Race Reports - Roscrea (2) & Clonmel

[willie reynolds]

Two races to cover this week, due to technical problems with my old laptop which gave up on me recently, taking all my files and pictures with it. My daughter however, has very kindly donated her nice up to date desktop to the cause. I’ll run through the last two races then, which were the second Roscrea and Clonmel, as best I can with the results and old photos I was able to get before the crash.

The second outing from Roscrea was a stiff enough race, taking into account the Northerly winds the birds had to face, although returns overall were very good. Velocities were pegged back of course, with all the winners in the 1200’s. This you would think would tighten them up for further down the line.

A quick run through the clubs then, starting this week in the Foyle, where Paul Maxwell is way out in front doing 1281, and picks up the Section win as well. Second in the Foyle is Pat Ward, with Noel Mc Grotty doing well again in third. The full result was, 1st, 4th , 8th and 9th P Maxwell Sen. 1281, 1168, 1162 and 1161, 2nd P Ward 1193, 3rd N Mc Grotty 1191, 5th B Page 1165, 6th and 7th J Diamond 1164 and 1163, 10th P Maxwell Jun. 1161.
Over in the Derry and District this week, Jim and Gary Ramsey are back on top, and take four in the top ten. Kieran Reid is still knocking at the door in second and third. The result looked like this then, 1st, 5th, 6th and 9th, J & G Ramsey 1227, 1187, 1187 and 1145, 2nd, 3rd and 8th B & K Reid 1226, 1216 and 1162, 4th, 7th and 10th A Mc Crudden 1208, 1162 and 1139. (17 sent 207).

Up in the new Mourne and District, Tony Conway continues to dominate, taking six of the first ten positions, with Davy Booth filling the rest. The result was, 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th T Conway 1278, 1266, 1222, 1222, 1215 and 1214, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th D Booth 1258, 1229, 1228 and 1219. (5 SENT 200).

Over in the Londonderry this week, Leo Flanagan takes the red card again to make it two from two. The full result in the Londonderry looked like this, 1st and 8th L Flanagan 1219 and 1129, 2nd and 10th B Boyd 1181 and 1101, 3rd and 5th B Houston 1168 and 1101, 4th Wick & Murray 1166, 6th and 9th J Cassidy 1139 and 1102, 7th D Simpson 1137. (10 sent 111).

Up in Omagh, there’s no stopping Kenny Armstrong, who takes the top three this week, and is hitting a bit of form at last. Alan Hall fills out the top five. The full Omagh result looked like this then, 1st, 2nd and 3rd K Armstrong 1221, 1220 and 1216, 4th and 5th A Hall 1203 and 1196, 6th, 7th and 8th A Kelly 1196,1169 and 1165, 9th R Jolley 1123, 10th S Gilmore 1116.

Down in the Amelia Earhart this week, the Mc Monagle brothers make it two from two as well. Jim and Ray are also starting to hit a bit of form. The final result looked like this, 1st J & R Mc Monagle 1207, 2nd and 10th N Cassidy 1198 and 1121, 3rd, 6th and 7th M Mc Closkey 1182, 1158 and 1155, 4th G Toner 1165, 5th and 9th W & D Hamilton 1160 and 1127, 8th Canning & Gill 1135. (18 sent 175).

Last but not least, to my own club, the Maiden City, where Pat Mc Laughlin cleans up this week, taking the first three, and six of the top ten positions. The result looked like this,1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th P Mc Laughlin 1229, 1210, 1200, 1164, 1662 and 1161, 4th S mc Grotty 1196, 8th T Morrison & Sons 1157, 9th S Quigley, Son and Grandson 1136, 10th Coyle Bros 1118. (17 sent 255).

Next, we move on to the race from Clonmel, and what a race it turned out to be. Many opinions have been voiced about the race taking place, and there has been a lot of gnashing and grinding of teeth since. I myself I think will sit firmly on the fence over this one and just suffer the splinters. Whether they should have been released or not, is completely out of the control of the fancier, and down to those elected to take the decisions on our behalf. This is not always easy, and most times is a thankless task. I have had a go at them in the past when things went wrong, but have also given credit when it was due. Looking at the weather forecasts for the weekend of the Clonmel race, Saturday always looked doubtful, except for a couple of breaks that seemed likely on the day. My guess was early morning, or around lunch time as they can hold to 2.00 pm if required. Sunday and Monday I have to say didn’t look any better. So why not a Friday race then? A number of people have asked this question, and some seem to believe that a Friday is no longer to be a race day. This is not the case; it’s just that if a Saturday is not possible for a race, then a Sunday must be given preference over a Friday if possible. If Sunday is also out and Friday is the best option, then the birds will go on a Friday. This should be straight forward enough then, but I strongly believe that the powers will bend over backwards to get a Sunday release every time if possible. Even if Friday was the most beautiful day you could wish for, Saturday is a wash out, and Sunday is just about feasible, they will go on Sunday. I don’t really know why it had to be a Sunday over a Friday, but I’m sure there are reasons, like men who worked on a Friday etc, which I completely understand. Maybe it’s a logistical problem trying to get drivers etc; I don’t know the ins and outs of how it works to be honest. Getting back to the race itself, there seems to have been more than one factor at play. Of course the weather played its part, but I don’t think it was just the weather. And on the point of the weather being a bit dodgy or not, I always thought they had members or area reps who they could contact about the weather en route, but then I could be wrong. With a fresh south west wind on the day, another question is why did birds head due east and indeed south, with birds reported all over the south and in Wales and parts of England? Surely not just the weather at play, maybe something splitting the convoy? One last thought, which many of you have already remarked on. There are two things you don’t want to hear from the NIPA on a race day. Both things, although they should be completely opposite in meaning, actually mean the same thing. Firstly, the birds cleared well, and secondly, the birds were slow to leave the race point. Both phrases mean seem to mean a hard race is on the way. Unless, in the future when they say the birds cleared well, they also tell us what bloody direction they cleared off in.

Anyway, here’s a quick run through of the results up in the North West. Up in the Mourne and District, Tony Conway keeps up his winning streak, and takes three in the top five. The result looked like this 1st, 2nd and 4th T Conway 1330, 1326 and 1234, 3rd D Booth 1281, 5th G Quinn 1230.
In the Limavady club this week we have our Section winner Ronnie Witherow, a man who no stranger to winning Sections. The result was 1st and 5th R Witherow 1562 and 1475, 2nd W Mc Ilmoyle 1510, 3rd L Millar 1508, 4th J Crawford 1506.
In the Amelia Earhart this week, a very popular winner Noel Doherty gets a well deserved red card. Noel only came back into the sport last season I believe. The full result for the Amelia looked like this, 1st N Doherty 1371, 2nd E Quigley 1345, 3rd and 4th T White 1298 and 1295, 5th W & D Hamilton 1284.

In the Derry and District, Jim and Gary Ramsey are proving to be the men to beat, taking top spot once again. The full result was 1st J & G Ramsey 1509, 2nd and 5th B & K Reid 1339 and 1297, 3rd J Ebbs 1331, 4th P Hegarty 1320.
Paul Maxwell continues his rich vein of form over in the Foyle club with yet another win this week. The full result was 1st and 5th P Maxwell Sen. 1411 and 1306, 2nd T Bradley 1372, 3rd B Hart 1341, 4th P Maxwell Jun 1306.

In the Londonderry club this week, Wick and Murray dominate, taking the top three positions. The result then was 1st, 2nd and 3rd Wick and Murray 1352, 1343 and 1343, 4th and 5th L Flanagan 1337 and 1329.

Up in Omagh this week, that man Armstrong continues where he left off last week, taking the first three again. The result was 1st, 2nd and 3rd K Armstrong 1507, 1471 and 1470, 4th and 5th A Kelly 1451 and 1424.

Last but not least my own club, the Maiden City, where me and my father take our second red card of the season. The full result was 1st J & B Knox 1496, 2nd Coyle Bros 1491, 3rd R & G Martin 1331, 4th P Mc Laughlin 1295, 5th S Quigley, son and grandson 1252.

Well done to all our winners, and congratulations especially to our Section winners.

billyknox@btinternet.com