The pigeons that are under the expert supervision of Gregory Bekaert were obviously in great form, as you could tell from the national race from Chateauroux, where they won a 9th and 22nd national. They did even better in Argenton, with teammates NL19-1022194 en NL19-1023202 crossing the finish line almost simultaneously. Neither of the two racing hens was willing to give on, and they pushed each other throughout the race, eventually arriving home just six seconds apart. They claimed an impressive 1st and 2nd National Argenton yearlings, as the fastest overall of 42,874 pigeons! This was a surreal result, something you can only expect from team Hooymans!
The pedigree of Brenda...
Race winner Brenda is a fairly small racing hen. She had already won a 14th national (Z) Argenton of 4,796 pigeons as a young bird. Her sire was obtained from Harrie Kennes: the "400", a blue coloured cock and winner of a 1st National Ace Pigeon middle distance NPO The Netherlands. The dam of Brenda is a direct Harry, paired to the "5000" (daughter of Da Vinci x Hilde, a sister of Harry). Team Hooymans UK had already bred a talented bird from this pair, and a nest mate of Brenda is proving a great racing bird as well, having won for instance a 143rd National Argenton.
The second pigeon needed just a bit more time to arrive home, and she finished in 2nd National. This racing bird is NL19-1023202, and she has always been one of the favourites of caretaker Gregory. The 202 is a late youngster of 2019 and she was only raced in the "Tour of Belgium" as a young bird. Her sire is Harry Junior, one of the very best breeders of today, being the sire of 7 top tens NPO in The Netherlands. And his descendants are doing great in Belgium as well. He was bred from Harry x Stareye. The dam of this 202 is Yolanthe, a super class hen that claimed two NPO races over more than 500km as a yearling.