Fred retired from the sport ‘Foxwarren Northerner’ came back to my loft in Claygate. Ronnie and Jim were looking for a good hen, so I sent her out to them in Northern Ireland and she is the grand dam of ‘Bonny Lass’, winner of 2nd open EDC St. Malo National and great grand dam of ‘Shallas Lass’, winner of 1st open EDC St. Malo National. What a stock hen! Congratulation to Ronnie and Jim on their brilliant achievement!

2017: Terry Haley hit the ‘jackpot’ again in the 2017 racing season and finished it off in a very special fashion, when he recorded 1st Combine twice in seven days. Just brilliant! The Aycliffe young bird win, Terry’s fifth Combine winner, was a great buzz for me personally, as the winning blue hen, now named ‘Misty Missile’, was a granddaughter of ‘The Watford Wizard’, the Gaby Vandenabeele cock we bred for Terry. ‘Misty Missile’ and ‘The Watford Wizard’ both won 1st Watford NR Club, 1st Thames Valley Federation, 1st North Thames NR Combine Aycliffe as young birds. Amazing! We had several other good winners reported in the 2017 season, including 2nd open National. Mick Parish’s first pigeon on the clock from the very hard Barcelona race was an Eric Cannon pigeon and grandson of ‘Foxwarren Ryan’ and ‘Foxwarren Katie’.

2018: The NIPA in Northern Ireland held its annual St. Malo (450 miles) National on the same weekend as the NFC Tarbes Grand National in the 2018 season and as everyone knows it turned out to be one the hardest weekends of the year for pigeon racing. Members of the NIPA sent 1,835 birds and only seven game pigeons were clocked in on the day of liberation. I think is fair to say that racing pigeons out of France into Northern Ireland is one of the hardest routs in the UK and to get these seven pigeon home on the Friday was a fantastic achievement! I got a phone call from David Coulter of Maghaberry in Northern Ireland on the Sunday to tell me the good news that he clocked on the day from the St. Malo National to win 2nd open and the blue chequer hen was bred from two stock birds bred at the Keith & Betty Mott’s loft in Claygate. I really enjoy those phone calls and Betty and I would like to thank David for taking the trouble to let us know. When I asked the delighted David about the St. Malo National, he told me, ‘the blue chequer hen is now named, ‘Charlotte’, after our second granddaughter and she was bred from ‘Foxwarren Contraband’, a daughter of Champion ‘Foxwarren Fred’ and ‘Lady Tuff Nut’ when mated to, ‘Young Expected’, a son of the ‘Bourges Pair’, ‘Northern Expected’ and ‘Northern Star’. ‘Charlotte’ was not raced as a young bird, but was lightly trained. In the 2017 season as a yearling she had three inland races and a Talbenny (195 miles), plus a Penzance 305 (miles). In 2018 ‘Charlotte’ had three inland races, one Talbenny race, where she won 1st club doing 1422ypm velocity. She was then being set up for the Bude race two weeks after, but the NIPA cancelled and had an inland race due to weather conditions. After the birds are on the channel I don’t like bringing them back into Ireland, so her next race was the St. Malo National and in between she was flown at home one hour morning and night, seven days a week, not missing a day. She was sent to the St. Malo National (450 miles) sitting 14 day old eggs and after her near 13 hour fly, was clocked on the day of liberation looking as ‘fit as a butchers dog’. My wife, Siobhan, and my granddaughter, Olivia, are both very interested in the pigeons and like to spend time with the birds. It was such a hard race and my family and I are highly delighted with the result’.

In the week after David Coulter’s phone call I had three more fanciers phone me, telling me about more winning pigeons bred from Keith & Betty Mott stock birds. They say, when it rains, it pours! Two of our best friends, Steve and Tessa Howard of Guildford recently won 2nd and 33rd open BICC Poitiers and the sire of ‘Gee Force’, their 33rd open winner was bred by us. The cock was another son of the ‘Bourges Pair’, ‘Northern Expected’ and ‘Northern Star’. The premier fancier, Dave Johnson of St Austell in Cornwall recently won 12th open BICC Cholet (292 miles) and the dam of that game pigeon was bred by us in Claygate. She was bred around the champion breeder, ‘Foxwarren Fred’. Terry Haley of Watford has been one of our closest friends since the early 1970’s and he always has a couple of youngsters off us every year, with one the ‘Watford Wizard’, going on to win 1st Combine Aycliffe. Terry had a youngster, ‘04367’, off ‘Foxwarren Renegade’ and ‘Thelma’ in the 2017 season, which has gone on and proved quite handy. ‘Foxwarren Renegade’ is yet another son of the ‘Bourges Pair’ and ‘Thelma’ was bred by Brian Denney and is a daughter of Champion ‘Brian’s Blue’, the NCF record holder, being clocked at 748 miles from Tarbes on the day of liberation. As a young bird ‘04367’ flew some very hard channel races and was then turned 290 mile north road to Berwick and returned home in a very strong south wind. In the 2018 season, as a yearling, she had five hard channel races and was in the clock five times, to record: 2nd club, 5th Inter Counties Federation (899 birds), 9th UBI Combine (1,263 birds) Carentan and was first bird on the clock from the longest old bird race, to with 15th Inter Counties Federation Poitiers. Terry had another youngster off ‘Foxwarren Renegade’ and ‘Thelma’ in 2018 and this time it was the blue chequer cock, ‘17845’. Terry sent four babies to the hard BBC Fougeres (235 miles) young bird National and clocked two in good time to record: 7th and 60th open. ‘17845’ was second bird on the ETS to win 60th open National. The 2018 season has seen our stock breed 2nd, 12th, 33rd, 60th open National, 9th open Combine and 15th Federation in the longest old bird race. Well done to all those fanciers! 

That’s our article for this week! I hope my readers have enjoyed my little up-date on some of my breeding success over recent years. To be quite honest I am ‘chuffed’ that my little team of birds have been involved in the production of pigeons to win: 1st open National (twice), 2nd open National (twice), 1st open Amalgamation (twice), 1st open Combine (twice), 1st open International and the NFC Tarbes record holder, being clocked at 748 miles on the day of liberation. Just brilliant! I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ on telephone number: 01372 463480 or email me on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.