GWENT GREATER DISTANCE CLUB
SARAN
Report by Gareth Watkins
The third race of the club’s old bird campaign took place from Saran on the weekend of 14th June, in conjunction with the excellently run BICC. Of the near 50 loft membership, some 19 competitors entered 194 birds for this 350 mile race. With a light north westerly wind blowing, the small Welsh contingent had their work cut out to maintain the GGDC members successful start to the season, one which has seen GGDC members top the West section of the BICC in each and every race flown so far. This section stretches from Dorset in the south, through Somerset and parts of Wiltshire through Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire and all of Wales, so to win the section is quite some feat! This season, Spencer Jones of Pontypool has topped the section from both Falaise and Alencon and in the Falaise race he also took premier honours in the BICC Open result, when GGDC members took the first four Open prizes against more than 4,500 birds. Could this phenomenal level of success be maintained in the Saran race? The answer was a resounding YES as once again GGDC members claimed the first four positions in the West section despite the influence of the north westerly wind.
First in the clock was a four year old hen racing to the Cwmtillery lofts of Preece Brothers and Sons. The section winner was bred by the partners’ good friends Mr & Mrs Brian Hyatt and son Paul from Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire and contains all the best of the M&D Evans Vandenabeele bloodlines. On first bird verifications she looks to be 1st Section 62nd Open. Raced on the roundabout system, she was extensively trained with the other roundabout hens in the build up to the Saran race as the hens had taken to sunning themselves on the local rugby club posts when out at exercise rather than put in a full shift around the loft The partners also clocked a second bird close behind which looks good for 3rd GGDC and 3rd section BICC. This 2 year old blue hen is a daughter of the partners Jan Aarden cock which was placed 3rd section 32nd Open BICC from Alencon this season.
Nothing fancy here, just sound common sense management applied to top class pigeons. The race team is mated in mid February, allowed to rear a youngster in the first nest and sit their second round eggs for 5 days before being separated. From then until the end of the season they are on round about and are raced weekly as DEFRA restrictions allow.
The racers on return from a race receive a feed of light grains and the next day they are back on the racing mixture. Cocks are fed individually in their boxes whilst the hens are fed communally in a trough on the floor.
This is just the latest in a long line of top class performances by one of the most successful partnerships ever to have flown into Wales. Congratulations Colin, Henry, John and Leigh and here’s wishing Colin a swift and full recovery from his recent health problems .
In second spot also taking 2nd Section 69th Open is a yearling chequer cock raced by Abergavenny fancier John Smale. John is a previous winner of 1st National and Combine Thurso and 1st National Crieff plus scores of other top finishes in long distance Nationals. It’s fair to say that John is a bit of a” long distance nut” as he lives for the longer races and his whole system is geared for races over 300 miles. To this end he has spared no expense in obtaining the best performance long distance bloodlines from the best long distance lofts in the UK. John also works extremely hard with his birds and has them out exercising by 5.30 am every morning before going off to work. The system is repeated each evening when John returns home. The Smale team is hand fed a mixture of John’s own concoction made up from beans, peas, tares, maize and depurative. Once they leave the barley they get no more until the next feeding time. The yearling cock was mated in March and allowed to sit his eggs out. He was sent to the Saran race sitting eggs due to hatch and this certainly motivated him. “Blood will tell” is an axiom which can certainly be applied here as his sire is a g.g.grand son of “The Don” 2nd Open Palamos for the Padfield family and also contains the bloodlines of Jim Donaldson’s ace racing hen “Reims Girl”. The dam of the yearling cock is a grand daughter of John’s Thurso National winner “Gillian”.
Next we have another triple National winning partnership in Kevin and Tyrone Arnold of Six Bells near Abertillery. The brothers maintain their excellent form by clocking a 2 year old dark chequer hen to provisionally be placed 4th section 72nd Open. She was sent sitting 12 day eggs after being raced on round about for most of the season. A grand daughter of Kevin and Tyrone’s Dax National winner and a previous winner of 23rd National Lessay and 18th National Fougeres, you wouldn’t need many like here in your race team to enjoy the season!
In fourth spot winning 5th section 78th Open BICC is the “living legend” none other than the great Wilf Reed of Monmouth. Wilf’s successes over more than 50 years in the sport would fill an edition of the weekly pigeon press. In this race he clocked a 2 year old latebred hen having her first trip over the channel. She is bred from a sister to Wilf’s San Sebastian National winner and her sire is a Belgian rung cock that has all the best of the continental Barcelona blood in his veins. Raced celibate, she was “showing” to a cock bird just prior to basketing. Like all the Reed birds she was exercised twice daily. This exercise is usually enlivened by the attentions of the local Goshawk population that certainly makes the team go with a bit of a swing! Not much training here as Wilf finds it increasingly difficult to basket the birds on a regular basis. In the early part of the season the race team are fed a light continental type mixture from Versele Laga but this is replaced by a hopper filled with beans as the longer races approach.
The final Saran result shows GGDC members taking the first 19 positions in the West section and a total of 46 of the first 50 positions in the section in total. Not bad for a days work.
That wraps up another successful race for the GGDC. One thing that all the fanciers I have spoken to have commented on is the superb condition in which the racers return. This bears testament to the excellent condition in which they were basketted; the good care and attention of the convoyers in transit and the excellent internal environment of the BICC transporter.
Finally, an appeal from Carol Gardner, secretary of the GGDC – COULD ALL COMPETING FANCIERS PLEASE SEND HER THE BLUE COUNTERFOILS FROM THEIR BICC VERIFICATION SLIPS SO THAT SHE CAN PRODUCE A CLUB RESULT ASAP. Without these clocking details she cannot produce a result. Also, make sure that you submit a race entry sheet to her BRFORE the birds are liberated – if you don’t then you WILL be disqualified
Having said this here is a list of the prize and pool winners in the Falaise and Alencon races. Falaise 1st Spencer Jones £75; 2nd Arnold Bros £45; 3rd Arnold Bros £30. Spencer Jones wins £75 in the £5 Nom
Alencon 1st Spencer Jones £75; 2nd Preece Bros & Sons £45; 3rd Arnold Bros £30. Arnold Bros also win the £5 Nom and £70.
All the best for the forthcoming long distance races.
