Geoff & Clayton Preece (photo courtesy of Chris Sutton)
Geoff and Clayton Preece from Dover timed a four year old on 1038mpm over 936kms to take first open and first east section with the only bird clocked on the day into the United Kingdom. First on the clock was a chequer, widowhood cock named Wiggins and this is its second win with the British International Championship Club from Perpignan, having first won it in 2012. Wiggins is line bred to Bill Woodall's Barcelona winner, Dragon Boy, combined with a quarter Stoffel, 270 and Marseille lines and a quarter Raymond Hermes. The Preece partnership's second bird, a four year old on 791mpm came in at sixth open, sixth east section. This pigeon is the nestmate to Wiggins and Perpignan was its seventh international race of more than 500 miles. Geoff and Clayton timed a third bird, Jack Jones, a six year old on 721mpm to take twentieth open. Another widowhood cock, Jack Jones set the record of being the first bird ever timed on the day into the UK from Perpignan in 2010. With their winner in 2014 they now have two day pigeons from Perpignan in the loft. Overall, Geoff and Clayton sent seven pigeons and timed all seven on the race result, their others being thirtieth, forty-third, forty-sixth and forty-eighth.
Mr & Mrs Rhodes
Mr and Mrs Rhodes of Aylesham clocked a two year old cock on 806mpm over 944kms to take second open and second east section. This pigeon was bred down from their own long distance family and was sent sitting ten day eggs on the day of basketing. This cock was hawked in January and needed such extensive stitching that it was thought it would not survive, but it pulled through and was left to recover for the first half of the season. Prior to Perpignan it therefore only had two inland and two channel races. The Rhodes' partnership's second bird, a two year old cock on 763mpm came in at ninth open and seventh east section. This cock was sent sitting overdue pot eggs and is a son of their double second open Marseille hen. Their third pigeon, a three year old on 751mpm took thirteenth open and tenth east section. This was a chequer hen bred for Steve and his wife by A & T Bury of Barham and comes from their Eagle Eye bloodlines.
Neil Jones & granddaughter, Remi
Neil Jones of Sandwich clocked a three year old on 799mpm after 951kms to take third open and third east section. Neil clocked a second pigeon, a five year old on 762mpm to take tenth open and eighth east section. Neil's two timers were a cock and a hen both bred down from the same stock pair that he obtained from John Puddephatt of Ferring. Raced on the natural system, both these pigeons were sent feeding week old squeakers. The tenth open bird has flown Pau international four times and been clocked in race-time three times.
Simon Knowles (r) & Alan Annis
Fourth open and fourth east section was timed at the Wingham loft of F Knowles and Son and was a six year old hen on 798.3mpm after 950kms. Simon's first on the clock was Mrs Jones, a Krauth hen which was twenty-second open from Agen earlier in the season and has previously scored from across the channel since 2010. The dam of Mrs Jones is the 41 hen, which scored twelfth and sixty-fifth open from Pau, amongst other performances. Simon clocked two more pigeons to take twenty-eighth and thirty-third open as well. His second on the clock was a two year old cock that had been badly hawked earlier in the season.
Lee & Kevn Buddle (photo courtesy of Chris Sutton)
Lee and Kevin Buddle of Dover continued their excellent season by taking fifth open, fifth east section, with a six year old cock on 798mpm over a distance of 933kms. Raced on the widowhood system this pigeon, Spitfire, went to the Pau international in June and was third back to the loft taking seventeenth open. Spitfire is a full brother to the Buddle's good Barcelona cock, Pipi and the sire is a Jim Biss, containing his Favori, Navigator and Legacy lines. The dam of Spitfire is a daughter of the loft's foundation hen, Buddy, when paired to a son of Brian Denney's Dark Peron. The Buddles clocked a further three birds in the first fifty of the open result at twenty-ninth, thirty-eighth and forty-fifth open. Like the Preeces, the Buddles clocked their entire team, four sent, four on the result!
Dorin Melinte & son, Denis
Dorin Melinte of Stanmore timed two in quick succession to take seventh and eighth open and first and second centre section. The first was a two year old cock on 772mpm over 1006kms. One of Dorin's most consistent racers, the first on the clock has topped the federation on a number of occasions and earlier this season was forty-first section from Tarbes with the National Flying Club. It is bred from one hundred percent Van Lint lines that Dorin obtained via Mr and Mrs Riley of Enfield. Dorin's second pigeon, a two year old hen, was clocked on 769mpm. The bloodlines of this hen are fifty percent Jos Thoné and fifty percent Van Lint, again obtained from Mr and Mrs Riley. This hen scored from Agen as a yearling and was fourth section, thirty-second open from Barcelona with the BICC earlier this season. Dorin races his pigeons on the roundabout system.
Jordan Bros
The Jordan Brothers of Sturry took eleventh open, tenth east section, with a three year old cock on 761mpm over 954kms. A grandson of the partners' hen, Champion Little Wonder, this cock was sent to Perpignan sitting six day old eggs. Champion Little Wonder won first and third open Barcelona and third open Perpignan during its racing career. The sire of this pigeon was obtained from Graham Moss and was bred from the best of the old A H Bennett, Kings Cup winning, Van Bruaenes. Prior to Perpignan this cock had a few short channel race and was then sent to the Pau international race where it scored twentieth open.
Mark Gilbert (photo courtesy of Chris Sutton)
Twelfth open and third centre section was a four year old on 757mpm over 992kms for Mark Gilbert of Windsor.
Dickie & Steve Pearmain
R Pearmain and Son of Wickford timed a five year old on 751.3mpm over 989kms to take fourteenth open and eleventh east section. This first pigeon for the Pearmain loft was a hen that went to Agen earlier in the season and since then has been on an open loft and was sent sitting. The partners timed their next pigeon, a five year old hen on 733mpm to take seventeenth open and sixteenth east section. This pigeon, Mary of Donegal, was second open from Perpignan in 2012 and has now featured eight times in the top thirty four open positions with the British International Championship Club, including twice on the night from Pau and once on the night from St Vincent. The third pigeon to the Pearmain loft was a hen on 727mpm and taking nineteenth open. A sister to this hen won twenty-third open and a merit award in the Irish King's Cup for E Murtagh and Sons of County Armagh.
Jackie Harris
Fifteenth open and twelfth east section was timed by J Harris and Daughter of Dagenham and was a four year old cock on 749mpm over a distance of 987kms. The sire of this pigeons was bought from the British Barcelona Club stud and is a grandson of three Spanish Diploma winners. The dam was bred by J Shepherd. The partners' second pigeon, a five year old hen on 727mpm came in at eighteenth open, fifteenth east section. This pigeon contains the bloodlines of Jim Biss' Kenyon, Southwell and Aarden lines. Jackie also clocked another bird in the top thirty-five of the open result, at twenty-third open and nineteenth east section. Amazingly, these three pigeons are the very same pigeons that Jackie clocked from Perpignan last season and were clocked in the same order, taking eighth, twelfth and twenty-third in 2013.
Ted Ivory from Sittingbourne was sixteenth open and thirteenth east section with a four year old on 749mpm over 961kms. This cock is of Dutch descent through Jacobs Brothers and A P Overwater lines. This is its third international race this season having been to Pau and Agen prior to Perpignan and it was sent sitting eggs.
Around the sections
The top three in the east and centre section all appear in the top twenty of the open result.
John Halstead
Narrowly missing out on the top twenty, John Halstead of Kington Magna was first west section and twenty-first open with a three year old on 720mpm over 987kms. John timed his single entry, a dark chequer cock of Jim Biss x Southwell lines and named Nyland Platinum. The sire of Nyland Platinum is one of the loft's star breeders, Big Bucks. Mr and Mrs Mears of Newport were second west section with a three year old on 617mpm over 1037kms. The Padfield family of Abertillery were third west section with a three year old on 596mpm over 1085kms.
That concludes the report of provisional result of the British International Championship Club race from Perpignan in conjunction with the international race.