“It was overwhelming” Kristof tells us with some disbelief. “I could never have imagined that here in Antwerp I would have my pigeons home the same day, so I was watching my loft without any real expectations. By 10 pm it was also rather dark so no… I really did not expect to have any pigeons fall, but you never know. When Den Dave (BE19-6187554) arrived… well… what goes through you… it can not be put into words. An incredible performance of this big shot !! I have to confess I actually wanted to basket him on Narbonne. However, I lost 3 of my better pigeons at Mantelimar which led me to the decision to sent Den Dave in for Marseille as my first nominated because of his lineage. His father is a son of The Special One (1st International Barcelona) and those are pigeons that keep going even in the dark. I saw that with his brother during the rather challenging Cahors when he dropped at 10 pm. His mother is a daughter of stockbreeder Jelle which is a fine breeding line. As a yearling he got 2 on 2 (Agen and Narbonne) and on the last Agen he finished per 10, so I knew he was made of the right stuff. He really proved that this time” Thus an elated Kristof.
The dustclouds of Marseille had barely settled down before the next major victory came in, this time from Perigueux. It was cock Shrek (BE20-6223191) who did not let any doubt exist between himself and his provincial competition. He came in first with a lead of over 20 minutes (!!!) on the number 2. Kristoff explained that “The mother of Shrek is the nest sister of the father of the national Marseille winner. The father is once again my Jelle, so both the national and provincial victor have the same games. Shrek also did super well in the preparatory races. On Vierzon, Bourges, Chateauroux and Limoges he was always among the first to come home, so it seemed logical to basket him as first nominated.”
