Tullamore 18/04/09

[willie reynolds]

Lakeside Lofts top the Fed from Tullamore

The East Down Combine pigeons were in Tullamore for their second race of the season. The pigeons were released in an easterly wind with good sunshine and visibility. With the east wind it was never anticipated that the South Down Fed members would able to compete for Open positions and this is borne out by the Open result with the Open being won by Ballylesson’s K & B McConnaghie in a race pretty much dominated by the Dundonald club.

Federation members did put up some good performances in the east section with the first four birds in the Fed result gaining section positions. The Federation result is a duplicate of the Annsborough result, but many good performances were put up around the local clubs. In Dundrum, J Maguire & Ptrs notch up their second win of the season with A Murray & Son taking the next five. In Tyrella, D McNabb & Ptrs just edge out S Milligan & Dtr as they finished on the same yard and share the top four between them. E & A Rogan take the first three in Newcastle ahead of Dan Hillen, while in Annalong K Rooney & Son take the top four.

Speaking to members of the five Federation clubs all experienced a wonderful race in spite of the easterly wind with many birds coming the coastal route. The race controller Trevor McKelvey deserves a lot of praise here for the excellent race that was enjoyed by all the fanciers throughout the Combine.

The winners of the South Down Federation this week are the Lakeside Lofts of P Brown, Annsborough. This loft has got off to a great start to the season having been second and fifth Fed last week from Mullingar. Patrick assures me that the winning loft is his wife’s Gearaldines and is his in name only. Geraldine certainly has her pigeons in super form at this stage of the season.

The winning pigeon is a latebred having only his second race. It is a Grondelaar pigeon out of their ‘19’ cock, a multiple Fed winner. Patrick had thought about putting this bird in the stock loft but decided to give him a few races first to see how he would go. It is also fifth east section here so a great start to its racing career. Patrick and Geraldine are still considering his future.

James Cleland Annsborough has another superb race here with three birds in the Fed result at second, seventh and ninth, with the first bird taking 12th East section.

James’ first pigeon is a two-year-old latebred whose sire was the Fed’s Old Bird of the Year in 2007. In picking up the Bird of the Year award this bird was second Open in the Derek Wishart Memorial race from Pilmore Beach and fourth Open from Mallow. This latebred’s brother was fourth Fed, fourth Open in the young bird Tullamore last year. The sire is a Soontjens from Maurice Alexander while the dam is Pros Roosen from Martin Flynn. The dam herself has had many fine positions herself.

The other two pigeons timed by the Newcastle Road lofts are both Pros Roosen, the first being a yearling cock, and the second one a hen. Both are from the Martin Flynn pigeons.

D Croskery & Son Annsborough, the Federation’s Fanciers of the Year have another wonderful result here with four birds in the result at third, fourth, fifth and eighth. This is another great start for the Croskery family and I’m sure we will be hearing a lot more about them throughout the year.

The first bird, which is 3rd Fed and 15th section, is a two-year-old cock that was second Open in the John Ringland Classic from Skibbereen last year. It also won £200 in the £25 Nom in the Fed from the Skibbereen Young Bird Derby the previous year when it was eighth Fed. The breeding here is from the good pied hen that has been a prizewinner from every race point up Ireland. She is from the ‘Bolden’ cock from John Joby. The ‘Bolden’ cock is responsible for many winners for both this loft and for Micky Croskery. The sire is a De Klak Janssen, which is the same way bred as the sire of their second pigeon.

The second pigeon is a yearling hen out of the same hen as their first bird when paired to a brother of the first bird’s sire. The sire of this bird himself won two races.

Their third pigeon is a two-year-old De Klak hen that was badly injured as a young bird in training. It was unraced then as a young bird and had her first race as a yearling and picked up two prizes last year. She is a daughter of the hen that was 6th in Lamballe Derby two years ago.

Their fourth pigeon is a De Klak Janssen that won an Open last year from Tullamore as a Young bird. The sire of this bird is a De Klak Janssen from Jobey & Gordon, Dunstan and this bird had already bred an East Down Combine Open winner two years previously. The dam is a Ganus & Fox brought in from Jobey & Gordon two years ago.

Benson Bros Annsborough are sixth Fed this week to get back to the sort of form that saw them as a major force in the Federation a few years ago. With Alan available to spend a lot more time with the birds the fruits of this are already showing. The pigeon timed is a two-year-old Vandenabeele hen from John Abernethy.

The result is completed by Annsborough’s newest member Patrick McCartan in only his second race. This is a great result for Patrick to break into the Fed result at this early stage in his career and he can take a great amount of pride from this and hopefully go on to build on it. The pigeon timed here is a yearling obtained from McKinstry Bros Dromara.

Full Result: 1, P Brown Annsborough 1365; 2, J Cleland Annsborough 1357; 3, 4, 5, D Croskery & Son Annsborough 1344 ABCD £26, 1337, 1333; 6, Benson Bros Annsborough 1328; 7, J Cleland 1324; 8, D Croskery & Son 1323; 9, J Cleland 1322; 10, P McCartan Annsborough 1321; J Maguire & Ptrs Dundrum 1297 ABCD £13.20; R J Keown Annsborough 1296 ABCDNom £15.30

• Loft KO starts this week from 2nd Nenagh with the final from Bude
• Pool race this week from 2nd Nenagh
• May Day race will take place on Monday 4 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. Clocks will be set in Annsborough on Monday morning and checked out in Dundrum on Monday evening at 7pm. No clocks will be punched after this time. This race is open to Federation members only. The race will be sponsored by Patrick Brown who last year very kindly presented a new cup for the race, which will be on display on the morning of basketing.
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Brendan McLoughlin PO.