That the Deroose colony is one to look out for when it comes to spectacular results and impressive victories has become clear in the past years. On a national level Dirk's athletes have taken their place amongst the very best, thanks to the amazing quality present on the lofts in Kruisem. As an ambitious but busy man, Dirk has a very high standard when it comes to pigeons. Spots on the breeding loft are only reserved for pigeons with results many can only dream of. The result however, is that sensational performances are achieved on a regular basis.
Crossing the best extreme long distance bloodlines
When someone like Dirk is looking to strengthen his lofts, we are talking about the best of the best. He brought in a phenomenon which managed to win 5x Top 50 National at Patrick Delrue-Vanbruane on extreme long distance races: Het Klein Donker which he re-named Golden Ghost. Paired to a super hen from his good friend Joost De Smeyter-Restiaen carrying the genes of his ace pigeons Laval and sister Peggy, Dirk bred his most recent winner.
1st Provincial and 5th National Agen Yearling with great talent
The first of two extreme long distance races for yearlings on the calendar was an immediate success for a talented racer on the lofts of Deroose. This son - nearly an exact copy - of the aforementioned Golden Ghost, arrived on the lofts in Kruisem after nearly 11 hours and more than 800 kilometers. For New Golden Ghost BE22-4094552 the journey home from Agen was no problem, just as for his illustrious father (10th and 23rd National Agen). New Golden Ghost won 1st Provincial against 1,519 Yearlings and finished 5th National against 6,667 pigeons, an exceptional performance considering the conditions. Due to the strong westerly winds, Flanders was afraid they would have little chance against the east of the country, which turned out to be the case. The Provincial winner however, conquered the wind and flew home powerfully, just missing out on a National podium spot.
The winner was prepared with three short distance races followed by 2 tough middle distance races. The first was provincial Chateauroux on 3rd June where he won 783rd against 3,125 pigeons. Thereafter, he once again flew Chateauroux on 18th June and took 305th against 3,906 p. A nice 1:10 prize which Dirk likes to see for a pigeon destined to race extreme long distance. During the last week, the team started training very well and it was decided to basket Agen despite a limited preparation. As a youngster this winner had only raced 1 national race. New Golden Ghost was raced on classic widowhood and is quite a nervous pigeon.
Hopefully he will follow in the footsteps of his famous father...he is off to a great start in his long distance career. The second pigeon from Agen that Dirk clocked is a grandson of Golden Ghost, another confirmation that bringing in these bloodlines was a great move for the Deroose colony. Other references further confirm the quality of these bloodlines as grandchildren were also good for the 74th and 94th National Agen.
The future is looking particularly bright on the lofts of Dirk Deroose.