Sakis got to know grandmaster Ludo Claessens in 1996, and he learned a thing or two from him about breeding and racing pigeons. He also received a group of late youngsters from Ludo, and he continued to invest in the Claessens pigeons in the following years. One of the pigeons that Sakis obtained in 2003 would eventually turn out to be the investment of a lifetime: Meeuwke 12. Top breeders Supercrack's Talent and Bonte Beauty followed later on. And these three superstars turned Sakis Minovgioudis into an internationally renowned player. He really began to deliver with the help of their descendants. For instance, he had the best young bird in The Netherlands in both the WHZB competition and the Vredesduif competition. He has been racing at a very high level with a limited group of racing and breeding birds, which he keeps in a fairly small pigeon loft behind his home. He has a demanding job as a truck engineer, and racing pigeons will always be his favourite hobby.
International appeal
It was in part thanks to his impressive achievements in one loft races that the descendants of super class breeders Meeuwke 12, Supercrack's Talent and Bonte Beauty attracted the interest of pigeon fanciers from all across the globe. These three bloodlines have been the cornerstones of Sakis's pigeon family, and of many other pigeon breeds. For instance, several top breeders of Tomasz Wiczling (Poland) , Fred Goodchild (Canada), Dieter Siebert (Germany), John Georgopoulos (USA) and others originate from Sakis's pigeon breed:
We take a look at some of the best results of the fanciers that we just mentioned:
Greek Connection Lofts wins the 2020 South Carolina race (350 miles) with Greek 2020-109 (a grandchild of Sakis Moon)
Just like last year, John Georgopoulos wins the 2020 California Classic San Diego with Greek 2020-113.
Dieter Siebert has the 1st Ace Pigeon in the Derby Zagreb with 2020-723 (from son Talents Rookie x daughter Meeuwke 12)
Some of the stars in his own loft
We will take a closer look at the strongest birds in Sakis's own team. But we begin with an overview of some of his most noteworthy results:
NL18-1092610, De Super 10
This Super 10 was 1st ace pigeon middle distance already as a young bird. He won first prizes in Duffel, Nanteuil and Fontenay, and he had many great results in big races as well. The dam of Super 10 is a direct hen of G. & S. Verkerk (Reeuwijk, NL). It was his good friend Fahad M. Alwatri from Kuwait who suggested to go to Reeuwijk to see if they could obtain a special hen there. They came across NL16-397, which was exactly what they needed: this hen was successfully paired to Blue Talent, and together they bred Super 10. We take a look at some of Super 10's best results:
NL14-1050791, Blue Talent
This Blue Talent is a son of super class pair Supercrack's Talent x Meeuwke 12. Top class descendants of this breeding pair can be found all across the globe, both in breeding and racing lofts. For instance, Peter Vreys (Belgium) has a great breeder in his collection, bred from this pair: Magic Sakis. Blue Talent is the sire of Super 10 together with a top class hen of G. & S. Verkerk (NL16-397). This NL16-397 is a daughter of Topper Harley, a national ace pigeon one day long distance, paired to Euphoria, a daughter of the world famous Olympic Solange.
NL12-1609170, Miss Thessaloniki II
After an impressive racing career (including a 2nd ace pigeon old birds), Miss Thessaloniki II developed into a valued breeder; she is for instance the dam of super class yearling Miss Thessaloniki Extra (see below). Miss Thessaloniki II is a daughter of Supercrack's Talent, which was now paired to top breeder '155, another Ludo Claessens descendant.
NL19-1658696, Miss Thessaloniki Extra
One of the eye-catchers of this year was super class yearling Miss Thessaloniki Extra. She won a 1st Vierzon (549km) of 1,090 pigeons in Fondclub Rotterdam, a 4th Fontenay (447km) of 1,791 pigeons and a 10th Blois (530km). The dam of this super class bird is the aforementioned Miss Thessaloniki II, which was paired to NL18-956 (a son of Flinstone x Olcay) of G. & S. Verkerk.
To conclude
Sakis's pigeon racing career really took off the moment he started investing in pigeons of Ludo Claessens. The descendants of Meeuwke 12, Supercracks's Talent, Bonte Beauty and others not only did great at home, they also excelled in pigeon lofts around the world. They have been outstanding in internationally renowned pigeon lofts and they have been particularly strong in one loft races, season after season. The Ludo Claessens bloodlines have been breeding nothing but top quality pigeons. They have also been crossbred to some top class birds of G. & S. Verkerk lately, and the potential of the Sakis pigeon breed shows in this combination as well. This pigeon family is almost guaranteed to deliver in the next several years.