SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE

Paul Smith

REPORT ON TRAINING RACE 5B & TRAINING RACE 6

UNITED KINGDOM TEAM wins 32nd, 44th, 94th, 102nd, 120th, 162nd, 175th, 191st, 204th, 208th, 209th & 217th Open and the IRISH TEAM wins 13th, 63rd, 452nd Open in the additional Training Race 5B.

UNITED KINGDOM TEAM wins 7th, 12th, 56th, 61st, 63rd, 67th, 76th, 134th, 143rd, 147th, 173rd & 191st Open and the IRISH TEAM wins 22nd, 45th, 53rd, 106th & 161st Open in TRAINING RACE 6.

Well after a good result by both the United Kingdom and Irish Teams in last Saturday’s race, which once again resulted in excellent returns for both teams, it was back training every day during the week to get them ready for Training Race 6, however the race committee decided that once again because of lack of road work these pigeons had undergone earlier on because of the inclement South African weather, that an additional Training Race 5B should be added to the race programme and this duly took place on Wednesday 12th December from 81 km (approx. 50 miles) and a total of 3,290 pigeons were basketed and this included 2,460 International and 830 South African, 208 UK and 64 Irish pigeons.

The convoy were liberated at 08-00 in overcast and cool weather, 24c (75f) with a little to no wind and the Race Director, Convoyer and Loft Manager thought that the winning pigeons would take about 60 minutes to cover the race distance. Everything was ready at the lofts and then all of a sudden at 08-59 a big gang was seen approaching the lofts, they swung round and immediately started to trap and first up on the computer screen was clocked at 08-59-35.09. CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st OPEN in this race went to BRACK & ESSER from GERMANY with their great pigeon named HABAAYIB, which recorded a velocity of 1491ypm (approx. 51mph). This pigeon must be bang in form because only 4 days earlier it has also won 1st OPEN, plus $1,000 and A BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR in the 3rd Hot Spot Race. The top ten pigeons were all clocked within 28 seconds of the winner and were made up with 7 x German, 2 x Dutch and 1 x South African pigeons. The top 50 were all clocked within 68 seconds, plus 800 pigeons were officially recorded within 5 minutes of the actual race winner, with over 1,000 within 6 minutes and 1,560 within 8 minutes with 3,089 being officially clocked by 09-43 and this included 2,319 International and 770 South African pigeons and this total also included 195 from the UK Team and 59 from the Irish Team. A further update was issued on the web site and this showed 3,225 were back in the lofts by 16-31, this figure included 2,418 International and 807 South African pigeons with 203 UK and 62 Irish entries. This left only 65 to return to base during the rest of the day. A few more returned the next day.

These extra mid-week races are great education for all the pigeons and apart from building up more muscle it is also giving them valuable experience that will be very useful as they move up the race programme.

*****ANOTHER FANTASTIC ROYAL SUCCESS*****

CONGRATULATIONS in this race for winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 32nd OPEN goes to HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN  with pigeon named ROYAL CREST, which was bred by CARLO NAPOLITANO who is the ROYAL LOFT MANAGER, when I telephoned to tell him he thought I was joking but once he realised I was serious he was once again over the moon with the way the four remaining pigeons still left were flying, this is the third time in this 2007/8 race series that HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN has taken 1st UNITED KINGDOM, which is fantastic flying in any big International One Loft Race and hopefully she can continue on her winning way, 2nd UK, 44th Open goes to Mr & Mrs Brian Clayburn from Ackworth with their pigeon Barry’s Mate, 3rd UK, 94th Open another for Her Majesty The Queen with their great pigeon named Royal Flush that has already won twice 1st UK and a 12th and 17th Open in two Hot Spot Races, plus $1,000 cash prize which will be donated to charity, 4th UK, 102nd Open for the Stretton Family and bred by Roy Stretton from Cannock Wood, 5th UK, 120th Open for Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey who won a new car last year with one of their entries, 6th UK, 162nd Open for the Frozen Porridge Syndicate with a pigeon bred by John Fellows from Ferryhill, 7th UK, 175th Open one for Skyleader Lofts and bred by Albert Tarleton from Ormskirk,  8th UK, 191st Open for Van Vaizeys and bred by Steven Vaizey from Portsmouth, 9th UK, 204th Open for the Nev Proctor from Brown Edge, 10th UK, 208th Open another for the Frozen Porridge Syndicate and with another pigeon bred by John Fellows from Ferryhill, this was the same pigeon that won some pools for Richard Elliott, Plymouth in the 3rd Hot Spot Race last Saturday, 11th UK, 209th Open another for Nev Proctor from Brown Edge and this was the same pigeon that won 1st UK, 1st Open in Race 5A last Wednesday, 12th UK, 217th Open for Pieter Oberholster from Lask Edge with the same pigeon that won him pools last Saturday in the 3rd Hot Spot Race. It is great to see so many UK pigeons flying well in such strong competition. GREAT FLYING GUYS, LET US HOPE WE CAN KEEP IT UP AS WE MOVE UPWARDS IN DISTANCE. A total of 203 UK pigeons were officially clocked, leaving a few more to make it back to base.

It is worthy of a special mention that after 10 races in the Sun City Overall Averages, so far the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM has already managed to win to following:- 3 x 1st, 2 x 2nd, 1 x 5th, 2 x 7th,

1 x 9th, 2 x 12th & 1 x 15th, 1 x 17th OPEN, plus many other top positions in the top 100, this really is a remarkable achievement when you consider the class of pigeon they are flying against.

 CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st IRELAND, 13th OPEN went to JOSH & KEVIN with their pigeon named CAB 3, 2nd Ireland, 63rd Open for Brown & Lucas with pigeon named Nicola II, 3rd Ireland, 452nd Open for Downshire Lofts with Mulhollands Dream. A total of 62 Irish pigeons were officially recorded.

This event was classed as an official race and counted towards the SUN CITY OVERALL AVERAGES so after ten races that count we still have SUDHOFF & VAN BEERS from GERMANY with their pigeon named BIRDY in 1st spot, only 141 seconds in the lead. It was interesting to note that the first three positions are all pigeons from different countries, with five different countries in the top 10, which consists of 4 x German, 2 x Dutch, 2 x American and 1 x  Belgian and then United Kingdom pigeons. 1st UNITED KINGDOM , 6th OPEN goes to PREMIER STUD with their pigeon named OPTOMIST and owned by Graham Sparkes from Patrington, 2nd UK, 35th Open Europa Auction UK, 3rd UK, 39th Open for Van Vaizeys, 4th UK, 43rd Open for Bernard Smyth, 5th UK, 51st Open for Nev Proctor, 6th UK, 82nd Open for Brian Long , 7th UK, 104th Open Skyleader Lofts, 8th UK, 111th Open to Her Majesty The Queen, 9th UK, 125th Open for the English Glory Syndicate with 10th UK, 153rd Open another pigeon for Bernard Smyth, 11th UK, 181st Open another for Her Majesty The Queen with 12th UK, 2908th Open for Boxmoor Bandits. The IRELAND TEAM have BERNARD HEMPENSTALL holding 1st IRELAND, 127th OPEN with his pigeon named HEMPO, 2nd Ireland, 197th Open goes to Karl Donnelly and 3rd Ireland, 260th Open for Downshire Lofts.  

When I logged onto my computer on Friday 14th December the basketing list was already on the SCMDPR Web Site and this showed a total 3,279 pigeons had been officially basketed for the Training Race 6, which was due to take place on Saturday 15th December from 110km (approx. 68 miles). This total contained 2,426 International and 853 South African entries and included 209 from the United Kingdom and 63 from Ireland.

Saturday dawned and saw the convoy finally liberated from a distance of 113km (approx. 70 miles) at 08-00 in overcast and cool weather, a light head wind and with the temperature of 24c (75f). The Race Director, Loft Manager and Convoyer all thought it would be a steady race and that the leaders would take around the ninety minutes mark to cover the journey. CONGRATULATIONS this race for 1st OPEN goes to KOOPMAN RACING TEAM from THE NETHERLANDS with their pigeon named RAUBRITTER which was finally clocked at 09-28-59.35 to record a winning velocity of 1384ypm (approx. 47mph). This must have been great news for Gerard Koopman as he had just recently had his lofts broken into in Holland and some of his top quality pigeons stolen. This winning pigeon is also in remarkable form and has now won 11th, 7th and now 1st in its last 3 races. The German Team had a great race again with 6 positions in the top 10, with 7th going to a United Kingdom, 9th to a South Africa pigeon entry and 10th to a Slovakian pigeon, these were all clocked within 10 seconds of the winner, with the top 50 being clocked within 49.95. The pigeons literally fell out of the sky and the first listing on the web site showed 778 pigeons being clocked within 5 minutes of the winner, over 1,000 within 6 minutes and nearly 1,900 by 10 minutes after the race winner. Then by 16-56 a grand total of 3,252 had been officially recorded with 2,434 International and 818 South African and this included 208 UK and 62 Irish pigeons, leaving only 27 to make it back to base. ALL IN ALL AND AFTER TAKING EVERYTHING INTO CONSIDERATION, IT TURNED OUT TO BE A GREAT RACE AND GAVE ALL THE PIGEONS A LOT MORE CONFIDENCE FOR THE REMAINING RACE PROGRAMME.

The leader after eleven races in the “SUN CITY OVERALL AVERAGES” was still SUDHOFF & VAN BEERS from GERMANY with their great pigeon named BIRDY that was currently leading the field by 160 seconds, with the top ten pigeons consisting of 4 x German, 2 x Dutch, 1 x Belgian, 2 x American and 1 x United Kingdom entries. Holding onto 6th spot was PREMIER STUD with pigeon named OPTOMIST and owned by Graham Sparkes from Patrington, 33rd Europa Auctions UK, 34th Van Vaizeys, 46th Nev Proctor, 48th & 147th Bernard Smyth, 106th Skyleader Lofts, 109th Brian Long, 111th & 149th Her Majesty The Queen, 128th English Glory Syndicate and 187th Rugeley Rockets. The top Irish pigeon is currently holding 169th for BERNARD HEMPENSTALL with his pigeon named HEMPO.

CONGRATULATIONS this week for 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 7th OPEN and “FLYING THE FLAG FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM” in this race goes to FROZEN PORRIDGE SYNDICATE with their great pigeon named AUFEDERSEIN PET, which was bred by John Fellows from Ferryhill and his entries were entered by Richard Elliott from Plymouth. This pigeon has been flying extremely well over the past few weeks and has actually won 128th, 62nd, 19th, 73rd, 208th and now 7th in its last 6 races. Then 2nd UK, 12th Open was Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey who won a brand new motor car in last year’s race series, this pigeon has won 85th, 138th, 120th and now 12th in its last 4 races, 3rd UK, 56th Open went to Her Majesty The Queen with the same pigeon that has already won 2 x 1st UK, plus 12th & 17th Open and a $1,000 Hot Spot Cash Prize, which will be donated to charity at the end of the series, this pigeon has won 53rd, 263rd, 17th, 94th and now 56th in its last 5 races, plus 12th in Hot Spot 1, 4th UK, 61st Open goes to The Three Tom-Boggies with a pigeon bred by Eddie Thompson from Romford, 5th UK, 63rd Open goes to the English Glory Syndicate, with another pigeon that has already scored a few times and won 35th, 1386th, 149th, 155th, 495th and now 63rd in its last 6 races and was bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 6th & 7th UK, 67th & 76th Open for Nev Proctor from Brown Edge with two more pigeons that have also flown well, one has won 90th, 5th, 1st, 2475th, 209th and now 67th in its last 6 races, with his second pigeon has won 93rd, 36th, 669th, 204th and now 76th in its last 5 races, plus 58th in Hot Spot 1, 8th UK, 134th Open for Europa Auctions UK with a pigeon bred by John Boyd from Ballyclare and jointly owned with Derek Nicholls from Barry, this pigeon has also been flying very well, 9th UK, 143rd Open for Kirkland & Adams and bred by Mr & Mrs Geoff Kirkland from Stoke-On-Trent, 10th UK, 147th Open for Mr & Mrs Brian Clayburn from Ackworth, 11th UK, 173rd Open for the Stretton Family with a pigeon bred by Roy Stretton from Cannock Wood with 12th UK, 191st Open another for Mr & Mrs Brian Clayburn from Ackworth. As mentioned earlier in the press report we have quite a few pigeons from the United Kingdom Team that are scoring on a regular basis which of course is great to see in the run up to the Final Race.

It should be mentioned that the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM have done exceptionally well in the first ten races and have currently won:- 3 x 1st, 2 x 2nd, 1 x 5th, 3 x 7th, 1 x 9th, 3 x 12th, 1 x 15th and 1 x 17th OPEN plus numerous other top positions in the top 100, this is a remarkable achievement when you consider the quality of pigeons they are flying against.

CONGRATULATIONS in this race for winning 1st IRELAND, 22nd OPEN went to JOSH & KEVIN with their great pigeon named CAB 3, which won 1st Ireland, 13th Open in the last race, 2nd Ireland, 45th Open for Brown & Lucas with their pigeon named Nicola II, which had also won 2nd Ireland, 63rd Open in the last race, 3rd Ireland, 53rd Open went to Downshire Lofts with yet another pigeon that has been winning prizes and that had won 3rd Ireland, 452nd Open in the last race, 4th Ireland, 106th Open went to Gerry McCourt, The Irish Race Team Shipper with yet another pigeon that has scored numerous times, 5th Ireland, 161st Open for Thomas McCourt and 6th Ireland, 406th Open for Lucas Lofts. It is quite a remarkable result to see the first three pigeons taking 1st, 2nd & 3rd in two races on the trot. The Irish Team just like the United Kingdom Team have some outstanding pigeons that are regularly scoring top positions, which of course is great to in the run up to the Final Race.

Once again the web site was officially updated on Monday 17th December and this showed a total of 3,257 pigeons in the lofts and this included 2,438 International and 819 South African entries and these figures included 208 from the UK and 62 from Ireland.

More daily training will take place right through the week providing the weather is good enough to train these athletes of the skies building them up to next Saturday’s 4th Hot Spot Race from 300km (approx. 186 miles), which is due to be held on 22nd December.

This 4th Hot Spot Race will be the 3rd Round of the “KNOCKOUT COMPETITION” and a total of 874 pigeon are still entered and this contains 710 International, 164 South African with 71 United Kingdom and 15 Irish pigeons. This total will be whittled down to 306 after this race.

***POLITE REMINDER:- Any competitors/entrants that have not yet “ACTIVATED” their “Reserve Pigeons” can still do so at any time. It should also be noted that only “ACTIVATED PIGEONS” can win any of the PRIZE MONEY and SPECIAL AWARDS including the BRAND NEW CARS which are allocated and are on offer in the forthcoming Hot Spot Races. Do not leave it until the last minute to “ACTIVATE” as it could cost you or your syndicate winning a major prize. Please call me today on 01279-812005 and give me your instructions.

Now we are up and rolling for the 2007/8 race series, weekly race reports and updates will be sent out to all UK competitors and of course published in both our weekly pigeon magazines. They are also available to view on three web sites, namely:- www.iprr.co.uk www.elimarpigeons.com and www.pigeonportal.com

If anybody wants to follow what is happening an a daily basis over the next three months all the have to do is log onto www.scmdpr.com it is without doubt the most up to date, comprehensive and informative one loft web site in the world today and last year had in excess of 16 million “HITS” during the whole race series.

If there is anything anybody would like to know about this race, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 or email me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I will be only too pleased to answer their questions or queries.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL COMPETITORS/ENTRANTS OVER THE NEXT TWO MONTHS.

 Paul Smith. United Kingdom Race Team Shipper for The 12th Sun City Million Dollar (The Greatest Pigeon Race In The World Today), which is due to be held in Sun City Resort, South Africa on Saturday 2nd February 2008.

Regency Lofts Limited, “Five Pennies”, High Lane, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LQ. Telephone/Facsimile:- 01279-812005. (Int. Code:- +44-1279-812005).

Mobile:- 07860-568216. Email:- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SCMDPR Web Site:- www.scmdpr.com

18/12/07