MIDLANDS NATIONAL FLYING CLUB
MIKE LAKIN
ANCENIS 2014
Rob Jarratt steps into the breach for his Dad
The two-day holdover created quite a problem for Ian Jarratt as he had to go off on holiday to Turkey before the strings were cut at 6.10am on the Monday morning. Fortunately Ian’s son Rob was on hand to wait and clock the winner of the MNFC’s third race of the season. So all in all it was a treble win situation for Ian because as well as getting his holiday in the sun his 4 year old Red Chequer cock won not only the 1st National placing but also the greedy beggar grabbed 1st Prize in the ‘2 bird Nominated race’. The winning pigeon had plenty of ‘previous’ to induce Ian to pool him and he was well rewarded with total prize winnings of £1421. The bird was an unraced latebred as a young bird but as a yearling he should his potential with 20th section from Fougeres. Over the next couple of years the bird flew regularly in MNFC races winning 67th Open Fougeres against 6861 birds and finished 2013 as 9th S E Section Ace Pigeon. To aid his preparation for Ancenis he won 12th section from Fougeres in what was a tough race but was just what the doctor ordered to muscle birds ready for the longer races. Well it certainly worked a treat for the Jarratt’s pigeon which recorded a velocity of 1421. His breeding is Marcelis via a cock bred by the late John McGregor from Stockton on Tees. The winner’s dam is a Staf Van Reet bred from stock off Dean Pallatt. Oddly I am told that the pair which have been together for the past 5 years tend to bred good birds one year then poor ones the next but looking at the sequence of years 2014 should be another ‘bumper’ season. Rob tells me that his father races widowhood cocks and hens which are trained twice a week weather permitting from 25 miles. So the efforts were well rewarded with 1st National from 4670 birds.
Robert & Ian Jarratt with the MNFC Ancenis National winner
A lot of members thought the leading birds would have registered higher velocities as the wind was from a South Westerly direction but it should be remembered that the wind strength in France was almost nil. Then in Southern England there were some very heavy localised downpours. This I feel is the main reason why the western side of the country fared better than was expected as was highlighted by the fact that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed Open pigeons were from the South West section. When you consider that nearly 1,900 birds appeared on the full result then I think the returns in the main were pretty good from a racepoint that is after all over 400 miles to many of the membership. I think quite a few either forget or under estimate these facts. Another feature of the race was the fact that no less than 7 section winners are in the top 12 Open positions. This seems to render suggestions that the MNFC is unfair to some sections as ridiculous. Obviously the wind direction plays a huge part but otherwise the Open is there to be won by anyone when conditions dictate.
The 2nd Open winner are the champions of the South West section in the form of Willenhall’s Mr & Mrs Taylor and their grandson Jack who I am informed looks after the birds because granddad can’t go into the loft due to ill health. The bird responsible is Patrick a dark yearling cock which is emerging as a real ‘super star’ as from Fougeres he won an impressive 5th section and 6th Open. Now he has followed this up with 1st SW section 2nd Open and is the winner of the 1st Yearling Classic trophy plus £1059. Very well done Jack you are obviously a good ‘pigeon man’.
Young Jack with his bird Patrick which won 1st SW section 2nd Open and the Yearling Classic race. Well done young man.
In 3rd Open slot we see Oldbury fanciers Williams Brothers, 5 yards behind Jack’s pigeon on 1496. Their bird is a 3 year old chequer cock is predominantly of Houben blood with a 25% injection of Van Loon blood. The pigeon was a gift bird from London fancier Mick Harvey. The sire is a bird called ‘Sox 212’ which is a full brother to several excellent Houben cocksand has bred several good winners including ‘43’ which has won prizes in 5 cross channel races. ‘212’ is bred from ‘Hubert’ and ‘The Dark Hen’ which are both Houbens which are parents to both a National and combine winner. The 3rd open winner’s dam was bred for stock and is always coupled with ‘212’ and is mother to some good pigeons. She is a daughter of the Houben bred ‘Golden Cock’ who is a sire and g/sire to excellent winning birds including ‘Beckham’ 1st Combine 4 National and ‘Baby Beckham’ another excellent racer. The grand mother is ‘Blue Dream’ bred by David Coward-Talbot and this Van Loon hen contains the best possible Planet Bros blood. The 3rd Open winning bird which has won previously from inland race points was prepared with three inland races and the first two MNFC races.
Trevor Williams with their 3rd Open winner
The 3rd SW section bird is taken by Parry & Son for 4th Open position. Their timer is a yearling Blue Pied hen sent sitting 10 day eggs and she is of Boshua x Beverdam x Crathorne breeding. On her sire’s side she contains the blood of ‘Figo’ and ‘Uno’ while on her mother’s side she is a granddaughter of Kleine Barcelona and Kleine Blue Girl. Her other G/sire is a son of Bosua’s famed ‘Kannibaal’ who is also g/sire of a bird which won 7th Open Bordeaux, 1st section 17th Open Ancenis and 71st Open Carentan in 2013. So it is no real surprise to see this young lady appear so prominently on this result.
Parry & Son's 4th Open winner
5th Open and 2nd SE section are the brothers from Everton on 1489 Robert & Peter Montila. As is the norm they haven’t been in touch with their bird’s details so all I can say is that is a 2 year old Blue cock which was well fancied and will collect his owners a nice cheque.
The Montila Bros 5th Open from Ancenis
In 6th Open we have Summers Bothers & Daughter and I haven’t received any details about this bird either. So all I can report is that they win the South Centre section just .3 of a yard behind the Montila’s pigeon with a 2 year old Blue w/f hen.
The North West section is conquered by the Milwich builder and his wife in the form of Mr & Mrs Joe Booth. Joe tells me that his bird which also fills 7th Open is a yearling Blue Cock named ‘Skipton’ but he simply said ‘’don’t ask’’ before could enquire where the name comes from. As is the norm the bird is bred down from Vandenabeele stock acquired from his close friend Jack Walker of Cannock. Joe expressed a wish to thank the convoying team for the excellent condition of the pigeons on their return after the 2 day holover.
Joe Booth 1st NW section
Finishing in 8th Open and 1st North section is another loft well known for their M & D Evans Vandenabeele pigeons and this loft is David & John Hawkins and Evans. Their section topper on this occasion is a 2 year old Blue hen which recorded a velocity of 1482 after her 428 mile flight. I heard a rumour that John the senior partner has been unwell recently and wish him a speedy recovery.
Dave & John Hawkins & Evans the North section winners
The section winners are flowing in fast with 9th Open filled by G & S Daykin & Son the man they call the ‘Magician’ taking 1st place in the North East section. The 3 year old hen that they clocked on 1481 is a proven bird which in 2013 won 1st NE section Ace pigeon and 2nd Open Ace pigeon after she won 1st 8th and 19th section last year. Gary told me that she is predominantly of Soontjen lines with a touch of Antoine Jacops of Vorselaar in her breeding.
The Daykin family 1st NE section from Ancenis
10th Open and 2SC section goes to another illusive character in John Gilbert. I would probably be better asking one of his dogs to send me a few details than get Giblet to send me a mail. John’s bird is a yearling blue cock on 1479 and is probably one of his Vandenabeeles.
John Gilbert the 2nd SC section winner.
Hall and Hibbert from Dinnington take 11th Open and 2nd NE section and like the previous pigeon it is a yearling. This partnership are flying very well this year.
Once again Frank & George Bristow win the East section and take 12th Open placing. The bird doing the damage on this occasion is a Maurice Cassaert pigeon which is down from the ‘Invincible Montauban’ lines which Frank got from Maurice in the 1980s. The 3 year old hen was raced on widowhood being paired to a retired old race cock. The Bristows in fact had another superb days racing winning also 3rd 5th & 6th section prizes.
Frank & George Bristow with their 2013 trophy haul. There will be a few more to come in November lads.
Rounding up the SC section in 3rd place we have D J Aston of Sutton Coldfield who clocked a 2 year old Blue Hen on 1478. It’s nice to see the ‘Travelling Photographer’ Chris & Denise Sutton get in the act again for 4th SC section with a 2 year old hen on 1460. The 3rd and 4th NE section places going to Allen Son & Clarke of Retford on 1476 and Ireland Brothers 1475 respectively. The Ireland Brothers bird will pick up a nice cheque in pool money for his efforts. 3rd South east section is won by Peter Chamberlain who races with the Burton Latimer club which I believe duplicates back from the MNFC via the Harrowden Federation. The bird is a 2 year old chequer cock. The 4th placed bird in the SE section belongs to John Cave & Son and this gift pigeon off his good friend Mike Radomilovich which has the bloodlines off Vince & Dave Padfield will have no fears of flying even further distances.
Chris Sutton the 4th SC section winner
Peter Chamberlain 3rd SE section
John Cave & Son 4th SE section
I will now cover the North section’s other leaders. In 2nd section we have Mr & Mrs Rob Pashley who records 1471 with a Vandenabeele bred off birds from M & D Evans x D & J Hawkins who everyone probably know fly in tandem with the Evans’. The bird did well in 2013 with 36th Open from Fougeres and 18th Open in last season’s Ancenis race. 3rd section is filled by Mick Betts with one of his fine team of widowhood hens. The hen has some good results on her CV and so she should be being a daughter of a good breeding cock off Benny Steveninck and is a grandson of the famous ‘Chippo’. The mother is one of Mick’s old blood which is the Jos Soontjen family and this fine breeder is a daughter of ‘Brian’s Choice’. Mick told me he had 14 out of 15 on the day and the other one next morning and the first two were nestmates. 4th North section was that fabulous racing machine ‘Northern Bound’ belonging to Nigel Laycock. This superb ‘Black Opium’ based 2 year old cock won 1st MNFC Ace pigeon in 2013 and after another 2nd and 4th section placing in 2014 could well repeat the dosage. This makes it 3 x2nd section and 1 x 4th section. If the conditions suit him I believe that he could win a National. Remember he is still a young bird. Though the question has to be asked has he anything else to prove but Nigel did tell me that all being well he is going to Vire so watch this space.
Rob Pashley 2nd N section
Mick Betts 3rd N section
Nigel Laycock's super racer 'Northern Bound' - 4th N section this time for this great bird.
Back to the East section in 2nd spot we see Drinkell Son & Parrott with a yearling Blue cock which Darren calls the ‘Fordy Cock’ being a Breeder/Buyer purchase off Chris Ford and this cock which won as a young bird is a Van de Weyer. The lads also took 8th section with a 3 year old hen known as ‘The Barren Hen’. 4th E section is taken by Paul Newbold. The bird which clocked on 1440 is a 2 year old Alain & Dirk Van den Drjessche bird flown on the natural system. The Hull loft of Bill Carr & son Matty have been flying well with the MNFC. Their long distance birds are bred around birds off their good friend Mark Gilbert. They clocked 10 birds on the day and all were off Gilbert stock. Their first bird on the clock is a Gilbert hen being a double g/dtr of Emeil the 1st Int Dax winner x Chris Gordon/Brian Denney cock when paired to a Brockamp double G/dtr of 1st National Perpignan.
Darren Drinkell with their 2nd East section winner
Paul Newbold 4th East section
Bill Carr up with the leaders in the East section
It was nice to see a new name in 2nd position in the North West section 1449 in the form of Martin McEvoy who clocked his yearling Dark Hen which he calls ‘Little Duck’. She has been a very consistent pigeon for her owner and she flew the MNFC young bird race from Carentan and finished in the first 500 in the Open. This season she was Martin’s second bird from Carentan and his 1st arrival from Fougeres. Martin wishes to thank clubmate Nev Proctor for gifting him the bird which is a granddaughter of ‘Swallow’ the mother of Leslie Grain’s double National winner ‘Max a Million’. Also he is grateful to Durham fancier Scott Attwood for his advice over the last few months. 3rd section in the NW is taken by the very successful Fowler Family of Leek who timed in a 2 year old Blue Cock on 1440. Alex Stewart who has recently moved loft locations claims the 4th section with a velocity of 1434 with one of his yearling Chequer cocks. I’m sure when he is more established we will see more of Alex’s birds.
Martin McEvoy with 'Little Duck' his 2nd NW section winner
The Fowler Family in 3rd NW section
The Stewart team 4th NW section from Ancenis
The Scarisbrick loft of Les Morris who has been in great form with the MNFC over the last couple of years takes the top spot in the West section. The latest winner for Les is a Vandenabeele who has two brothers that have each won 1st in the NW Combine. Les’s 2 year old Blue cock records a velocity of 1421. Mr & Mrs John Burnett & Sons of Warrington fill the 2nd West section on 1471. The bird responsible is a 6 year old Janssen x Gaby Vandenabeele hen. The Janssen in her is via a bird from the late Peter Reeves. I am informed that the hen has in the past been largely raced in the Warrington 2 Bird club and to quote the partners ‘’has done them proud and she will now be retired to the stock loft and we will be more than happy if she can breed pigeons as good as she has been’’. 3rd west section is won by P Moss & Son of Heath Charnock on 1399. Their timer is a 4 year old Janssen x Jan Aarden on the mothers side. She is a granddaughter of such champions as Champion Vlekje and the 1st National Barcelona winner Verreweg De Beste. The bird himself I’m told has been a great allrounder winning prizes from 82 to 513 miles and he has a superb racing brother who like the 3rd section winner is a real good one winning 3rd fed in 2012 from a liberation of over 4,000 birds and in 2013 he won 1st club when he was the only bird on the day and 4th federation from Niort. R & B Smith carry on the good work with 4th section on this occasion. As they tell me this 2 year old chequer hen ‘21’is turning out to be a really good one. After flying from Carentan with the MNFC as a young bird she then as a yearling crossed the channel three times winning 22nd sec 249th open NFC. In 2014 she has flown even better with 2nd section 1605 birds and 229th Open from 9678 birds in the MNFC’s first race she then went to Cholet with the NFC taking 11th section and 20th Open 7006 birds and duplicated back to the Eccles 2B where she was 2nd. When looking at her pedigree it is clear that she is bred for the job her grandfather is sire to 1st section L NFC and birds that simply win for fun including 1st Warrington 2 Bird and 1st NW Nantes club from Yeovil. At the root of these birds is the Smith’s famous ‘Dearns Cock’. ‘21’s mother is the Saintes Hen a fantastic hen whose many wins include 1st section 16th Open NFC Saintes.
Les Morris 1st West section again
Mr & Mrs John Burnett 2nd West section
Moss & Son 3rd West section
R & B Smith's 4th W section winner
In the North North West section the leading bird belongs to D Cullinane & Son and is a really good one as their 3 year old Red Cock finishes in a more than creditable 69th Open with a fine velocity of 1445. The pigeon is the same cock which performed well in 2013 and took 7th section from Fougeres. The birds of Mr & Mrs Fisher did them proud with a trio doing the business. The 2nd section winner the‘88’ cock was also 3rd section from Fougeres in the previous race. While a mother and daughter Sandra & Debra take the next two places. The Fishers were full of praise for the MNFC and their convoying team for the excellent condition of the pigeons after their two day holdover. Another loft that were well up in the NNW section were Roskell & Williamson who clocked their 3 year old Blue hen on 1342 after flying nearly 457 miles. In the previous race the same bird a Fredrick Phillipe x Avalon Van Loon was 12th section. This was this lady’s fourth time over the channel this season.
Cullinane & Son's 1st NNW section
Mr & Mrs Fisher's 2nd, 3rd & 4th NNW section winners.
Roskell & Williamson near the top in the NNW section
Moving over to the East South East section now and in pole position are Mr & Mrs Willy Beckett. Their section winner is a widowhood cock which I’m informed by his pal Paul Mc Millan is a very good channel pigeon which is bred from direct Formanoir stock which is a family that I aren’t aware of but they must be good because I’m told they have many positions in both club and federation. 2nd and 4th section is won by a guy who os often knocking in his section which is Terry Roughton. I have no details regarding his 4th section winner but his 2nd section winner is a 2 year old Soontjen hen that races on the roundabout system. Earlier this season she finished 2nd section and 25th Open from Alencon and last year she won 25th Open from Fougeres. The 3rd place in the ESE section we see Mr & Mrs Pat Royle and their 2012 bred hen and is bred from bloodlines from Perry Brothers of Kings Lynn. This result follows on from their 2nd section win from Carentan.
Mrs Beckett with their 1st ESEsection winner from Ancenis
Terry Roughton 2nd & 4th ESE section
Mr & Mrs Royle who were 3rd ESE section with two of their winning birds
Well it looks like after an early year of blow homes. The French races have been far more difficult and it looks like the next Double Header races from Vire and Bordeaux will be the same with Easterly winds looking very likely as I produce this report so if you get a good one in the top 4 places in your section on the Leaderboard get a short piece and a photo to me my email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . If the long range forecast is correct all these birds will be well worth reading about.
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