GWENT GREATER DISTANCE CLUB
Reports by Gareth Watkins
SARAN 2009 RACE REPORT
The third race of the 2009 race programme took place from Saran on Saturday 30th May in conjunction with the BICC. The weather forecast for the weekend indicated an easterly air flow over the race route and so, for the first time this campaign, the fanciers on the western fringes of the country had the advantage of the elements if not the majority of the entry.
Thirty two members of the GGDC entered 242 birds to compete in this 350 + mile race and with the wind in the channel reported at 20 knots east north east under a cloudless blue sky, hopes were high that someone in the club would get one out in front of the combined field of English and Welsh pigeons.
Yet again, that man Spencer Jones clocked a cracker to win provisionally 1st GGDC 2nd section 2nd Open BICC to add to his 1st section win from Falaise earlier this year. Add to these two impressive performances his 1st Open BICC Falaise in 2008 and another 1st section win with the BICC again in 2008 and you have a pretty impressive BICC record developing. Spencer’s timer here was another of his small team of racing hens. These can’t be pigeon holed as widowhood or round about but are flown under Spencer’s own unique system. They are not mated and can be only loosely described as “celibate”. Exercised for one hour morning and night, they are made to put in the full stint with the aide of a flag. When asked what they were fed, Spencer replied anything and everything with, so he said, no set routine. However by mid week they have to be boxed up individually as by this time they are so sexually frustrated and desperate that they are even prepared to pair to Spencer!! The latest top performer is a four year old hen with quite a bit of “previous” to her credit and she has also bred some handy performers. She contains all the best of Keith Taylor’s Camphius and Alan Maull Janssens on her dam’s side, with a fair bit of Spencer’s Combine winning “That’s My Boy” bloodlines on the sire’s side. Well done once again Spencer on yet another outstanding performance.
Spencer
In second spot with the GGDC and winning 3rd section 3rd Open BICC is a pigeon to the phenomenally successful Cwmtillery loft of Preece Brothers and Sons. Just two weeks ago the partners recorded their TENTH National win, this time from Lillers, with the newly formed Welsh National FC. This week’s top performer is a three year old round about cock containing the best of the Ponderosa Stud’s Jan Aardens. He was placed 17th Open National Bergerac in a difficult race in 2008 when the Preeces’ won the National with the only bird on the dayinto Wales. The grand sire of the cock actually won 7th Open NFC San Sebastian whilst the dam comes via fellow club mates Vince and Dai Padfield and contains once again, Ponderosa Jan Aardens and the old reliable Clerebaut bloodlines.
Preece Bros and, pictured below, shots of their set-up
2nd GGDC for Preece Bros
Kevin and Tyrone Arnold of Six Bells near Abertillery are also ultra successful National flyers having won three Nationals at over 500 miles in recent years. In the Saran race they timed a four year old round about hen to win 3rd GGDC 4th section 4th Open BICC. This latest success adds to the hen’s previous win of 10th National Pau in 2007. Once again we see the combination of Jan Aarden and Clerebaut in her breeding. Her dam, in 2004 when racing with the Welsh SRNFC and the Central SCFC, finished at 1st section 2nd Open CSCFC 1st section 1st Open WSRNFC in a race from San Sebastian. The round about team of cocks and hens are exercised twice daily for one hour on each occasion. Depurative is fed on race return up to Monday morning at which point they are fed super widowhood mix for the remainder of the week. J.T. Barnett’s Naturaherb products are also used weekly.
Arnold Bros
Although Darren Roberts does not appear in the early prizes of the GGDC he did nevertheless record another excellent performance by clocking two birds close together at 410 miles to win 2nd and possibly 3rd North Section with the BICC. Darren’s first in the clock was a yearling chequer w/f cock of Huybreght X Van der Flaes breeding. He had spent the past week or two on open hole with the natural team but was placed in the round about section and locked in a nest box with an old hen overnight the day before basketting for Saran. Lo and behold the hen laid and the yearling cock took to the egg and the rest as they say is history. The story behind Darren’s second timer is no less amazing as this 4 year old daughter of the “Twisted Beak Cock”, the lofts No 1 Stock cock, had spent the previous two years in the stock loft. Returned to the racing loft a week or so before Saran she was given one “preparatory” race from the coast and then jumped 250+ miles into her first channel race!! Feeding here by the way is farm beans and plenty of them with wheat and widowhood mix fed as an incentive to trapping.
The following is a list of the positions taken by GGDC members in the BICC Open and section taken from first bird verifications. These may change when subsequent timers are added
2nd sect 2nd Open Spencer Jones;3rd sect 3rd Open Preece Bros & Sons; 4th sect 4th Open Arnold Bros; 5th sect 5th Open Jude & Prosser; 7th sect 7th Open G. Lewis & son;12th sect 13th Open Dennis Ford; 14th sect 16th Open Scammell & Peploe; 15th sect 17th Open Adrian Ware & Dtr; 16th sect 20th Open Padfield Family; 17th sect 23rd Open Ray Strawbridge; 18th sect 25th Open the ever present Andrew Vincent of Llanhilleth .
Congratulations to all the above successful fanciers on producing yet another “red letter day” for the Welsh Pigeon Fancy.
Next race Poitiers on 13th June. Good luck to all.
