Midlands National Young Bird Chale

Turns out to be a ‘Good Game’ for Bruce

Yes just like Bruce Forsyth who became well known for the above catch phrase

Bruce McAllister too enjoyed a ‘good game’ when he took 1st South East

section and 1st Open from Chale - the race point situated on the Isle of Wight -

from a healthy looking entry of 5,311 birds sent primarily by the Eastern side of

the country due in no small measure, I’m sure, by the correctly predicted West

South West wind which was blowing when the birds were released at 10.15am

by convoyer Darren Barton on the Sunday after yet another holdover.

All credit though must go to Bruce’s bird which won by a good margin as the

Blue Pied hen’s velocity of 1651 was nearly 30 ypm in front of the second

placed bird.

The winner is a crossing of the

Bob Fenech Cooreman blood

with a hen purchased directly off

Dennis Sapin. Bruce tells me that

there is a story behind the cock

that bred the National winner as

originally the famed Cooreman

cock ‘Michael’ was bought off

Bob Fenech but unfortunately

the old guy was no longer fertile.

So Bob offered to give Bruce his money back or a principle son off the cock and

the latter option was taken and he has rewarded on his decision by breeding

the hen that upheld Bob Fenech’s claim regarding the ‘Lightning fast’ Louis

Cooremans. Additionally a second arrival for Bruce wins 7th Open and this

Chequer hen highlights the performance of the race winner as she 98 ypm

behind the winning bird.

In 2nd Open and winning 1st East South East section is John Pether a man who

earlier in the season won 1st Open. John’s latest star is Chequer cock that is

Bruce McAllister with his National winner

2

John Pether looks delighted with his 2nd

open winner

bred from pigeons supplied from Davey

Barron & Son from Northumberland.

The bird was motivated to complete his

task sent sitting 14 day old eggs. So I

am pretty sure it will be a man wearing

a massive smile when he collects his

awards for a great season.

3rd position was lifted by Rodney Cochrane on

1572. Rodney tells me that the bird which has

been his most consistent performer this year

and is a granddaughter of ‘Ultra Boy’ which

won 2nd national from Poitiers 13,813 birds

and several other excellent results and

belonging to Rodney’s Belgian friend Chris

Debacker. The mother of the 3rd Open winner

is also 50% debacker blood being bred from a

hen being off ‘Lieve’ which won 1st Provincial

from Argenton and she was paired to ‘Snelle’

Rodney’s 1st Open London North Road

Combine winners he is of Freddy Vandenheede breeding and this line has bred

loads of winners for him and his friend roger Lowe of Caversham.

4th and 5th Open is filled by the

Dunstable loft of Chris Gadsden. The

first timer on 1571 is a Gay Pied hen

and yet another Cooreman crossed

bird when coupled to a Walter Docx

. Chris’ second timer just over 8

yards behind is a Van Lint pigeon

bred from Dean Pallatt stock that

had already topped the Mid Shires

Fed from Lyndhurst earlier in the

3rd Open for Rodney Cochrane

Chris Gadsden winner of 4th and 5th Open

with his first timer.

3

Stewart McCurry who had a good

race with a multi bird performance

season. Chris expressed a wish to thank the Club and the convoying team for

looking after the pigeons so well and providing a good race on a very tricky

weekend. The club will appreciate your comments Chris.

In 6th Open we see another

previous National winner this time

in the guise of David Paine of

Eynesbury who clocked a young

Blue cock to record a velocity of

1554.

S & T McCurry who has also won two

previous National races timed in a plethora

of pigeons to finish in 8th 9th 13th 14th 15th

16th 34th 35th 36th and 37th Open. Cynics

wouls say yes but he sent a lot which I

would counter by saying ‘’Yes and he clocks

a lot also’’. The 8th Open and 3rd ESE section

winner is a hen bred from Paul Stobbs blood

being from an inbred bird down from ‘The

Gypsy’. The 9th Open winner is a Soontjen x Eric Cueleman Dark hen that

topped the federation earlier in the

season.

It appears that the Wisbech area had a

real ‘field day’ and Steve Surrey confirms

this fact by clocking the next three birds

all on 1550 to finish in 10th 11th and 12th

Open.

Right now having covered the leading pigeons I’m going to do something

different now and that is highlight the sections that to put it in plain English

David Paine following last year's win with 6th

Open this time.

Steve Surrey another Wisbech fancier

who enjoyed a good day

4

1st NNW section for Maurice McCartney who

is relaxing with his dog.

hadn’t a ‘dog’s chance’ on the day due to the wind and the drag. They do say

the bigger the mountain the bigger the conquest. So let’s look at these

‘mountaineers’. High up in the North

North West we see the winning bird

belongs to Maurice McCartney & Son

who saw home a ¾ bred Gaby

Vandenabeele blue cock on 1231 and

being bred off a cock supplied by Tony

Bates when coupled to a hen that is a

granddaughter of the world famous

‘Drum’ off Peter & Nigel Moss. His dam

was bred from a cock containing the Vandenabeele blood from Martin & Jayne

Mitchell x a hen containing the famous ‘666’ lines off Clive Lister. The bird

showed his potential the previous week from Bath when he won 1st North

West Lancs Fed and 18th Lancs Combine from 3326 birds and a brother has also

won 1st club and 20th fed from Shrewsbury when over 2,000 birds were

competing. So it looks like Maurice have unveiled a good breeding pair here

and I am delighted for a fine unassuming chap. In 2nd section we have Hesketh

Bank fanciers A Jones and son on 1225 who clocked a Red cock bird which

unfortunately I have no further details

of which is a pity because like all of the

early western side birds must have a

good brain inside their ‘noddle’. In 3rd

place in the NNW on 1202 are M & J

Sephton of Kendal which is a distance of

264 miles from Chale which was the

longest flying bird in the race that was

clocked on the day. The Chequer Pied

cock that they timed is of Lambrecht

and Karel Boeckx lines. The bird was

sent covering an 8 day old baby which

obviously did the trick.

Kendal fancier Jim Sephton with his

bird that took 3rd NNW section

5

In 4th section we have another Pied cock

belonging to Joe Dorning of Fulwood . Joe tells

me that his timer which recorded 1178 is a

grandson of his Combine and RPRA award

winners ‘More than Just Lucky’ and the ‘Postal

Strike Cock’.

Slipping down into the North West section where

we see the men of the moment Cheadle’s Prince

Brothers do a good clean up job with 1st 2nd and

3rd section with all three birds clocking 1282. Their

first bird a cock sitting 4 day old eggs is a

Nauwelaert x van de Rhee being bred off a cock

which has topped the fed for Tony Hayes. The

second being a Lambrecht cock bred from birds

acquired from Jimmy Green’s clearance sale. The

third one is a Mealy Pied Van de Meyer cock

rearing a 7 day old baby. The bird is off A & L

Painter and he has scored for the partners prior

to this race. In total the lads got 5 birds in the first

10 of the section. Excellent flying by any standard lads.

4th section is filled by a partnership that has

also enjoyed a good year with the MNFC which

is Mitch Denson and his son Ryan who clocked

a cross bred Dark Pied cock bred from a Clive

Yates hen and a ‘1 Euro soup’ pigeon from

Belgium on 1267. All I can say it would have

been a rich soup Mitchell.

4th NNW section for Joe

'Van' Dorning

11 Prince Brothers who

enjoyed a super race show

off their NW section winner

Mitch & Ryan Denson 4th NW

section

6

Eddie Bateman of Bateman

Brothers 2nd West section

winners

5th section is filled by bird named

‘Eva B’ after its owner Joe Booth’s

granddaughter. The bird comes

from a line of M & D Evans

Vandenabeele birds and her sire

is a cock that won the MC C

Lessay race a few years ago and

also the ‘Bass Yearling Race’ from

Messac. Brothers to this latest

performer have previously won

1st and 2nd section from Chale.

Heading over to the West section now and highlighting just why I won’t do the

report until the result is in print because Dillon & Davies moved up to win the

section with a Dark Chequer hen that records 1264 for this Knowsley based

loft. Unfortunately I have no more info on this good bird. In 2nd section we see

Bateman Bros & Son time a well-balanced Le

Fabre Dhanene Blue Pied cock. This result

endorses the year that the partners have

enjoyed with excellent results in the club, fed,

amal and the two main national clubs and in

addition the Chester 2Bird race was won. I’m

told that the partners fly from the allotments

behind the stand of Tranmere Rovers football

club. The bird is bred down from a top racer

called ‘The General’ belonging to the senior

partner Eddie

Bateman and this

blood has won for

several other fanciers

including Derrick

Jones the ‘Woodfield wizard’.

3rd section is claimed by Devine & Kelly on 1209. The

bird is a Willy Thas a gift from Campbell Bros & Son.

The bird I’m told broke her keel earlier in the season

Joe Booth with 'Eva B'

Devine & Kelly's winner of

3rd West section

7

Boulton & Harvey's 1st SW

section winner

but this result proves that she is fully recovered. 4th section is taken by Arnold

& Johnson. Their bird is a Lambrecht bred from stock off their good friend Les

Madden of Northern Ireland. The lads tell me that their bird is grandson of

‘Kingpin’ and ‘Rosie’. Next on the list are Dickie Spring and Son who clocked a

Koopman bred bird from Bootle’s Porter

Brothers.

The winners of the South West section are

Boulton & Harvey who are enjoying a dream

season with their young birds and over the last

four weeks have dominated the Heart of England

Fed and then took the first 15 places in the MCC

Open race now the ‘icing on the cake’ as the

partners say is topping the section in the MNFC

with a Van den Heede x Van den Brande chequer

hen on 1328. She in fact showed her potential

the previous week when she actually was the

pigeon that won the MCC Open.

2nd section is taken by Kevin O’Malley with

another hen this time a Blue that is off a cock

that has won prizes right through to Bordeaux

and her grandsire won 1st Fed from Niort and

also he has won good positions from Bordeaux.

Arnold & Johnson the 4th West section

winning team.

Dickie Spring & Son with

their timer from Chale

An understandably proud

looking Kevin O'Malley with

his 2nd SW section winning

pigeon.

8

The hen’s mother is a gift bird off Norman Bridgwater the OIC at Bromsgrove.

3rd and 4th section is won by a well-known and respected loft in the form of

Dougie Nesbitt and son Mark. Though in truth the whole family ‘mucks in’

because Dougie the senior partner soldiers on despite health problems. The

first bird that they clocked was a hen which won 2nd in the Hill Ridware Open

on Bank Holiday Monday. After this it was a no brainer to send her to the

MNFC race well fancied to lift a nice cheque for over £300. The Nessies in fact

also took 6th and 7th section positions with a bird belonging to C & L Williams of

Hopton Wafers sandwiched in between.

Going up the centre now and one of the biggest

winners in the guise of Bill Marbrow’s Alan Clamp

bred Blue W/F hen takes 1st South Centre section

and £833 in prize and pool money. Well done Bill

your hen finishes well clear on 1485. In 2nd section

place we see Tony ‘Brown Cow’ Brown who timed

a Blue cock on 1432. Tony got his bird from a

breeder buyer sale being bred by Oldbury Ace

Bobby Walton. It’s no good you scratching your

head Tony wondering how I knew that because I

know everything my old duck. Tim Atkin of

Frankton takes both the 3rd and 4th slots. Tim has

Dougie & Mark Nesbitt with Mark's

grandson all smiles after another

excellent result.

C & L Williams up with the SW section leaders

Tim Atkin the 3rd & 4th SC

section winner

9

Juan & Cobie Costello the NC section

winners

only sent me the details of his first bird that records just .2 of a yard behind

Tony’s bird. The bird is a grandchild of Ulrich Lemmens ‘White Gold’ and

‘Jozefien’ the winner of 1st National Tulle when paired to a daughter of Rudi

Van de Saer’s ‘New Jens’ his 1st National Limoges winner. Tim tells me that his

two birds dropped together but this one ‘got across the line first’.

Up into the North Centre section and

here we see Juan Costello & family of

Huddersfield. Their winner on 1239 is

bred from stock off Hebden Bridge

fanciers Leach Brothers and has the

blood of many of their best birds

namely the ‘Syndicate Cock’ ‘Blue

Magic’, ‘Magician’ and ‘J-Lo’ the

parents of the hen are both winners themselves with the sire winning the race

and the mother finishing 2nd in the Gold ring race. This hen has contributed to

the lofts 7 x 1st West Yorkshire fed wins with a 1st

fed win herself from Cheltenham. Hopes are high

that this nice ‘apple bodied’ little hen has a great

future. 2nd section is taken by John McCall who is

a new member of the MNFC and he has been

encouraging in his first year’s racing. The bird is

from a gift bird a latebred from Batt & Todd of

Leeds. John tells me that his hen has won other

prizes in his first year. 3rd section is taken by a

loft who are no strangers to the top placings in

the form of D Cullinane & Son who clocked a

Blue cock on 1204

who are just 2 yards

in front of 4th placed

Taylor Hill fancier Andrew Haywood who also

clocked a Blue cock.

John McCall with his daughter

and their 2nd SC section winner

Ryan Cullinane of Cullinane & Son the

3rd SC section winners

10

4th and 6th East section from Chale for

P & T Stacey

Over to the East now where we see

Frank & George Bristow have another

good day as they filled the top three

places. All three of these birds are

Ceulemans based birds. The section

winner that recorded a velocity of

1511 is a Chequer cock bird that has

been flying well all season. He is a

half-brother to Eric Ceulemans ‘Rossi’ the 2006 Duivenblad national sprint

champion both having the same sire. The dam is a daughter of ‘Josie’ the

partners 2012 MNFC Carentan Yearling Classic winner. Additionally she also

won the Queen’s diamond Jubilee section for the second time as a yearling.

The other bird photographed is a grizzle cock that has flown well winning from

Bovingdon earlier in the season.

In 4th section on 1459 we see Paul

& Tracey Stacey. I am informed by

Tracey that their timer is a Blue

cock that they bought from a

Breeder/Buyer sale and this

Lambrecht x Staf Van Reet based

pigeon was bred by Owen Clark.

The partners second bird isn’t far

behind n 6th section with a Wildie

bred by Crewe fancier Mr Austin

who I know owns some fine

Wildemeersche pigeons.

Heading up to the East North East section we see Dave Beadle do the old 1-2.

The winner is a Sablon hen sent on eggs and she has taken other cards at club

level so her arrival was no great shock on a velocity of 1390. Close on her heels

is a Blue Kruger x van de Wouwer cock on 1387. The sire of this one has been

amongst the loft’s most consistent birds. Dave tells me that the young birds

were like many others prepared on the Darkness System and flew every race

leading up to the MNFC race. The lady on the photo is Dave’s fiancée - perhaps

Frank & George Bristow the champs of the

East section from Chale

11

Somers Bros with Ian Vernon the NE section winners had a real

race to remember

she is a lucky charm eh Dave? The next two slots are taken by one of the

section’s star lofts in the form of Bridlington’s Mr & Mrs Ricky Mellonby their

two birds both clock 1358 and obviously arrived together. A decimal behind

are Paul & Helen Johnson who clocked a hen that I’m told returned in A1

condition and is a cross bred bird of Peter Van de Merwe x one of Frank

Bristow’s Cassaerts.

In the North East

section what can I

say? This section

being dominated

by Somers Brothers

as they took wait

for it 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

6th 7th 8th and 9th

places with a

variety of birds

Dave Beadle & Jenny 1st & 2nd in

the ENE section

Helen Johnson once again clock's an

early bird in the ENE

12

that their close friend Ian Vernon has sourced along

with his partner over in Holland Maurice van der Kruk.

I’m told that these young speedsters include the blood

of Leo Heremans, Gust Janssens and Dirk van den

Bulck. The velocities range from 1465 down to 1429.

This section is a strong one so this result is a real

‘master class’ in sprint racing.

The only slight ‘fly in the ointment’ comes in the form

of my pal Jos Mee who clocked a self-bred Staf van

Reet x Moggy Morgan SVR x Soontjen motivated on

the sliding door system in 5th section. Jos hasn’t hit the

jackpot this year but he has gone very close on several

occasions.

The final section that I am now going

to cover is the North section where

we see the return of a ‘prodigal son’

in the form of Alwyn Paddey. In my

early days of covering the MNFC

races Alwyn’s name was an almost

permanent feature on the result

now after a quiet period Alwyn has

hit the top again in the MNFC on

1447. I’m told that Alwyn’s young

team have flown extremely well this year winning 7 out of 7 in his club. The

section topper is a cock bird which had already

won 2 x1sts 1 x 3rd and 1x 4th when beaten by

loftmates. He is from a Marginus Oostenbrink

cock which has 10 x 1st on his CV when coupled

to Van Koppens hen a winner of many prizes

including over the channel. Well done sir good

to see you back.

In 2nd spot we see Brian & Mavis Betts beating

their son Micky into 3rd spot though Mick can

Jos Mee unlucky once

again this time 5th section

Alwyn Paddey King of the North section from

Chale

Brian & Mavis Betts 2nd N

section

13

Mick & Paula Betts 3rd section this time

behind mum & Dad

say that his parents bird is a part

bred from his stock which was their

first timer the previous week from

Bedhampton. I bet that Brian is

enjoying having the bragging rights

this time. Mick’s bird just .5 of a yard

behind is a Blue pied hen with

previous wins on her record already.

She is from a Frans Maris cock which

is a brother to his 1st National Argenton winner when crossed with one of the

loft’s super Vandeheede family. Mick reported that he had 28 out of his 29 bird

entry home in good condition.

4th section on the same yardage as the

previous two birds on 1441 and this one

is pipped by .07 of a yard is claimed by

Mr & Mrs Rob Pashley who saw home a

Vandenabeele cock that has already got

a 1st prize on his record when he hit the

top from Buckingham a few weeks ago.

The parents are off stock acquired from

M & D Evans and D & J Hawkins

respectively.

I would like to mention that the “Bird

Nominated race was won by Mr & Mrs

Jakings of Yaxley when they timed their

nominated bird on 1493. I must

apologise on behalf of the Club in

regard to the lack of a separate

result for these races which if

highlighted as was intended will

become a highly prestigious

award. Apparently the computer

programme has struggled to print

off a separate result but this must

Rob Pashley with his bird with his

minder young Jack

Mr & Mrs Jakings the 2 bird Nominated race

winners

14

be rectified as these winning birds deserve full coverage.

MNFC One Loft

There will have been a meeting of the OLR committee to hopefully bring a

closure to this race and provide a fair share of the prizemoney to the race

finalists by the time that you read this report. All I can say is that if the race

continues next year that I and the OL committee will do everything in their

power to make sure that 2017 is a good and successful series of races. They do

say that you learn more from failure than success and believe me we have

learned a hell of a lot.

Mike Lakin