MIDLANDS NATIONAL FLYING CLUB

MIKE LAKIN

MNFC Fougeres

Where Mr & Mrs Jakings Claim the Spoils

In the initial report on the 2017 Fougeres race I pointed out that the diversity of National racing had once again been highlighted in the Club’s first two races of the season. This is simply because the weather conditions by and large dictate the areas that will be favoured to take the top Open placings.

With this in mind it was as clear as day that when the excellent send of 8,122 bird convoy of pigeons were liberated at 10.50am into a South Westerly breeze which got stronger and more Westerly on the channel that on this occasion that the Eastern sections would be favoured and this proved to be the case.

That said it still takes a quality bird to claim the ‘laurels of victory’ and this was to be the case once again when a two year old blue hen belonging to Mr & Mrs Geoff Jakings homed at top speed when she recorded a velocity of 1596. My comment about quality was highlighted by the fact that this grand bird in 2016 won the RP/De Weerd sponsored Yearling Classic from Ancenis. I was told by Geoff that her breeding on one side of her breeding is Vandenabeele while the dam is a pure ‘Harry Bassett’ which when I commented that the only Harry Bassett that I had heard of made the ‘Allsorts’ sweets and he laughed and said ‘’ yes that’s right she is a ‘Jakings Hybrid’!’’ that may be the case but she must have been from the finest ingredients.

Geoff and Geraldine Jakings  the race winners            -              Geoff shows his grandchildren Layla and Harry the National winne

In 2nd SE section and Open places we see one of last year’s winners so nearly repeat the ‘dose’ in the form of Bruce McAllister when he timed his 2015 Cooreman bred Blue Pied hen on 1583. Bruce tells me that he feels that the previous race made his team ‘think’ and in his words put them in ‘good fettle’ for this race and tells me that his 2nd open winner is a full sister to his 2016 race winner. What a superb breeding pair their parents are proving to be. Sportingly Bruce sends congratulations to all of the winners and Mr & Mrs Jakings.

Bruce McAllister with his grandchildren in a happy mood after his 2nd National win             -              Two cool looking dudes Stewart McCurry with his young granddaughter Taiha  

Winning the 3rd, 4th and 10th Open positions we see S & T McCurry of Wisbech and just like the first two lofts Stewart is no stranger to the Midlands National’s winner’s enclosure. In fact over the last few years whenever the opportunity has arisen the McCurry team has rarely failed to deliver and their first timer will win the Yearling Classic trophy. Stewart tells me that she is a direct daughter of his 2014 MNFC Portland winner ‘Tom’s Girl’ when she was paired to the nest brother of his 2015 Vire National winner ‘June’s Girl’. This cock had also shown his worth when he won 1st section from the same race point in 2014. The 4th Open winner is a daughter of the previously mentioned ‘June’s Girl’. So the birds are both bred from the McCurry’s national winners and are both grandchildren of the loft’s best breeder ‘Twenty Eight’. The 10th Open winner is a Granddaughter of Frank & George Bristow’s great cock ‘Kessie’.

D & J Hawkins & Evans who are enjoying a wonderful season                -               Troy Hobbs 6th Open on this occasion

In 5th Open we see another loft that is once again in top form when D & J Hawkins & Evans saw home a 4 year old Blue Hen record 1578 and then further highlight my comment by also claiming the 2nd North section prize with another of their hens this one being a 2 year old.

6th Open and 3rd SE section is claimed by yet another previous winner in the form of B Hobbs & Son of Raunds who clocked their 2015 bred blue Pied Cock on 1572. This bird wins the MNFC’s 2 Bird Nominated race to add more gloss to the bird’s performance. Just .3 of a yard behind in 7th Open and 4th SE section we see a 2016 Grizzle hen belonging to the Rippingale fancier Mark Lawrence. The bird is of De Vadder breeding and flown on the Roundabout system. Mark tells me that she has always been a consistent bird and was his second arrival from Coutances in 2016 as a young bird. She was showing her condition prior to the race by often ‘showing’ to her owner on the landing board. Mark is delighted with his birds as he only turned to racing from the South two years ago and is now eagerly awaiting the Ancenis race.In 8th Open we see Mr & Mrs Jakings do an ‘Oliver twist’ by coming back for more with another two year old hen.

Dominic Gruzelier takes 9th Open on 1569 with a 2016 August reared latebred who after making a mess of her first race when she knighted out hasn’t put a ‘foot wrong’. She is from a good Pieter Oberholster breeding hen when paired to a newly bought in cock. Dom thinks that the thing that brought her home was the fact that she has just paired to a cock after racing unpaired. ‘Oh the power of love’.  Dominic is photographed with his young son Josh who loves the pigeons but says that he would prefer a puppy!

Another great performance was put up to win the East North East section and 11th Open for Bridlington’s Gavin Fletcher who clocked a 2015 bred Chequer Cock on 1564. Gavin’s pigeon is a bird with other good results to his ring number and he is from Houben blood with his parents coming from the late Harry Smith of Boynton. I remember well visiting the Houbens along with the photographer Peter Van Raamsdonck and believe me they were fanatics of the sport and I have never seen so many trophies and pigeon memorabilia in one place. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to polish and dust around them! In 2nd and 3rd section were Mr & Mrs Chadwick who like the section winner hail from Bridlington which is a veritable ‘hotbed’ of pigeon racing. They clocked two hens on 1556 and 1539 respectively. 4th section in the ENE goes to the Watton flyers W Hagston & Son. They also continue the trend towards ‘girl power’ when they clocked a yearling hen on 1534 which was the first bird in the section in both the 2bird Nom and Yearling Classic races.

Finalising the ESE section in 4th position we see the Kings Lynn team of Perry Bros and son with their 2015 Blue cock achieving a speed of 1563 and 12th Open I believe.

  In the East section the 1st prize goes to Coleman & Lawson of Barrow on Humber who unfortunately sent me no details of their section topper. Then it is a case of the once again so close yet so far when Richard True clocked a yearling hen of De Rauw Sablon lines which once again takes 2nd spot in the section after two previous races when he also ended up as the runner up. The bird was sent sitting 15 day old eggs and was a gift from his friend Martin Woods of Scarborough and was bred from stock acquired from Chorley fancier Tim Webster. Richard wishes to also thank Ron & Nigel Dennett for their birds and sound advice on channel racing. Scunthorpe is the location of the 3rd bird in the E section when Maxwell Bros clocked 1538 with yet another hen this one being a two year old. 4th spot is filled by Cawdron & Costello who saw home a yearling pied cock on 1513.

Tidying up the North section and in 3rd place is the ‘wily old fox’ Mally Robinson on 1543. Mally is ample proof that you don’t need a massive team when there is quality in the loft. His 2015 bred hen was one of his 2bird Nomination race birds and will win her ‘boss’ a nice cheque for her efforts. A team that are now beginning to come to the fore quite regularly is the Florida Lofts belonging to Gordon Parker & Son who timed a 3 year old chequer hen of Herbots x Vandenabeele breeding on 1542. Her sire being bred from two Dutch NPO winners and the dam being a granddaughter of Gaby’s famous ‘Bliksem’. Gordon tells me that his hen won 3rd section 47th Open from Vire last year and that her father is his best breeder having bred at least 15 x 1st prize winners. Hawkins & Evans the section toppers emphasis their ability filling 5th slot. I know I don’t normally go further down the sections beyond fourth slot but surely Rob Fenwick’s result of no less than five birds in the top twelve places in a very competitive section is worthy of a mention.

Winning the North Centre section trophy is Kevin Palfreyman with a yearling hen now named ‘Tinkerbell’. Despite her tender age she has already proved her worth by winning the Heavy Woolen Fed Championship as a baby when she was 3 minutes clear of the field and then took 30th in the Barnsley Fed against 1200 plus birds. She was the second arrival this year from Coutances before her win on 1515 this time. She is of Louis Thiijs x Hereman Ceusters breeding on her dad’s side and he has topped the fed on two occasions. Her dam is of Louis Thijs x J R Woods inbred Hartog breeding and Kevin feels this perhaps where her stamina comes from? 2nd section is claimed by a real champ in the form of a 2 year old Pencil cock named ‘Potts’belonging to Mr & Mrs Fisher & Son. This good bird was 2nd section L in the NFC and 52nd Open from Messac also claiming 2nd in the prestigious Eccles 2bird club and the Lancs & Yorks 4bird club. His latest performance also sees him win the new ‘Roses Club’ that races in conjunction with the MNFC races which surely is the way forward for pigeon racing in this country. The Fishers also fill 3rd slot but I have no details on this cock. 4th and 5th section goes to the Leeds loft of McCormick & Schofield who timed two cocks on 1454 and 1425. Sadly I have no more info on these two ‘battlers’.

Mark Lawrence in 7th place this time          -          Dom Gruzelier with young Josh after finishing 9th Open from Fougeres          -          Richard True 2nd East section

         Mally Robinson 3rd North section this time          

Kevin Palfreyman on guard with Ronnie & Reggie. They must be 'Krayzy' about Tinkerbell's performance  

  Mr & Mr Fisher & Sons good cock that takes 2nd NC section

It was good to see one of the Club’s workers get a reward for his work at the marking station and this man is Pete Hudson who timed a yearling chequer hen on1533 which also wins the North East section’s yearling classic prize money. Nice one Peter. Retford’s Allen Son & Clarke are four yards behind with a proven bird a 2 year old Blue hen which has several good MNFC results on her CV. These performances include 6th section 33rd Open from Ancenis in 2016 when she was 1st section 8th Open in the Yearling Classic race. Graham Allen tells me that the partners enjoy racing with the MNFC the most and after 3 x 2nd section are trying their very best to get that illusive 1st section win. They still sportingly send their congratulations to both the Open and NE section winners. Nice one lads. In 3rd place we see a young lad in the form of Luke Gash who saw home his yearling Red Cock on 1528. Luke has asked me to thank Mr & Mrs Lee for breeding this bird for him. Luke then underlines his future potential by taking 7th section with his second arrival. Obviously one to watch is young Luke well done lad. 4th section is filled by the well known loft of Worksop’s Rich Turner & Pallatt who clocked their 2015 bred hen on 1527.

We now move on to a new section that has got the Committee more than happy with and this is the North North West section when for this second race of the season we saw a healthy send of 779 pigeons. The section topper is to probably one of the Club’s longest and most Westerly flyers in the form of Jim Sephton of Kendal who had to fly 419 miles to reach home. Jim timer clocked a speed of 1453. The bird is a 2 year old chequer cock of Wildemeersch x Houben x Joe Dorning lines. Both of his parents are proven winners from Fougeres with the sire having won twice from this race point. Claiming 2nd & 3rd places is a friend of mine Gary Spavin the ‘Lancaster Bomber’. The two recorded 1443 and 1441 respectively the first is a 3 year old pied Hereman Ceusters x Van Dyck hen which due to Gary’s recent health problems has only been lightly raced. The second arrival like her loft mate is a widow hen which had already scored and she is of similar breeding, which Gary got directly in 2000 just before what he describes as the ‘madness started’. Invariably the first to get hold of a ‘new’ family get the best and Spav underlines my opinion here. Gary sent 26 largely inexperienced birds and got 19 home which he tells me he is quite pleased about in the light of this lack of experience. Gary’s photo made me chuckle of him with a whopper that he caught and in his typical ‘dry humour’ he says ‘’I’ve got the fish the chips are on you!’’. Chatburn’s John Devenney & Son take 4th section on 1441 yet another hen this time a 3 year old. Sadly once again I have no more details on this bird.

In the North West section we see one of the Club’s fast rising star loft’s filling the top two places and this is the Tunstall team of Mitch Denson & Son who clocked two cocks on 1505 and 1504. In 3rd section are Mr & Mrs Andrew Hargreaves who clocked a well pooled pied hen on 1493 which should help with the corn bills. 4th section is taken by the Hyde’s Bruno Pollastretti who clocked a 2 year old cock with a pigeon bred from birds supplied by Wolfenden & O’Neill the sire being of the famous ‘Merlin pair’ of Ozzie & Serena lines with the dam containing Dave Impett x J W Holland lines. Bruno tells me that his second timer in 11th section is a full sister to the 4th section winner. So it could be the start of a ‘super couple’.

Moving out to the West section and to R & B Smith who are quite simply on fire this year. On this occasion it is 1st and 2nd section that they are filling first of all with a yearling cock which is bred for the job I’m told as his sire is full brother to Richard Grayston’s 1st section L NFC winner from Messac also a bird called ‘Hawk’ that has won umpteen top positions including 1st Combine from Woolaston, 1st NW Nantes Club from Yeovil and 1st section 4th Open in the Bamfords Gold Ring race. On his mum’s side she is a daughter of another of the Smiths base cocks in the form of ‘Hughie’. The 2nd section winner is bred from a useful cock with 3rd fed from Messac on his CV and his dam is a real star ‘Holme Star’with two Ist section wins and 2 x 1st Eccles 2bird wins on her record from Fougeres and Ancenis and several other excellent results. 3rd section is filled by the ‘Woodfield Wizard’ himself Derrick Jones. The bird a 2014 bred cock clocks a velocity of 1450 for his owner. Jamie Langrish of Coppull takes the 4th section prize with a yearling Blue cock on 1429 for his owner.

  A keen young fancier takes 3rd in the NE section Luke Gash with his bird. Well done Young man

Rich Turner 4th in the NE section16 Jim Sephton looks happy after his NNW section win

Gary Spavin the 2nd and 3rd  NNW section winning celebrating with a spot of fishing. My what a beauty you have there Gaz

Mitch and Ryan Denson one of the emerging star NW section lofts take 1st & 2nd section this time

Mr & Mrs Andrew Hargreaves the 3rd placed loft in the NW   -     What a super year for Bob & Brian Smith who follow their National win from coutances

with 1st & 2nd West section this time

The South Centre section saw one of the Midlands old stalwarts rise to the top of the result when he timed a two year old pure Janssen- Van den Bosche on 1511 which as all experienced fanciers will be well aware was the family which Albert Babington became synonymous with after he visited Adriaan Wouters over half a decade ago and was I believe with the first British party to visit the racing home of the legendary family. The grandsire was bred for Albert by George Litherland the man who took over the baton of the Van den Bosche when Albert emigrated to Spain the other birds in its pedigree all go back to the original lines. The bird has previously won the NMCC from Fougeres and is a RPRA Award winner. 2nd section is claimed by Henton & Wheatley. Their Chequer pied hen is a yearling and so wins the sections Yearling prize. In 3rd , 5th & 6th section we see Dean Pallatt and Dean tells me that his first timer on 1495 has already featured in the top 20 placings 5 times with in excess of 1,000 birds in the convoy. The hen is a granddaughter of ‘Amos’ and ‘Christina’ two Belgian National winners and ‘Attila’ the 1st National Ace Middle Distance KBDB winner. With birds of this calibre it must make winning an awful lot easier. Coventry fanciers Fraser & Hunt are the 4th placed team who clocked a 2012 rung hen which recorded 1483.

Derrick Jones the 'Woodfield Wizard' 3rd West section  -  Jamie Langrish with his gang take 4th in the West section  - Albert Babington's latest SC section winner back home with his hen

Dean Pallatt who won 3rd 5th and 6th positions in the SC section      -      Keith Taylor holding his SW section winning bird

Finally we come to the South West section where Tettenhall Wood is the location of the section winner when a 2 year old Blue cock dropped on the loft of Keith Taylor recording a velocity of 1513. The winner is bred out of stock off Don Price and Keith sends his thanks. 2nd section is taken by P Harris & Son with another two year old cock which this time is a Mealy which is just one yard behind the section winner. Hednesford fanciers Reg Postings & Son clocked a yearling Blue Pied hen to take 3rd section and the Yearling classic prize on 1503. N J Westwood saw home a two year old Dark cock on 1493 which has a few bobs worth of pools on it so guarantees a decent cheque for his endeavours.

Clock Stations

I have been asked to urge clock officers to make sure that they get their stations paperwork in promptly to help speed up the completion of the result because obviously it is only when the last envelope arrives that the result can be finalised.

Mike Lakin