Around Middlewich
Racing in the local clubs has been up and down with the channel season and there does not appear to be a lot sending so races have been cancelled, pity really because these are by far the better races.
While the channel races are on the Middlewich 5B have land races and this will no doubt be affecting the channel races.
The latest race was from Bath that saw Ken & Stan Bosson take 1st club 18th fed when 44 members sent 340 birds this being with a 2yo blue cock recording a vel. of 1812ypm. The next three positions all go to Mark & Heather Smith who clocked two blue cocks a 7yo and 3yo plus a yearling blue hen on 1792/1791/1789ypm. The fed winners were Mick & Wendy Mellor.
Neither of the two local clubs entered into the Niort race that saw the Mid Cheshire Fed being won by Tommy Hulme & Son while Mr & Mrs Chris Platt topped the South west Cheshire Fed, this was a bad race after the birds were liberated at 11am in a south west wind for the 482mls to Middlewich and much further for others.
The North West Classic Club saw 29 members turn out to send 185 birds to Messac that saw one of the most successful lofts competing in the club continuing to be the one to beat. Graham Mackay from Swinton took 1st section B 1st Open recording a vel of 1139ypm with a yearling, in fact there were 24 yearlings in the first 30. Graham McKay who clocked a blue cock he was raced on widowhood fed on a normal widowhood mix with peanuts added he was not road trained but he was flown round the loft one hour morning one hour evening he was bred out of two Galaxy loft birds. Roger Sutton had a good race with 5 in the first 8 all being yearlings finishing 2nd 5th 6th 7th & 8th open after winning section A. These yearling hens are all bred from Roger's own National Family. They all flew the Channel as Young Birds and Carentan this year before going to Messac with the NWCC. They have lived and exercised this year with the young birds. After Carentan they were paired to retired racers from the stock loft and went sitting their first eggs. This seemed to work well as 8 out of the 14 sent are in the first 40 Open on a tricky day. Roger is having a good season with the NFC and his latest result is 1st & 2nd Section L 29th & 30th Open on the provisional result and has been one of the best all round fanciers in Cheshire for many years. Brian Lee is racing a good pigeon and in this race was 3rd & 4th Open with two more not far behind the first in the clock for Brian has scored many times including 3 Section L, NFC Guernsey as a Y/B. This her second 3rd open prize with the N.W.C.C. as she was 3rd open from Carentan also. She is a chequer De-Rauw Sablon/Drum hen and nest mate to a blue cock that has blitzed the club, Fed, combine and she won the Cheshire Two bird from Messac recently and has provisionally won the Cheshire Two bird there is also no doubt that she will be in the shake up for a major open prize from another big race before the season has finished. Third section and fourth open is a blue pied roundabout hen bred down by Brian from Stoke on Trent’s Tommy Shaw who has been winning since I can remember, these are "My Fair lady" lines, in Toms words "his best ever racing and breeding hen" and that's from a man who has topped the giant North Staffs fed 57 times what an achievement. 91 is a blue De Ruaw Sablon/Drum cock that has won several prizes including 1st Wrekin fed Cheltenham as a young bird. The De Rauw-Sablon sire was bred for Brian by John Brocklehurst Congleton, from Premier stud stock and the "Drum" hen was purchased from John Machin, Mow Cop. 91 is the nest mate of 72 3rd section L, 2nd Eccles 2 Bird Club Y/B Guernsey National. Mr & Mrs Dudley Niblett are 2nd section B in the club with a chequer cock bred by the O'Hare & Woodward partnership. This cock was 3rd club 6th fed from Fougeres last year and raced on the widowhood system. Dudley as saying that the cocks have not flown as well as they normally have over the years but he said he has dropped two good pigeons this year and they are the only two he has lost this year. 3rd section B goes to Jones Bros & K Jones of Winsford, over the years this has been one of the premier winning lofts in the area but prefer to be quiet with their methods and birds.
Westlands
