A quality rich foundation
Past season, another handful of top results were won on a national and provincial level. A staggering 33 (!) victories were acheived including 3x 1st Provincial and 40x National Top 100.
When these pigeons got their chance on a national level - strongly dependent on wind and number of pigeons - they took it! Under less favourble winds they performed well on a regional and provincial level. The foundation of this loft has been unchanged for quite some years and include: Golden Prince (BE13-3031767), Prince Rudy (BE14-3024072), Devil Prince (BE13-3031911) and Red Filip (BE11-3008153). This ironclad foundation is crossed with the following national ace pigeons: Golden King (BE17-3061598) : 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon KBDB Long Distance in 2018, First Lady (BE16-3144110): 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon KBDB Heavy Middle Distance in 2018 and Golden Princess (BE16-3174401): 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon KBDB Long Distance in 2017.
It is remarkable what descendants of Golden King have achieved in recent years. Golden King himself won the title of 1st National Ace Pigeon Long Distance Yearlings in 2018 and was also the best across three long distance races. He was sold during the large Clicque auction at the end of 2020 for no less than €300,000. At the time, this was the most expensive pigeon ever sold to a European fancier. During the period before this sensational transfer took place, about 15 youngsters were bred from this phenomenon which were intended for the racing loft. Five of these direct children won National Top 6 prizes:
Son Golden King 020 (BE21-3024020) : 2nd National Tulle 6,842 p.
Godiva (BE21-3024006) : 3rd National Limoges 10,381 p.
Son Golden King (BE20-3015163) : 3rd National Bourges 25,096 p.
Daughter Golden King 008 : (BE21-3024008) : 3rd National Argenton 8,777 p.
Daughter Golden King 139 : (BE21-3024139) : 6th National Tulle 6,842 p.
Godiva in particular is becoming an absolute superstar in Wevelgem. This unique hen is working on an exceptional palmares. Marked as the best pigeon in 2023 by a champion like Gino Clicque, this must really be an incredible hen.
Golden King's grandchildren are also managing outstanding performances, proof that this bloodline easily passes on its good genes. Grandchildren have already won a/o the following national top results:
2nd National Limoges, 6th National Bourges, 6th National Limoges, 11th National Chateauroux, ... each against thousands of pigeons. One of these descendants also won the title of 11th National Ace Pigeon KBDB Allround.
Even the third generation has shown themselves with top performances during the most recent national races in 2023. The Clicque colony won 3rd and 5th National Chateauroux against 13,852 Young birds with descendants of Golden King. Chateauroux Lady (BE23-3010502) and Grandson Prince Rudy 556 (BE23-3010556) were responsible for this feat.
All these stars are descendants from Golden Prince crossed with the old stock. Another crack which can be called a true super breeder is Golden Rudy (BE17-3135347). This is a direct son of 2 of the best Clicque stock pigeons namely: Prince Rudy x Golden Princess = 1st Nat. Limoges x 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon KBDB Long Distance. Some of his best children include:
Half-brother New Piraat (BE20-3015255): 2nd Fastest Bourges National against 59,407 pigeons.
Vuitton (BE22-3046084) : 11th Nat. Argenton 17,210 p. and 38th Nat. Bourges 18,729 p.
Chanel (BE22-3046090): 4th Nat. Argenton 17,210 p.
Born to Win (BE22-3046027) : 1st Prov. Pontoise 13,354 p. and 22nd Prov. Orleans 13,159 p.
Rudy King (BE22-3046028) : 28th Nat. Ace pigeon KBDB Allround and 2nd Prov. Tulle 1,028 p.
Rudy First (BE22-3046400) : 35th Nat. Ace Pigeon KBDB Allround
Rock-solid references
Some youngsters have been raced on the lofts of Thibeau-Boons for a couple of years and with great success. Two years in a row they managed to become National Long Distance Champions of Belgium. The descendants of Golden Prince have played an important role in winning these prestigious titles. Iron Prince (BE20-3015680) is a real crack, no surprise knowing this is a grandson of Golden Prince x Olympic Princess. He has already won fantastic results two years in a row, in 2022 he became 12th Nat. Ace Pigeon KBDB Allround and this year he was 3rd in the ranking across 3 and 4 National races. His best race results include a/o 4th Nat. Limoges and 9th Nat. Tulle.
Furthermore, we also find a granddaughter Golden Rudy (BE21-3024340) on the lofts of Thibeau-Boons which won 4x National Top 71 prizes: 24th-25th-57th-71st. She thereby took 12th place in the ranking across 3 national long distance races.
Grandchildren won Golden King the following top results on those lofts as well:
BE22-3046409 won 6th National Limoges 8,970 p.
BE22-3046410 won 11° Nationaal Chateauroux 17,081 p.
Making an overview of all the highlights that team Clicque managed past season is near impossible. Therefore, see the brief summary of top performances from 2023 below:
Bourges Nat. : 19-37-64-89-128-157-216-246-... / 18,729 p. (57/104 and 35x 1:10)
Limoges Nat. : 3-26-32-32-89-91-97-99-113-... / 10,381 p. (47/82 and 33x 1:10)
Argenton Nat. : 4-11-20-43-44-58-59-72-122-... / 17,210 p. (42/96 and 28x 1:10)
Libourne Prov. : 1-3-9-13-16-25-32-34-50-51-... / 1,083 p. (14/21 and 12x 1:10)
Chateauroux Club: 3-4-5-6-8-10-11-14-15-17-19-.../ 330 p. (39/73 and 16x 1:10)
Souillac Club : 1-2-3-4-5-6-11-14-... /172 p. (14/27 and 8x 1:10)
Bourges Club : 1-2-14-27 / 164 p. (4/6 and 4x 1:10)
Chateauroux Nat. : 3-5-14-15-83-110-123-128... / 13,852 p. (51/130 and 32x 1:10)
Especially the high percentage of 1:10 prizes are striking. They prove that in addition to the many top prizes, the Clicque colony has managed to perform at an exceptional level throughout the 2023 season. The unique, quality rich breeding lofts in combination with Gino's will to win are responsible for these succeses. Raising the bar higher and higher is completely normal for Gino Clicque. Anyone who takes a closer look at the performance of this super colony quickly realizes that its level in the past years is unmatched. Gino, together with Jasper and Laura, form a winning team that clearly has their affairs in order, and so the future looks particularly bright in Wevelgem.
