“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT.

STORIES OF THE CHAMPIONS (PART 2).

CH. ‘SUPER LOU’ – Peter Wells of Dunstable.

My good friend, Terry Haley, arranged a mini loft tour of Hertfordshire for me in August 2013, with the view to doing some articles and the second loft we visited was the highly successful fancier, Peter Wells of Dunstable. The Wells loft has had some great seasons for many years racing in the Combine, Classic and National. Peter has been a fantastic pigeon racer since he started up in the sport in 1974, but is mostly noted for being the owner and racer of one of the greatest sprint pigeons in the world of pigeon racing ever, Champion ‘Super Lou’. This wonderful Joseph Van Ramadonk widowhood cock was bred by Louella Pigeon World at Leicester and Peter purchased him in a batch of pigeons, which were eight for £80, so ‘Super Lou’ cost him £10. This champion blue chequer pied cock won 52 first prizes, including 16 times 1^st Federation, 1^st open Combine and several Open races. Peter told me, he has clocked ‘Super Lou’ and then had a batch of five come together five minutes later and taken the first six in the Federation result, that how good that pigeon was! He was always paired to ‘Brandy’ and she was another one from the Joseph Van Ramadonk job lot, and she was also another brilliant racer, winning several premier races. Champion ‘Super Lou’ was sold back to Louella for £11,500!

CH. ‘FRANK’ – Crook & Iddenden of Epsom.

I have known and been friends with Colin Crook and Andy Iddenden for many years and in all that time we have been associated I had never visited their loft in Epsom. We put that to rights, when on one sunny Sunday morning, I made the 12 miles drive to Colin’s garden, situated in a wonderful part of Surrey near to Epsom Downs Race Course, to see the partner’s brilliant team of pigeons. I must say the loft and garden were very smart and a credit the two lads! Colin and Andy had enjoyed a brilliant race from Yeovil (1) in 2013, recorded 1st, 3rd, 24th Three Borders Federation, winning with their champion blue cock ‘Frank’, and then this brilliant cock went on to win 1st Federation Yeovil (2) at the end of the season. Colin and Andy won the Three Borders Federation ‘Ken Besant Memorial Trophy’ in the 2011 season for ‘best pigeon of the year’ and won it for the second time in 2013 with their good blue cock, ‘Frank’. This wonderful Gaby Vandenabeele sprint cock has won 23 Federation positions including six times 1st Federation and twice 2nd Federation, being beaten twice by loft mates on the ETS. Other position won the Federation by ‘Frank’ are: 3rd, 7th, 9th, 9th, 10th, 10th, 10th, 14th, 14th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 16th, 18th and 23rd open. He has won ten times 1st club, plus 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd South Downs Premier FC and was sent to the Classic only once to win 34th open L&SECC Falaise. ‘Frank’ was Three Borders Federation ‘Pigeon of the Year’ in 2011 and 2013. As Andy Iddenden says, a once in a life time pigeon! Frank and Susan Carson bred Colin and Andy’s champion Gaby Vandenbeele blue widowhood cock, ‘Frank’. This game cock raced to Frank’s loft as a young bird and yearling and when Frank packed up for a while in 2008, the pigeon was gifted to Crook & Iddenden, too set the place alight with brilliant performances. Frank and Susan brought their Gaby Vandenbeele pigeons from Mark and Dickie Evans in 2003 and 2004, and were direct out of their champions, including the great ‘Shadow’. There you have it, the fantastic Champion 'Frank'.

CH. ‘FILMSTAR’ – Frank & Ann Tasker of Wainfleet.

When the late Frank Tasker spoke about his Champion ‘Filmstar’, you could hear the pride in his voice, and quite rightly too, as he owned the ultimate in a racing pigeon. ‘Filmstar’ was wonderful to look at and handle, and he was also a champion breeder. He was bred from the very best Mencke Haelterman bloodlines, and his sire, ‘Blue Telstar’ being obtained via Claude Hetru of Lomme, France. ‘Blue Telstar’ was a direct son of ‘Eole’, the champion of the champions; being the winner of 1^st open National Royan and 1^st open National Poitiers. The dam of ‘Filmstar’ was ‘Jonge Whitenose’, bred by Frank and Ann Tasker and they said she was one of the best breeding hens they ever owned. Her sire was the base of their entire loft, the champion breeder, ‘Blue Eole’, and he was a full brother to Champion ‘Eole’, winner of twice 1^st open National. A wonderful family of pigeons!

Champion ‘Filmstar’ won 26 times 1^st prize, 12 times 1^st open Federation and in 1986 was the R.P.R.A. Sprint Champion of Great Britain. He also won two R.P.R.A. Awards and 7^th World Champion Versalaga Laga. Frank told me, he was the base of his loft at that time and his children have bred at least 50 times 1^st open Federation winners. He is grandsire and great grandsire of ten 1^st open National and Classic winners including, ‘Starlett’, winner of 1^st open NFC Pontorson for Ced and Clive Allwright, ‘Digit’, 1^st open MNFC Nantes for Dave Sharratt, 1^st open CSCFC Rennes for Tony Hayne, 1^st open CSCFC Bergerac for Staddon Brothers, 1^st open Up North Combine Abbeville for Les Thurlow, two champion racers for G. White & son and of course 1^st open North Road Championship Club Berwick National in 2000 for Frank and Ann Tasker. Champion ‘Filmstar’, a once in a lifetime pigeon!

CH. ‘Noble Dream’ – Bobby & Anthony Besant & sons of Worcester Park.

Bobby and Anthony Besant of Worcester Park own one of the all-time premier lofts in the UK, winning 1^st open NFC (twice), countless times 1^st Federation through many years and now 1^st open International Agen (10,510 birds) in the 2015 season. A racing record second to none, achieved over many years! Bobby and I have been friends since the 1970’s, when we both had shoulder length hair and were both ‘foot loose and fancy free’ in our flared bottom trousers and Cuban heeled boot. I have now known the Besant family for well over 50 years, and in that time I have seen them win every major award there is to win in pigeon racing. In the early days the Besant brothers, Ken, Bobby and Ron, won at club, open, Federation, Combine and National level and even in the 1970’s theirs had to be rated as one of the best lofts in the United Kingdom. When I first met Bobby and Ken in 1970, their dad, Cecil, had just passed away and the boys were about to take over the very successful C. H. Besant & sons pigeons. Although I never met Cecil, I had always admired his fantastic performances in the Surrey Federation. The boys carried this great fancier’s name on in pigeon racing history to an even higher degree.

The Besant’s named their Agen International winner ‘Noble Dream’ and their wonderful champion was a two year dark cock, raced on the widowhood system. Bobby told me 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 has won several premier positions before his Agen (499 miles) International win, including 3^rd Three Borders Federation, 4^th SMT Combine (699 birds) Nort sur Erdre (278 miles) as a yearling in the 2014 season. I handled him on my visit to the Besant’s home after the race and he handled very like a true champion, being medium, with very good silky feathering, and looking at him in his nest box, he had a big character and presences in the loft. What a great buzz it was to see and handle Bobby and Anthony’s great champion! For a bit of interest this is the breeding details of Champion ‘Noble Dream’. His sire, ‘Tuff Gory’, was bred by Ian and Georgina French of Evesham. ‘Tuff Glory’ is bred from a son of  Brian Denney’s Champion ‘Tuff Nut’ and a daughter of Paul Kendal’s Champion ‘Morning Glory’ mating, which are two of the best pigeons that have ever raced in the NFC Pau Grand National. What a pair of stock pigeons! 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 I gifted to Bobby and Anthony in 2009 and I donated a full brother to the BHW Blackpool Show Charity auction in 2010, which raised for £740 for charity. The sire of ‘Half Crown’ was my champion stock cock, ‘Sasha’s Boy’ and he was bred by Brian Denney of Strensall. He was bred for the stock loft from Brian’s champion stock pair, ‘Maxi’ and ‘Dark Jan’ and is a full brother to the wonderful racing cocks: ‘Dark Charm’, ‘John’ and ‘Dark Dancer’. The dam of ‘Half Crown’ was my champion hen, ‘Foxwarren Complete’, who was a great 550 mile racer and has now proved to be a champion breeder. ‘Foxwarren Complete’ was bred from Eric Cannon and Brian Denney bloodlines. A real class hen!

CH. ‘JONNO’S BOY’ – Johnson & Greenwood of Hull.

I came across this old photo recently of the great Champion ‘Jonno’s Boy’ winner in 2017 of 1st club, 1st Federation Huntingdon (895 birds), 1st club, 1st Federation Reed (972 birds), 1st club, 1st Federation Maidstone (779 birds), Beaten by loft to win 2nd club, 2nd Federation Billericay (548 birds). Also was an RPRA Regional Award winner in the 2017 racing season. He went on to win many more premier races and bred Federation winners. What a pigeon! He was bred and raced by the Johnson & Greenwood partnership of Hull. I first met Paul Johnson while I was on a weeklong filming tour in Yorkshire in the mid-1990 and at that time he was racing in the very successful Johnson, Wilson & sons partnership. Harry Wilson is no longer in the sport and Paul has been very successful racing in partnership with his wife, Helen, from there garden in Burton Pidsea, near Hull, for the last twenty years. There is a third partner, in the form of Paul’s good friend, Chris Greenwood and he concentrates on the stock birds and breeding side of the partnership. The Johnson partnership had been the highest prize winners in the Holderness Flying club and East Coast Federation in the 2017 and 2016 racing seasons. They had won 36 x 1st, 30 x 2nd, 32 x 3rd, 28 x 4th in both the clubs, and 14 x 1st, 12 x 2nd, 10 x 3rd, 9 x 4th in both the Yorkshire Middle Route and East Coast Federation in those two seasons. They had also won 3 x 1st, 3 x 2nd, 2 x 4th, 2 x 5th, 2 x 6th section in the Midland National Flying Club at that time. Fantastic pigeon racing by any ones standards!

CH. ‘KENNY’ – Keith & Betty Mott of Claygate.

Dare I put one of my own pigeons in this article of pigeon racing excellence? Well he was a bit special! My best pigeon of the 1980’s and probably my best of all time was our famous champion ‘Kenny’ and this Denys Brothers grizzle cock won 37 positions in the first six, including thirteen times 1^st club, also 3^rd, 5^th, 9^th, 11^th and 24^th  in the very strong Surrey Federation. This ‘once in a life time’ pigeon was eventually put to stock, breeding many winners and his daughter bred a pigeon to win 2^nd open Up North Combine for a fancier in the north east of England. His grand dam was the champion stock hen, ‘Little Mo’, bred in 1972, by the Denys family in Belgium and I purchased this great hen off the late Alec Martin of Worplesdon. The ‘Little Mo’ Grizzle bloodline produced a density of premier racers, including Geoff Snelling’s Saintes Amalgamation winner in the 1970’s. Geoff's 1^st Open Amalgamation winning pigeon was his yearling red grizzle cock called 'Magri' which won the Amalgamation by 31 ypm, earning him an RPRA Southern Region Award. 'Magri's' sire, a Denys Brothers grizzle, was bred by Bernard Miles from the two champion stock pigeons 'Grey Flight II' and 'Little Mo', both from Denys Brothers in Belgium.

Champion ‘Kenny’ had several outstanding brothers, the best one being another grizzle named ‘Warrior’, and he won seven times 1^st club, also 2^nd, 3^rd. and 15^th in the Surrey Federation. These brilliant cocks were raced on the natural system and never raced further than Plymouth (180 miles). A third brother, ‘Double Top’, won three times 1^st club, including 1^st club (by 75 minutes), 5^th Surrey Federation, 7^th open S.M.T. Combine Penzance. The 1980’s were a golden decade for our loft at Claygate, winning up to ten firsts in most seasons and were the premier prize winners in the Surbiton F.C. three years consecutively.

Well, this week it was the turn of the champion sprinters and next time we are going back to look at some more long distance champions. I can be contacted with any pigeon ‘banter’ on telephone number: 07535 484584 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT (www.keithmott.com)