SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE
Paul Smith
REPORT ON TRAINING RACE 6A & 4th HOT SPOT RACE
UNITED KINGDOM TEAM wins 3rd, 13th, 31st, 39th, 53rd, 57th, 63rd, 64th, 69th, 72nd, 74th, 90th, 94th Open and the IRISH TEAM wins 29th, 128th, 133rd Open in the additional TRAINING RACE 6A.
UNITED KINGDOM TEAM wins 5th, 18th, 20th, 39th, 54th, 94th, 103rd, 145th, 151st, 176th, 195th & 218th Open, plus a $1,000 Hot Spot Prize and the IRISH TEAM wins 52nd, 139th & 330th Open in the 4th HOT SPOT RACE.
Well after a good result by both the United Kingdom and Irish Teams in last Saturday’s race, which once again resulted in excellent returns for both teams, it was back training every day during the week to get them ready for the 4th Hot Spot Race, however the race committee decided that once again because of lack of road work these pigeons had undergone earlier on because of the inclement South African weather, that an additional Training Race 6A should be added to the race programme and this duly took place on Wednesday 19th December from 81 km (approx. 50 miles) and a total of 3,264 pigeons were basketed and this included 2,444 International and 820 South African, 208 UK and 62 Irish pigeons.
The convoy were liberated at 09-15 in overcast and warm weather, 23c (73f) with a light head wind and the Race Director, Convoyer and Loft Manager thought that the winning pigeons would take about 60 minutes to cover the race distance. Everything was ready at the lofts and then all of a sudden at 10-14 a massive gang was seen approaching the lofts, they swung round and immediately started to trap and first up on the computer screen was clocked at 10-14-03.65. CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st OPEN in this race went to WOLFGANG RUDORFER from GERMANY with their pigeon named TIDAL IMPACT, which had won 12th, 51st, 366th,253rd, 139th and now 1st in its last 7 races and which recorded a velocity of 1491ypm (approx. 51mph). The top ten pigeons were all clocked within 8.95 seconds of the winner and were made up with 7 x German, 1 x United Kingdom, 1 x Canadian and 1 x Slovenian pigeons. The top 50 were all clocked within 25 seconds, plus 100 pigeons were officially recorded within 40 seconds of the actual race winner, with over 1,000 within 5 minutes and 2,120 within 10 minutes with 3,152 being officially clocked by 11-46 and this included 2,370 International and 781 South African pigeons and this total also included 203 from the UK Team and 62 from the Irish Team. A further update was issued on the web site and this showed 3,191 were back in the lofts by 13-21, this figure included 2,400 International and 791 South African pigeons with 207 UK and 62 Irish entries. In the last update on the day a total of 3,214 were home by 17-54 and that figure included 2,416 UK and 62 Irish pigeons. This left only 50 to return to base during the rest of the day. A few more returned the next day.
These extra mid-week races are great education for all the pigeons and apart from building up more muscle it is also giving them a lot valuable experience that will be very useful for all of them as they move up in distance through the race programme.
CONGRATULATIONS in this race for winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 3rd OPEN goes to MR & MRS BRIAN CLAYBURN from ACKWORTH with pigeon named BARRY’S MATE, which was only 4 seconds off winning the race and this pigeon had previously won 14th, 440th, 607th, 44th, 191st and now 3rd in its last 6 races, 2nd UK, 13th Open goes to Nev Proctor from Brown Edge with his consistent pigeon named Woodhouse High Stakes that over the last 7 races has won 90th, 5th, 1st, 209th, 67th and now 13th, 3rd UK, 31st Open for Bernard Smyth from Belfast, 4th UK, 39th Open another for M & Mrs Brian Clayburn, 5th UK, 53rd Open for Brian Long from Gipping, 6th UK, 57th Open for Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey, this pigeon has won 85th, 138th, 120th, 12th and now 57th in its last 5 races, 7th UK, 63rd Open for the English Glory Syndicate with a pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 8th UK, 64th Open for Rugeley Rockets with a pigeon bred by Brian Leadbeater from Rugeley, 9th UK, 69th Open for the Stretton Family and bred by Roy Stretton from Cannock Wood, 10th UK, 72nd Open for Myrtle Lofts and bred by Mary & Dickie Evans from Snaith, 11th UK, 74th Open for Chris Gordon from Old Snydale, 12th UK, 90th Open for Syndicate Lofts UK with a pigeon bred by Peer Fox from Bangor and then 13th UK , 94th Open another for the English Glory Syndicate with another pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards. Another 5 x UK pigeons in the top 188 and only 69 seconds away from the actual race winner. It really is great to see so many UK pigeons flying well in such strong competition. GREAT FLYING GUYS, LET US HOPE WE CAN KEEP IT UP AS WE MOVE UPWARDS IN DISTANCE. A total of 208 UK pigeons (100%) were officially clocked, leaving a few more to make it back to base.
It is worthy of a special mention that after 12 races in the Sun City Overall Averages, so far the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM has already managed to win to following:- 3 x 1st, 2 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd, 1 x 5th,
2 x 7th, 1 x 9th, 2 x 12th, 1 x 13th, 1 x 15th & 1 x 17th OPEN, plus many other top positions in the top 100, this really is a remarkable achievement when you consider the type of quality and class of pigeon they are flying against.
CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st IRELAND, 29th OPEN went to JOSH & KEVIN with their pigeon named CAB 1, which has already won previous positions, 2nd Ireland, 128th Open also went to Josh & Kevin with their great pigeon named CAB 3 that has already won 1st Ireland, 13th Open & 1st Ireland, 22nd Open in its last two races, 3rd Ireland, 133rd Open for The Green Team, 4th Ireland, 147th Open for Philip & Mark Smith. A total of 62 Irish pigeons (100%) were officially recorded.
This event was classed as an official race and counted towards the SUN CITY OVERALL AVERAGES so after twelve races that count we still have SUDHOFF & VAN BEERS from GERMANY with their truly outstanding pigeon named BIRDY in 1st spot, now just over 6 minutes in the lead, this pigeon has won 26th, 772nd, 13th, 30th, 310th,120th, 21st, 121st, 114th, 92nd, 454th and now 385th in the last 12 races. No wonder it is currently leading this competition. It was also interesting to note that five different countries were in the top 10 positions, which consists of 5 x German, 2 x Dutch, 1 x American and 1 x Belgian and then 1 x United Kingdom pigeons. Holding onto 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 6th OPEN goes to PREMIER STUD with their consistent pigeon named OPTOMIST and owned and entered by Graham Sparkes from Patrington, 2nd UK, 28th Open Europa Auction UK, 3rd UK, 31st Open for Van Vaizeys, 4th UK, 45th Open for Nev Proctor, 5th UK, 53rd Open for Bernard Smyth, 6th UK, 109th Open for English Glory Syndicate, 7th UK, 123rd Open Her Majesty The Queen, 8th UK, 128th Open to Skyleader Lofts, 9th UK, 141st Open another for Her Majesty The Queen and with 10th UK, 176th Open for Brian Long. The IRELAND TEAM have BERNARD HEMPENSTALL holding onto 1st IRELAND, 154th OPEN with his good pigeon named HEMPO, 2nd Ireland, 186th Open goes to Karl Donnelly and 3rd Ireland, 222nd Open for Josh & Kevin.
When I logged onto my computer on Friday 21st December the basketing list was already on the SCMDPR Web Site and this showed a total 3,254 pigeons had been officially basketed for the 4th Hot Spot Race, which was due to take place on Saturday 22nd December from 300km (approx. 186 miles). This total contained 2,440 International and 814 South African entries and included 211 from the United Kingdom and 62 from Ireland.
Saturday dawned and saw the convoy finally liberated from a distance of 274km (approx. 170 miles) at 05-30 in overcast and cool weather becoming clear and hot, little to no wind at the race point and with the temperature of 24c (75f) and then the temperature rising to 32c (90f). The Race Director, Loft Manager and Convoyer all thought it would be a steady race and that the winning pigeon would take about 4 hours to cover the journey. Many keen South African fanciers and competitors made their way to Sun City for the usual early morning breakfast barbecue and of course all were hoping it would be one of their pigeons that trapped first. As usual they were in for a long wait but finally a group of 8 pigeons were seen approaching the lofts and started to trap immediately. CONGRATULATIONS this race for taking 1st OPEN goes to LUTZ & FRANZISKA PRIMES from AUSTRIA with their pigeon named SHY 723 and clocked at 08-54-05.90 to record a velocity of 1467 ypm (approx. 50mph). The other 7 pigeons were all clocked within 195 seconds of the winner, with another 40 pigeons right behind them with the top 50 pigeons all being electronically recorded within 7 minutes 36 seconds of the winner. The top 10 were taken in this race by pigeons from 6 different countries and these included 1 x Austrian, 2 x South African, 4 x German, 1 x United Kingdom, 1 x New Zealand and 1 x Australian pigeons. It was great to see that regular updates were being put on the web site with 233 by 09-10 and then 614 by 09-24 with more updates through the morning. By 12-31 a total of 2,338 had been officially recorded and this figure was made up by 1,750 International and 588 South African with 148 from the United Kingdom and 41 from Ireland. Other updates appeared through the day and the last one showed a total of 2,806 pigeons had returned home by 19-14 and this number was made up by 2,104 International and 702 South African, with 184 United Kingdom and 48 Irish pigeons. This resulted in 448 pigeons on the day. More updated results appeared on the web site on Sunday and the final figure at the end of the day was 3,017 pigeons clocked by 18-51 which included 2,260 International and 757 South African and 192 from the United Kingdom and 53 from Ireland. This left 237 still missing of which some more would return over the next few days.
The winner of the BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR, making it a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS was LUTZ & FRANZISKA PRIMES from AUSTRIA with their pigeon named SHY 723 that took 1st OPEN. What a great gift for Christmas. Well done, it is great to see one of the countries with low entries winning this fantastic prize.
The $10,000 HOT SPOT PRIZE MONEY which is split into 10 x $1,000 Cash Prizes went to the pigeons that won the first eleven positions in the Open, the pigeon that took 4th Open was not activation so was not in the running for one of these cash prizes.
The “TWO BIRD AVERAGE” winner in this race and $2,000 was won by KARL HEINZ LANG from GERMANY with his pigeons named BLUE ABBESS and FANTASTIC. The best placed UNITED KINGDOM pigeons were 9th STRETTON FAMILY with two pigeons named A DANZIG and DIPPIN SNUFF bred by ROY STRETTON from CANNOCK WOOD, 13th Chris Gordon from Old Snydale with Snydale Rooster and Snydale Whisper, 16th Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey with Wallasey Gizmo and Wallasey Pearl, 39th Peter Reeves from Winchester with Hampshire Select and Hampshire Rebel, 52nd Priddle of Woolston Syndicate with Mark P and S J, 66th Boxmoor Bandits with Boxmoor Ugly and Boxmoor Good and then 91st for Guy Barrett OBE with Horsforth Princess and Horsforth Lass. The best IRISH placed pigeons in this classification were in 98th GROVE HILL LOFTS with pigeons named SARAH’S CHOICE and JACK’S LASS.
The HOT SPOT AVERAGES which offers a $5,000 Cash Prize for the leading pigeon after 5 Hot Spot Races is currently looking like this after four races:- KOHLER & WEITSTRECKENCLUB from GERMANY with pigeon named BAM BAM which is currently leading 129 seconds over SUDHOFF & VAN BEERS from GERMANY with their great champion BIRDY that is also leading the “SUN CITY OVERALL AVERAGES” after 13 races. The German entries are once again flying very well and actually have 8 pigeons in the top ten with the other 2 positions going to Dutch fanciers. The best UNITED KINGDOM pigeon is placed in 34th and that is WOODHOUSE ANGEL which is owned and bred by NEV PROCTOR from BROWN EDGE, 44th goes to Brian Long from Gipping with Gipping Mistress, 63rd goes to Snydale Rooster owned and bred by Chris Gordon from Old Snydale, 65th for Ned bred by Graham Sparkes from Premier Stud, Patrington, 74th Wallasey Pearl and bred by Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey, 85th Dippin Stuff for the Stretton Family and bred by Roy Stretton from Cannock Wood and 95th for Horsforth Princess and bred by Guy Barrett OBE. The best pigeon in the IRISH TEAM is holding onto 19th is DADDY COOL and owned and bred by COOLEY BROTHERS, 71st Karlo owned and bred by Karl Donnelly and 144th Eimear and bred by Downshire Lofts.
POOLS/NOMINATIONS payout for this race totalled $23,925-80c, yet another record entry and this figure showed a total of 531 pigeons had actually been bet on and the winners in the United Kingdom Team have been confirmed as NEV PROCTOR who wins a cool $3,196 (approx. £1,600) and RICHARD ELLIOTT also has a nice pick up of $1,156 (approx. £580). Well done to both of you to have the confidence to pool these two pigeons that have been flying so well. What a nice little extra Christmas present for both of you. It has now been confirmed that the last lot of pools was won with the pigeon that actually took 112th, which once again shows the quality of many of these leading pigeons in this result.
The leader after thirteen races in the “SUN CITY OVERALL AVERAGES” which carries a $5,000 1st prize was still SUDHOFF & VAN BEERS from GERMANY with their outstanding Janssen/Van Loon pigeon named BIRDY that is now currently leading the rest of field by just over 24 minutes, this pigeon must now rate as one of the most consistent pigeons ever in the SCMDPR series over the past 12 years and has won the following positions in the 13 races so far 26th, 772nd, 13th, 30th, 310th, 120th, 21st, 121st, 114th, 92nd, 454th, 385th and now 14th, which is fantastic flying in any race. The top ten pigeons in this competition is made up with of 4 x German, 2 x South African, 2 x Dutch, 2 x American entries and there is 50 minutes difference between 1st and 10th in this classification. Holding onto 19th spot is WOODHOUSE ANGEL which is owned and bred by NEV PROCTOR from BROWN EDGE, 52nd Bernard Smyth from Belfast with Boots, 60th Optomist owned and bred by Graham Sparkes from Premier Stud, Patrington, 70th Van Vaizeys with a pigeon named Bramble and bred by Steven Vaizey, Portsmouth, 89th English Glory Syndicate with English Warrior being bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 104th SJD Syndicate and Aurora Dawn and bred by Paul Stokes from Leicester. The top Irish pigeon is currently holding 91st for KARL DONNELLY with his pigeon named KARLO, 119th is Gerry McCourt with pigeon named Adam and 153rd is Bernard Hempenstall with Hempo.
CONGRATULATIONS this week for winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 7th OPEN with a right “CHRISTMAS CRACKER” plus “FLYING THE FLAG FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM” in this race goes to NEV PROCTOR from BROWN EDGE with his fantastic pigeon WOODHOUSE HIGH STAKES which has already won 1st UK, 1st OPEN Training Race 5A plus in its last 8 races it has won 90th, 5th, 1st, 2475th, 209th, 67th, 13th and now 5th, Nev also won a Gold Medal two years ago in the Final Race with one of his entries, 2nd UK, 18th Open goes to the Frozen Porridge Syndicate with their great pigeon named Aufedersein Pet, which was bred by John Fellows from Ferryhill and his entries were entered by Richard Elliott from Plymouth who had previously won a Brand New Car in the 2004/5 race series with another syndicate. This pigeon has also been flying extremely well over the past few weeks and has actually won 128th, 62nd, 19th, 73rd, 208th, 7th, 347th and now 18th in its last 8 races, 3rd UK, 20th Open went to Mr & Mrs Andy Gregson from Preston who came runner-up in the $25,000 Knockout Competition in the 2006/7 race series, only 3 minutes off winning this great cash prize, 4th UK, 39th Open goes to Chris Gordon from Old Snydale who won a Brand New Car in the 2004/5 race series, 5th UK, 54th Open goes to the Stretton Family and bred by Roy Stretton from Cannock Wood, 6th UK, 94th Open for the English Glory Syndicate with a pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 7th UK, 103rd Open for Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey who also won a Brand New Car in the 2006/7 race series, 8th UK, 145th Open another for Nev Proctor from Brown Edge with another pigeon has also been flying very well, 9th UK, 151st Open another for the Stretton Family and bred by Roy Stretton from Cannock Wood, 10th UK, 176th Open for Boxmoor Bandits with a pigeon bred by Chitty Brothers from Kings Langley, 11th UK, 195th Open for the International Syndicate with a pigeon bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon with 12th UK, 218th Open another for Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey. As mentioned earlier in the press report we have quite a few pigeons from the United Kingdom Team that are scoring on a regular basis which of course is great to see in the run up to the Final Race.
It should be mentioned that the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM have done exceptionally well in the first ten races and have currently won:- 3 x 1st, 2 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd, 2 x 5th, 4 x 7th, 1 x 9th, 3 x 12th, 1 x 13th,
1 x 15th, 1 x 17th, 2 x 18th and 1 x 20th OPEN plus numerous other top positions in the top 100, this is a fantastic achievement when you consider the type and quality of International pigeons they are flying against.
CONGRATULATIONS in this race for winning 1st IRELAND, 52nd OPEN went to DAVE BROWN with his pigeon named ZARA, Dave who won a Gold Medal about 3 years ago in the Final Race, 2nd Ireland, 139th Open went his the Irish Race Team Shipper Gerry McCourt with his pigeon very good pigeon named Adam, 3rd Ireland, 330th Open went to Karl Donnelly with his consistent pigeon named Karlo. The Irish Team just like the United Kingdom Team have some outstanding pigeons that are regularly scoring top positions, which of course is great to see in the run up to the Final Race.
This 4th Hot Spot Race was also the 3rd Round of the “KNOCKOUT COMPETITION” and a total of 874 pigeons were still in the running and this contained 710 International and 164 South African with 71 United Kingdom and 15 Irish pigeons still in the hunt for the $25,000 1st Prize which will be flown for in the “Final Race”. From this entry of 874 top class pigeons in this race, this has now been whittled down to just 306 to compete in the 4th Round, which will take place on the 5th Hot Spot Race to be held on Saturday 12th January 2008. I can now reveal that the remaining 306 pigeons consists of 249 International and 57 South African with 37 United Kingdom and 5 Irish pigeons still left in this competition and into the 4th Round which takes place on the 5th Hot Spot Race on 12th January 2008 from 350km (approx. 218 miles).
Once again the web site was officially updated on Monday 24th December and this showed a total of 3.037 pigeons in the lofts and this included 2,276 International and 761 South African entries and these figures included 194 from the UK and 54 from Ireland. This total showed that 217 pigeons were still missing from Saturday’s race but I am quite sure quite a few will make it back to base over the next few days.
More daily training will take place right through the week providing the weather is good enough to train these athletes of the skies building them up to next Saturday’s Training Race7 from 110km (approx. 68 miles), which is due to be held on 29th December and will be the last race in the current year of 2007.
***POLITE REMINDER TO ALL COMPETITORS/ENTRANTS:- Any competitors/entrants that have not yet “ACTIVATED” their “Reserve Pigeons” can still do so at any time. It should also be noted that only “ACTIVATED PIGEONS” can win any of the PRIZE MONEY and SPECIAL AWARDS including the BRAND NEW CARS which are allocated and are on offer in the forthcoming Hot Spot Races. Do not leave it until the last minute to “ACTIVATE” as it could cost you or your syndicate winning a major prize. Please call me today on 01279-812005 and give me your instructions. *****PLEASE DO NOT FORGET that owners of “UNACTIVATED” pigeons only have 7 days after the 5th Hot Spot Race, which is due take place on the 12th January 2008 to get them “ACTIVATED”. If the owner decides not to “ACTIVATE” any of his pigeons they will be offered for sale to anybody that wants to pay the $1,000 entry fee on a first come, first served basis and then anything these pigeons win in prize money in the “Final Race”, goes to the new owner, Surely, it is not worth taking a chance on somebody walking away with the $200,000 1st Prize or one of the other major prizes that are up for grabs. Every year somebody gets caught out, hopefully this will not happen to you and I thought if I reminded you now it would give you plenty of time to get your unpaid pigeon “ACTIVATED”.
*****THE DEADLINE DATE WILL BE SATURDAY 19th JANUARY 2008. PLEASE DO NOT GET CAUGHT OUT, IT IS JUST NOT WORTH TAKING THE RISK!
We are now well into the 2007/8 race series, weekly race reports and updates will be sent out to all UK competitors and syndicate shareholders plus of course published in both our weekly pigeon magazines. They are also available to view on three web sites, namely:- www.iprr.co.uk www.elimarpigeons.com and www.pigeonportal.com
If anybody wants to follow what is happening an a daily basis over the next month all the have to do is log onto www.scmdpr.com it is without doubt the most up to date, comprehensive and informative one loft web site in the world today and last year had in excess of 16 million “HITS” during the whole race series and this figure is expected to rise during the 2007/8 race series.
If there is anything anybody would like to know about this race, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 or email me on
It currently looks like there will be around 70/80 fanciers and friends travelling out from the United Kingdom and Ireland that are going out to stay at Sun City, South Africa and enjoy a well earned holiday and rest and be part of the world’s biggest and greatest one loft pigeon race. Once again fanciers from literally all over the world will meet again and fill up this superb complex and enjoy the superb South African weather and fantastic hospitality, plus also have the chance of winning the $200,000 jackpot that some lucky person must win. Good luck to all concerned and I look forward to meeting you all at The Vistas Bar in the fantastic 5 star Cascades Hotel.
May I personally take this opportunity to wish you and pigeon fanciers all over the world a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL COMPETITORS/ENTRANTS OVER THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS.
Paul Smith. United Kingdom Race Team Shipper for The 12th Sun City Million Dollar (The Greatest Pigeon Race In The World Today), which is due to be held in Sun City Resort, South Africa on Saturday 2nd February 2008.
Regency Lofts Limited, “Five Pennies”, High Lane, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LQ. Telephone/Facsimile:- 01279-812005. (Int. Code:- +44-1279-812005).
Mobile:- 07860-568216. Email:-
SCMDPR Web Site:- www.scmdpr.com
28/12/07
