Mullingar - 09/04/10

[willie reynolds]

Jennings win gets season under way

The 2011 pigeon-racing season began on Saturday 9 April when the pigeons were released in Mullingar. The weather in the weeks preceding the first race was for the most part dry and bright which afforded ample opportunities for preparing the birds for the first race.

The birds were in the air at 10.30am in a light south southeasterly wind. Now while this isn’t the most favourable wind for South Down members we were still able to get good returns on the day. It was a day when we were never going to count for Open positions with the first Open win of the season going to Dundonald’s Roy Irwin.

In the South Down Fed the result was dominated by the Annsborough club who had all ten positions, in what was a very tight race, with only 9 yards separating the top ten. The winning pigeon had a velocity of 1317 while the next four birds were all on 1314 yards per minute and the pigeons from seventh to tenth were all on 1308.

The winner of the Fed this week is Michael Jennings who has learned a lot on his travels with the Croskerys. Since joining the club a few years ago Michael has put up some great performances and he will be pleased to have got off to such a good start.
The winning pigeon is a yearling hen and is a nest mate of the pigeon that was 3rd Club, 3rd Fed, 5th section and 19th Open in the young bird Talbenny last year and 9th club, 9th Fed the following week from Tyone Mills. It is out of a G Delaney Jacobs cock when paired to a De Klak from John Jobey.

J McNally & Son are off to a good start too with two birds in the result at second and fourth Fed with both birds on the same yard. This could well be a loft to come well into the reckoning this year.
Their first bird is out of the hen that bred the section winner from Bude two years ago. The breeding is Janssen from Taylor Bros, Newbiggin, in the Up North Combine.
Their second pigeon is from similar lines with a touch of Busschaert added, also from Taylor Bros.

Noel Maguire with one of the smallest teams of pigeons around has four birds in the result this week. Noel had nine hens in the race, four of which are latebreds and he has five racing cocks to start yet. In that context this is another great result for Noel.
Noel’s first bird is the two-year-old hen that was Old Bird of the Year in the Fed last year and was runner up in the East Down Combine for Old Bird of the Year. This bird was 2nd Fed, 5th Open Mount Charles, 1st Fed 5th Open Fermoy and 1st Fed, 8th section, 15th Open Skibbereen Classic in three consecutive weeks. The breeding is Van Rijn from Bob McMeekin.

Noel’s second and fourth pigeon are both Van Rijn yearling hens from Bob McMeekin and were both having their first race.
The pigeon at 7th Fed for Noel is a two-year-old Pros Roosen hen from James Cleland Annsborough. This bird was 4th club, 6th Fed, 7th section, 18th Open young bird Talbenny in 2009.

G & P Brown are 6th Fed this week, and its good to see that Patrick has brought Geraldine into the partnership to acknowledge all her hard work. The pigeon timed here is a two-year-old hen that was 1st club, 3rd Fed Mullingar last year in the corresponding race and then took 8th Fed Fermoy and 1st club, 5th Fed, 9th Open in the Derek Wishart race from Fermoy. The parents are from K Rooney & Son and are Busschaert x Staf Van Reet.

Mickey Croskery is 9th Fed this week to get his season off to a steady start. Mickey tells me that he is only racing half a dozen birds for the first couple of weeks. The pigeon timed here is the four-year-old ash hen that was 1st Open from Thurles two years ago when the birds were brought back from Talbenny. The dam is a Janus & Fox through John Jobey, from the Up North Combine while the sire is the pigeon known as the ‘Pool’ cock.

The result is completed by D Croskery & Son in tenth position. The pigeon timed here is a daughter of the ‘01’ hen, their top stock hen when paired to the Kees Bosua cock from John Gerard. This bird’s nestmate was 2nd North section Skibbereen Young Bird National last year.

Full result: (All Annsborough) 1, M Jennings 1317; 2, J McNally & Son 1314.6; 3, N Maguire 1314.5; 4, J McNally & Son 1314.17; 5, N Maguire 1314.11; 6, G & P Brown 1312; 7, 8, N Maguire 1308.8, 1308.25; 9, M Croskery 1308.22; 10, D Croskery & Son 1308.0:

• May Day race will take place on Monday 2 May from Mullingar. Birds will be hampered on Monday morning in Annsborough from 8.30 to 10.00. Cost will be £2.50 for first 5 birds or less and 50p per bird for more than 5. This race is open to Federation members only.

• The loft KO will start from 2nd Mount Charles with the final from Bude.

Brendan McLoughlin PO.