Bude - 13/06/09

[willie reynolds]

Rogans Race to Combine win.

The East Down Combine were in Bude for their second channel race of the season, as last’s weeks race was brought back to Thurles due to bad weather in Wales and on the Irish Sea. Thankfully the weather was a lot better this week and the birds were liberated at 7.45am in a southerly wind.

The pigeons made great headway with the first bird timed in Newcastle at 12.06pm, and this was the eventual East Down Combine Open winner on the day. This means that all five member clubs have now won at least one South Down Federation race this year in a season that has seen the level of competition reach new heights with many excellent Open positions and quite a few Open wins as well.

The winners of the South Down Federation this week, and as stated earlier the winners of the East section and the East Down Combine Open are Newcastle’s E & A Rogan. They have had a tremendous season winning the Newcastle race in every race they have competed in except the first one. There have been many weeks when they have got close to that elusive Federation position but this was the one they have been waiting for, taking the number one spot.

Eddie and Aidie have worked hard for this success and both take pigeons with them in the mornings as they head to work with one taking the hens and the other taking the cocks. They alternate each day so one day they are flying from Kilkeel and the next they are taken to Belfast. The work put into the birds here has certainly paid off throughout the year.

The main base of their family of pigeons is Fauconniers and Janssens from Jackie Murray & Son, Manchester. I know from speaking to the Rogans that they also pick up a lot of useful advice from Jackie whose family originated from Killyleagh.
The winning pigeon is a two-year-old Fauconnier x Janssen hen that was second club Talbenny, and had won two races as a young bird. The hen was sent to the race on the jealousy system and this certainly motivated her. The dam of this bird won 3 races on the channel in 2006 and was second in the other one.

Mickey Croskery Annsborough who won the Open from this race last year had another tremendous race taking the next four positions. Last year Mickey had a dream race from this race with eight in the top ten in the South Down Fed result, nine in the top thirteen of the East section, and nine in the top forty of the Open result. This year he has four in the top five in the Fed result, four in the top seven in the section and four in the top ten of the Open result.

His first pigeon was 1st club, 2nd Fed, 2nd section, 2nd Open and also saw him win the Old Bird Knock Out for the third year in a row. The bird timed here is a two-year-old cock and is a full brother of the pigeon that was 1st Open East Down Combine from Pilmore Beach in 2007 as a young bird. The dam is a Wily Thas from Merpett & Scott, Gateshead, while the sire is a latebred that was bred for stock from Sonny Galloway's hen and the Sion cock from the Natural Breeding Station. Mickey has done very well with the Wily Thas pigeons since he brought them in four years ago, while the sire’s side has done particularly well for both Mickey and D Croskery & Son.

Mickey’s second pigeon is 2nd club, 3rd section, 3rd Open and is a three-year-old De Klak cock from the original birds brought in from Jobey & Gordon.

His third pigeon is 4th section, 6th Open and is a two-year-old cock, a son of the ‘Pool’ cock that I wrote about last week. His fourth pigeon is a sister of the third one and it takes 5th Fed, 7th section, 10th Open to round off a great days racing.

D Croskery & Son have three birds in the Fed result at 6th, 7th and 9th. The first of these also takes 9th section, 14th Open and is a two-year-old hen, which was 5th Fed from Tullamore this year. It is a 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 second pigeon is 6th Fed, 10th section, 16th Open and is a yearling cock down of the ‘69’ cock a bird that was the Fed’s Bird of the Year in 2000, a year in which it was timed in every race.

Their third pigeon is 9th Fed, 13th Open, 22nd Open and is a two-year-old De Klak hen. This bird was a good racer as a young bird and was off the road last year due to injury but has recovered well to get back in the result again.

M Croskery & Son Annsborough is 8th Fed this week to see all the Croskerys in the result. This bird is 11th section, 18th Open and is a two-year-old cock. He was 9th club from 1st Talbenny when he just missed out on a Fed position. The dam is a Harthog from Colin McBride, Harryville while the sire came from Terry Murphy, Newcastle.

The result is completed by Annsborough’s J McNally & Son in tenth position. The McNally lofts have a preference for channel racing so will be pleased with this result. The pigeon timed here is from their Old Busschaert lines and is a yearling cock.

Full Result: 1, E & A Rogan Newcastle 1628; 2, 3, 4, 5, M Croskery Annsborough 1580, 1577, 1563, 1511; 6, 7, D Croskery & Son Annsborough 1506, 1500; 8, M Croskery & Son 1495; 9, D Croskery & Son 1489; 10, J McNally & Son Annsborough 1482:


• The DTW has been won by Mickey Croskery from Penzance. A new DTW will start from 1st Navan in the young birds.
• The three French races will have a £2 nom. One bird per loft, winner takes all.
• The members of the South Down Federation offer their sympathy to the Croskery family on the death of Josie’s brother Billy.

Brendan McLoughlin PO