EAST DOWN COMBINE

Reports by Clifford Browne

Mullingar on Monday

For the third race in the EDC young bird programme the birds were in Mullingar and the race which was scheduled for Saturday August 2nd was initially going ahead as planned but a last minute change in the weather forecast meant that Saturday became totally unsuitable for a race. So basketing the pigeons on Friday night was very wisely, in my opinion, cancelled and with the weather on Sunday not being much better, Monday became the day of choice so race marking took place on the Sunday evening and again this proved a wise decision with no need for a holdover. Monday morning saw a good racing day and the birds were away at 8.30am in a light westerly wind which meant that the leading birds were again doing over 1600ypm.

The Open winner this week was to the Dundonald partnership of Stephen Brown & Sons who had a super race dominating the top places in the open and West section. Ballywalter’s Winston & Hugh McMaster out on the East Coast had another good result with 2nd open 1st East section and again the early East section birds were on that coast.

It was another good race and the weather committee and race controller are to be commended on their decisions in what must for them must be proving one of the most difficult and frustrating of seasons.

Provisional Mullingar Result

OPEN

1st S Brown & Sons Dundonald 1613.652

2nd W McMaster & Son Ballywalter SPC 1613.177

3rd S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1613.146

4th S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1612.894

5th S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1612.641

6th S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1612.388

7th S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1612.136

8th McCartan & Woodsides Crossgar H P S 1611.745

9th J Patterson Ballylesson HPS 1611.34

10th S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1611.126

11th J Patterson Ballylesson HPS 1609.21

12th J Patterson Ballylesson HPS 1608.68

EAST

1st W McMaster & Son Ballywalter SPC 1613.177

2nd J Rankin Millisle & District HPS 1594.437

3rd J Rankin Millisle & District HPS 1594.207

4th J Rankin Millisle & District HPS 1593.97

5th H&A Keenan & Ptnrs Cloughey HPS 1586.631

6th Angus&Son; McConkey Donaghadee RPC 1586.504

WEST

1st S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1613.652

2nd S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1613.146

3rd S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1612.894

4th S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1612.641

5th S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1612.388

6th S Brown & Sons Dundonald HPS 1612.136

Around the Combine Clubs

Annalong 1st K. Rooney, Son & Dtr 1518.01 2nd K. Rooney, Son & Dtr 1516.76 3rd K. Rooney, Son & Dtr 1516.13

Annsborough 1st D Croskery & Son 1552.27 2nd D Croskery & Son 1551.69 3rd D Croskery & Son 1551.39

Ballylesson 12 members sent 265 birds 1st 2nd 3rd J Patterson 1611 1609 1608

Ballynahinch This week’s winner club treasurer Rab Hunter with a blue Herman Ceuster hen. Followed by D&R Topping with four birds in the top ten of the club for the second week in a row racing a small team of ten natural young birds. 1st R Hunter 1555.3 2nd D & R Topping 1544.63 3rd D & R Topping 1528.64

Ballywalter 1st &2nd Winston and Hugh McMaster 1613 &1583 3rd Sam Regan 1559

Bangor 1st R Moore & Son 1575.96 2nd R Moore & Son 1573.93 3rd R Moore & Son 1573.48

Cloughey 1st H&A Keenan & Ptnrs 1586.63 2nd Harper & Young 1581.20 3rd Harper & Young 1579.57

Comber 1st R Johnson 1582.07 2nd R Johnson 1558.73 3rd F Gilmore 1558.28

Crossgar 1st McCartan & Woodsides 1611.74 2nd McCartan & Woodsides 1602.29 3rd J McGreevy 1574.74

Donaghadee 1st Angus&Son& McConkey 1586.50 2nd Angus&Son& McConkey 1585.83 3rd A & P Trimble & Sons 1584.33

Downpatrick 1st R Connolly 1524.8 2nd R Connolly 1524.3 3rd F Black & Sons 1508.2

Dundonald 1st S Brown & Sons 1613.33 2nd S Brown & Sons 1612.83 3rd S Brown & Sons 1612.57

Dundrum 1st J Maguire & Ptrs 1522.95 2nd J Maguire & Ptrs 1474.41 3rd J Maguire & Ptrs 1473.89

Hillfoot 1st A Cousins & Sons 1601.05 2nd J Scates & Son 1588.80 3rd A Cousins & Sons 1566.16

Killyleagh Central 1st Gordon Bros & Sons 1562.45 2nd Gordon Bros & Sons 1561.26 3rd Gordon Bros & Sons 1561.26

Millisle 1st J Rankin 1594.43 2nd J Rankin 1594.20 3rd J Rankin 1593.97

Newcastle 1st & 2nd E&A Rogan 1437.8 1432.2 3rd R McVeigh & Son , E&A Rogan win S/S

Newtownbreda 1st W White & Son 1582.53 2nd W White & Son 1581.78 3rd W White & Son 1559.05

Portavogie 1st N Lynas 1571.45 2nd J Keenan & Sons 1550.00 3rd B Young 1531.50

Tyrella 1st, 2nd, 3rd P Byrne & Son 1514.93 1489.24 1485.88

East Down 2bird Navan News

1st Gordon Bros & Sons Cloughey 1675

2nd McCartan & Woodsides Crossgar 1625

3rd Mc Loughlin Bros Annalong 1593

4th W Mc Master& son Ballywalter 1592

5th W Mc Master & son Ballywalter 1582

6th Mc Loughlin Bros Annalong 1569

7th B Young Portavogie 1558

8th S&K Duke Crossgar 1549

9th F Black & Sons Downpatrack 1546

10th C Healy Killyleagh Central 1539

11th J Young & Pts Dundonald 1538

12th D Mc Connell Annalong 1509

 

SAM REGAN REPORTS FROM AROUND THE ARDS PENINSULA

What a fabulous racing performance from Harper & Young

The second young bird race of the 2014 season saw a return to Navan. Again unsettled weather conditions meant that the hampering was deferred until Saturday and like the previous week this turned out to be the correct decision. The strings were cut at 07.45 on Sunday morning and the birds soared home in one hour fifteen minutes to the top loft in bright clear skies. Last week's winners retained their winning status with an even better performance beating every other loft in the East Down Combine, the team of Drew Harper and Martin Young with the OPEN victory and also for good measure lifting the first Eleven places and also added a further more Eleven making a grand total of twenty two top forty positions in the Open result. What another great racing result coming from these members of the Cloughey Club and the Harper and Young team had a brilliant race sheet with their youngsters and very well done. Again many of these winning birds contain bloodlines from the North East of England and seem to like the surroundings of the seaside village of Portavogie on the East side of the Ards Peninsula where the loft is located. To you both on this great result many congratulations. Also the same goes to Hugh Keenan and son Alan on their 12th place in both Amalgamation and Open yet again members of the Cloughey club.

Full Peninsula result. 40 sent 1295 birds.

1st to 11th, & 13th & 14th. Harper & Young vels1698, 1697 x 2,1695 x 3, 1694, 1693 x 3, 1692 x 3, 1691.

12th H&A.Keenan. 1692.

3 Bird Club

No Surprise - Winners Harper & Young. A.B.C. 1666.

2nd B &J. Donnan. A.B.C. 1649

3rd Gordon Bros & sons. A.B.C. 1627.

Nom won on 1601 by H&A. Keenan

It's on to Mullingar for our next race, till then good luck and safe training to all fanciers.

***

Well that’s it for this week. The birds now move further down Ireland to Tullamore as the season progresses.

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