“INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE”
12th SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR
(THE GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD TODAY)
REPORT ON 5th HOT SPOT RACE
UNITED KINGDOM TEAM have an outstanding race and wins 3rd, 20th, 25th, 35th, 43rd, 60th, 64th, 74th, 77th, 89th, 99th, 114th, 131st, 133rd, 160th and 173rd Open plus a $5,000 INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY CHALLENGE CASH PRIZE and a $1,000 HOT SPOT CASH PRIZE and the IRISH TEAM wins 80th, 148th and 190th Open plus a $1,000 INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY CHALLENGE CASH PRIZE in the 5th HOT SPOT RACE.
Well after a good result by both the United Kingdom and Irish Teams in the last race, which once again resulted in excellent returns for both teams, it was back training for the Thursday after Training Race 8A to get them ready for the 5th Hot Spot Race, which was from 347km (approx. 216 miles) and a total of 2,979 pigeons were officially basketed and this included 2,232 International and 747 South African, 192 UK and 54 Irish pigeons.
After very wet conditions in the Johannesburg area for the days prior to this race the convoy were liberated at 05-30 in clear weather conditions, 24c (75f) with little to no wind and a bit overcast at Sun City however the Race Director, Convoyer and Loft Manager thought that the winning pigeons would take about five hours to cover the race distance. Everything was ready at the lofts and many fanciers had as usual travelled down to Sun City to enjoy an early morning barbecue (braai) and wait for the arrival of the winning pigeons. After numerous false alarms finally a small gang of 23 pigeons was seen approaching the lofts at 10-12, they swung round and immediately started to trap and first up on the computer screen was clocked at 10-12-35.05. CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st OPEN in this race went to M. H. MITCHELL from BELGIUM with pigeon named HAND OF PEACE which recorded 1348 ypm (approx. 46 mph), this consistent pigeon had previously won 23rd, 33rd, 27th, 42nd, 117th, 140th, 40th, 231st, 71stst, 75th and now 1st Open. I would just like to point out that this winner is none other than Martyn/Jayne Mitchell that own Woodlands Farm Stud near Selby, they have recently moved to Hulste, Belgium to set up a racing team, 2nd Open went to Kelley & Buckner from United States Of America with All The Money which had previously won 131st, 123rd, 253rd, 158th, 86th, 257th, 251st and now 2nd Open, 3rd Open went to Frozen Porridge Syndicate with their outstanding little pigeon named Aufedersein Pet which was bred by John Fellows from Ferryhill and entered by Richard Elliott from Plymouth, this pigeon has actually won 128th, 62nd, 19th, 73rd, 208th, 7th, 347th, 18th, 40th, 8th, 17th, 132nd, 134th and now 3rd Open in its last 14 races, plus winning 3 x 1st, 4 x 2nd, 1 x 6th, 2 x 7th & 2 x 10th United Kingdom and pools now about four times, Taking 4th Open was the Herbots Family from Belgium with Seeking The Sky and past winner of 279th, 185th, 49th, 242nd, 295th and now 4th Open, 5th Open for Schnarr & De Weerd from Germany with pigeon named Shotgun and a past winner of 51st, 236th, 173rd and now 5th Open, 6th Open for Christoph Mueller from Germany with Shanti an a winner of 22nd, 24th, 341st, 376th, 365th and now 6th Open, 7th Open for the Vision Syndicate from South Africa with their outstanding pigeon named Speedster II, which had previously won 2nd, 263rd, 40th, 147th, 91st, 326th, 328th, 86th, 57th, 14th, 1st, 309th and now 7th Open, this pigeon also won a $1,000 and a Brand New Motor Car in the 1st Hot Spot Race, 8th Open went to Wilfried Meuhlenstrodt with Carajan which had won 129th, 306th, 99th, 136th, 27th, 271st, 240th, 238th, 146th and now 8th Open, 9th Open went to Georg Oswald from Germany with Sphinx a winner of 104th, 269th, 81st, 16th, 3rd, 58th and now 9th Open, 10th Open for De Schrijver-Brantegem Syndicate from Belgium with On Stage which had previously won 215th, 194th, 33rd and now 10th Open. The top 10 positions were taken in 98 seconds and we had five different countries in the result and this contained 3 x Belgian, 1 x American, 1 x United Kingdom, 4 x German and 1 x South African pigeons. The top 50 positions were all taken within 4 minutes 47 seconds of the winner and a total of 250 clocked within 15 minutes, over 700 within 31 minutes, nearly 1,000 within 40 minutes and about 1,435 within 60 minutes of the winning pigeon, making it a fantastic race for the organisers. A total of 2,150 were officially recorded within 2 hours of the winner, with 2,750 by 17-20 which included 2,076 International and 674 South African with 185 United Kingdom and 51 Irish pigeons being clocked. The final update showed a total of 2,816 pigeons had been officially recorded on the day and this included 2,120 International and 696 South African with 189 from the United Kingdom and 52 from Ireland, leaving just 163 missing.
More pigeons were officially clocked during the next day with the first being clocked at 05-44 and at the end of Sunday a total of 2,890 had been officially recorded and this included 2,174 International and 716 South Africa with 191 from the United Kingdom and 54 from Ireland, which left only 89 pigeons still to make it back to base. This is in fact a remarkable achievement as this means that over 97% of those sent had returned, which just goes to show that all the earlier training had paid off. Quite a few of these will of course work back during the next few days which should reduce the losses ever further. However, to have only 3% missing from 216 miles is a quite fantastic result for the organisers and a credit to the pigeons that fanciers originally entered.
THIS 5th HOT SPOT RACE MUST RANK AS ONE OF THE BEST EVER IN THE 12 YEAR HISTORY SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THIS GREAT INTERNATIONAL RACE. IT WAS ALSO INTERESTING TO READ THE RACE DIRECTOR’S RACE REPORT WHERE HE STATED THAT BETWEEN THE FIRST 15 PIGEONS CLOCKED IN THIS RACE, THEY HAD SCORED 63 POSITIONS IN THE TOP 100 IN EARLIER RACES AND IT WAS GOOD TO SEE PIGEONS FROM NORTH, SOUTH, EAST & WEST REPRESNTED IN THE TOP 15.
EVERY YEAR FROM DAY ONE RACE ENTRIES HAVE INCREASED AND WE ARE NOW IN OUR TWELFTH YEAR AND THIS CURRENT RACE SERIES HAS RESULTED IN MORE OUTSTANDING PIGEONS THAT I CAN EVER REMEMBER IN THE PAST ELEVEN YEARS, WHICH JUST PROVES THAT QUALITY WILL ALWAYS TELL IN THE LONG RUN.
CONGRATULATIONS in this race for winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 3rd OPEN and FLYING THE FLAG goes to the FROZEN PORRIDGE SYNDICATE with their outstanding pigeon named AUFEDERSEIN PET which was bred by John Fellows from Ferryhill and entered by Richard Elliott from Plymouth, this great pigeon has now won 3 x 1st, 4 x 2nd, 1 x 4th, 1 x 6th, 2 x 7th & 2 x 10th UK and 128th, 62nd, 19th, 73rd, 208th, 7th, 347th, 18th, 40th, 8th, 17th, 132nd, 134th and now 3rd OPEN in its last 14 races, this in itself is a remarkable achievement in this type of competition, plus it should be mentioned it has also won the pools about 4 times, $1,000 Hot Spot Cash Prize and also a $5,000 International Country Challenge Cash Prize. It should also be mentioned that since the SCMDPR series started and we are now in the 12th year, I can’t remember a UK pigeon winning 3 x 1st UNITED KINGDOM and also 4 x 2nd, well done to both the breeder John and Richard for entering this pigeon and I hope it keeps its form right up to and including the Final Race. 2nd UK, 20th Open for the English Glory Syndicate with English Dream which was bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon and administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and this pigeon had previously won 432nd, 501st, 410th and now 20th Open, 3rd UK, 25th Open for the Smith/McAllister Syndicate with Great Expectations, previously won 179th, 265th, 388th, 367th, 20th and now 25th Open and bred by Bruce McAllister from Furneaux Pelham and jointly entered with Paul Smith of Stansted Mountfitchet, 4th UK, 35th Open went to the Stretton Family with A Danzig and bred by Roy Stretton from Cannock Wood, previously won 174th, 131st, 289th, 88th, 77th, 102nd, 173rd, 69th, 54th, 179th, 289th and now 35th Open, 5th UK, 43rd Open for Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey with Wallasey Pearl, which had earlier won 386th, 179th, 85th, 138th, 120th, 12th, 57th, 218th, 43rd, 41st, 249th and now 43rd Open, 6th UK, 60th Open for Myrtle Lofts with Myrtle Diamond and bred by Mark & Dickie Evans from Snaith, plus it had already won 303rd, 333rd, 72nd, 87th, 189th, 20th and now 60th Open, 7th UK, 64th Open went to Curly + Larry + Mo with Mr. Everton and bred by Will Bradbury from Merseyside, this being the first time this pigeon had been in the first 600, 8th UK, 74th Open went to Nev Proctor from Brown Edge with his great pigeon Woodhouse High Stakes, previous winner of 2 x 1st, 2nd, 2 x 3rd,2 x 6th, 7th and 2 x 8th UK plus 90th, 5th, 1st, 209th, 67th, 13th, 5th, 94th, 77th, 138th and now 74th Open, 9th UK, 77th Open was Van Vaizeys with Bramble and bred by Steven Vaisey from Portsmouth and winner of 216th, 238th, 1st, 158th, 310th, 214th, 123rd, 43rd 340th and now 77th Open, 10th UK, 89th Open went to the International Syndicate with Blue Dust bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon and entered by Paul Smith, Stansted Mountfitchet and previous winner of 295th,195th, and now 89th Open, 11th UK, 99th Open for Syndicate Lofts UK with Crazy Diamond bred by Peter Fox from Bangor, winner of 90th, 2nd, 151st, 98th and now 99th Open, 12th UK, 114th Open for Dennis Foster from Brown Edge with pigeon named Amber Gold and winner of 144th, 349th, 334th, 274th and now 114th Open. Another 4 UK pigeons were clocked in the top 173 and another 9 in the top 300, making it an outstanding overall team result. A total of 191 UK pigeons were officially clocked from 192 entered, leaving only 1 pigeon to return.
It is worthy of a special mention that after 19 official races held so far the UNITED KINGDOM TEAM has already managed to win to following positions in the OPEN classification:- 3 x 1st, 1 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd , 2 x 5th, 3 x 7th, 1 x 8th, 1 x 9th, 3 x 12th, 1 x 13th, 1 x 14th, 1 x 15th, 2 x 17th, 1 x 18th and 4 x 20th plus many other top positions in the top 100, this really is a remarkable achievement when you consider the type of quality and class of pigeon they are flying against.
CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st IRELAND, 80th OPEN went to BROWN & LUCAS with their exceptional pigeon named NICOLA II which has now won 3 x 1st (2 on the trot) and 5 x 2nd IRELAND and 165th, 55th, 63rd, 45th, 95th, 35th, 165th, 8th and now 80th Open, 2nd Ireland, 148th Open for Billy Wallace with Denise II which had earlier won 268th Open, with 3rd Ireland, 190th Open going to Ashleys Outlaws with Josey Wales which had earlier won a 357th Open and bred by Don Murray and then 4th Ireland, 208th Open for N. O’Brien with This Is It, bred by Gerry McCourt and had earlier won 246th Open, 5th Ireland, 278th Open for Cooley Brothers with Daddy Cool which had previously won 289th, 122nd, 164th, 379th Open and 6th Ireland, 303rd Open The Green Team with Surething bred by Gerry McCourt and previously won 17th, 85th, 133rd, 326th Open. A total of 54 Irish pigeons were officially clocked from the 54 entered, resulting in 100% returns.
The IRELAND TEAM have now won the following positions in the OPEN classification after 19 official races:- 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 13th, 16th, 2 x 17th and a 20th which again is great flying with such a small team.
The winner of the BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR in this race went to MARTYN H. MITCHELL representing BELGIUM with pigeon named HAND OF PEACE, I knew Martyn/Jayne Mitchell when they lived in the UK and they flew an exceptional pigeon then but since they moved to Belgium they have already won quite a few classic races and I am sure will continue on their winnings ways. What a nice way to round off the Hot Spot Races for the 2007/8 race series and a great way to start the New Year.
The $10,000 HOT SPOT PRIZE MONEY which is split into 10 x $1,000 Cash Prizes went to all the pigeons mentioned above that took the first ten Open positions, once again showing the quality of those pigeons entered into the race.
THE INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY CHALLENGE offered 5 x $5,000 Cash Prizes for the first “ACTIVATED” pigeons in the first five countries in this result and the winners were as follows:- M. H. MITCHELL from BELGIUM with HAND OF PEACE in 1st OPEN, KELLEY & BUCKNER from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with ALL THE MONEY in 2nd OPEN, FROZEN PORRIDGE SYNDICATE with AUFEDERSEIN PET from the UNITED KINGDOM in 3rd OPEN, SCHNARR & DE WEERD from GERMANY with SHOTGUN in 5th OPEN and then VISION SYNDICATE from SOUTH AFRICA with SPEEDSTER II in 7th OPEN. Another 9 x $1,000 Cash Prizes were awarded to countries that had pigeons in the top 250 in the result and they were as follows:- 21st Karl Fuermsinn from Austria, 37th Koopman Racing Team from The Netherlands, 80th Brown & Lucas from Ireland, 87th Spring Mountain Lofts from Australia, 102nd Portugal Super Flying Team from Portugal, 111th UFC Romania-Rapid Bucharest from Romania, 159th Kiwi Syndicate from New Zealand, 176th Rodolfo Beltran Mancera from Mexico and then 217th Team Meldgaard from Denmark. A total payout of $34,000 in this interesting competition, however unfortunately two countries had pigeons in the top 250 that were “NOT-ACTIVATED” so neither won a $1,000 Cash Prize. All winners have to be “ACTIVATED” to be able to comet for this Prize Money.
The “TWO BIRD AVERAGE” winner in this race and $2,000 was won by TEAM GERBIDAVE from GERMANY with their Team A pigeons named RISING SUN & SWEET CECILIA. It was interesting to note the German fanciers had a field day and actually won eleven out of the top twelve positions, with only Vision Syndicate from South Africa in 8th spot managing to split a complete domination of this classification. The best UNITED KINGDOM performances were as follows:- 22nd FROZEN PORRIDGE with AUFEDERSEIN PET & CAN’T TOUCH THIS, 27th ENGLISH GLORY SYNDICATE with ENGLISH DREAM & ENGLISH ROSE, 41st STRETTON FAMILY with A DANZIG & DIPPIN SNUFF, 45th MR & MRS BRIAN CLAYBURN with BARRY’S MATE & BRIAN’S DREAM, 58th MILLENIUM SUNRISE with MILLENIUM LAIRD & MILLENIUM DANCER, 65th PREMIER STUD with DEXTER & ANITA, 75th PREMIER STUD with RIBOT & ARTIC and then 81st GRAHAM FOSTER with DIAMOND GEEZER & ROGE DIAMOND. The best IRELAND performances were 51st BILLY WALLACE with DENISE II & HELEN, 72nd THE GREEN TEAM with SURETHING & THIS IS IT LAD and then 136th GROVE HILL LOFTS with SCOLLOGHS BOY & SARAHS CHOICE.
The HOT SPOT AVERAGES which offers a $5,000 Cash Prize for the leading pigeon after 5 Hot Spot Races is now looking like this after five races and CONGRATULATIONS goes to the winner SUDHOFF & VAN BEERS from GERMANY with their outstanding champion aptly named BIRDY which won this classification by a clear 13 minutes 35 seconds and walks away with the “Pot Of Gold”. This pigeon actually won 13th, 310th, 114th, 14th & 15th in the 5 Hot Spot Races. This remarkable pigeon is also currently leading the “SUN CITY OVERALL AVERAGES” after 19 official races, showing just what a great pigeon it really is. Four different countries actually had pigeons in the top 10 and they were
6 x German, 2 x Dutch, 1 x South African and 1 x Irish pigeons and 37 minutes difference covered these pigeons in this classification. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 19th OPEN went to DAVE & PAUL McCARTHY from WALLESEY with their great pigeon WALLASEY PEARL with the following performances in the 5 Hot Spot Race 807th, 1201st, 138th, 218th and 43rd Open, 2nd UK, 38th Open went to Brian Long from Gipping with Gipping Mistress, 3rd UK, 53rd Open went to Premier Stud, owned by Graham Sparkes from Patrington with pigeon named Ned, 4th UK, 55th Open went to the International Syndicate with Blue Dust which was bred by Jimmy Richards of Laindon and entered by Paul Smith of Stansted Mountfitchet, 5th UK, 68th Open for Guy Barrett OBE from Horsforth with Horsforth Princess, 6th UK, 71st Open for the Stretton Family and bred by Roy Stretton from Cannock Wood with Dippin Snuff, 7th UK, 87th Open went to Europa Auctions UK with pigeon named Europa Class which was bred by John Boyd of Ballyclare and entered jointly with Derek Nicholls from Barry who owns Europa Auctions, 8th UK, 93rd Open for Chris Gordon from Old Snydale with Snydale Whisper, 9th UK, 101st Open for Bricket Wood Flyers with Bricket Lass and bred by Ray Neale from Bricket Wood and 10th UK, 105th Open another pigeon for Brian Long from Gipping with Gipping Lass. Our Irish Team also did well and 1st IRELAND, 10th OPEN went to COOLEY BROTHERS with their excellent pigeon DADDY COOL, 2nd Ireland, 16th Open went to Downshire Lofts with Eimear and 3rd Ireland, 139th Open went to Lisnaree Lofts with Lisnaree Trouper.
POOLS/NOMINATIONS payout for this race totalled $22,011-60c and this showed a total of 489 actually being bet on and it just goes to show the quality of the pigeons clocked because the last lot of pools was won by the pigeon in 52nd position. Three United Kingdom pigeons won Pool money and these were AUFEDERSEIN PET $3,196 for FROZEN PORRIDGE SYNDICATE which was pooled all the way to $100, GREAT EXPECTATIONS $646 for SMITH/McALLISTER SYNDICATE which was pooled up to $20 and WALLASEY PEARL $306 for DAVE & PAUL McCARTHY.
SOUTH AFRICAN CLUB CHALLENGE winners were 1st R25,000 went to CLUB SOUTH COAST RACING PIGEON CLUB with HERBAL HERBY in 321st Open, 2nd R15,000 for CLUB EDENVALE RACING PIGEON CLUB with IMPRESSIVE in 399th OPEN and then 3rd CLUB WESTELIKE POSDUIF KLUB with ALI-EHS in 710th OPEN.
The leader after nineteen official races in the “SUN CITY OVERALL AVERAGES” which carries a $5,000 1st prize, $3,000 2nd Prize and $2,000 3rd Prize was still SUDHOFF & VAN BEERS from GERMANY with their truly outstanding Janssen/Van Loon pigeon named BIRDY that is now currently leading the rest of field by just over 63 minutes, this pigeon is without doubt one of the most consistent pigeons ever in the SCMDPR series over the past 12 years and has won the following positions in the 19 races so far 26th, 772nd, 13th, 30th, 310th, 120th, 21st, 121st, 114th, 92nd, 454th, 385th, 14th, 14th, 32nd, 260th, 484th, 322nd and now 15th Open, which is fantastic flying in any race. The top ten pigeons in this competition is made up with of 6 x German, 2 x Dutch, 1 x South African and 1 x American entries and there is 86 minutes difference between 1st and 10th in this classification. Four different countries currently have pigeons in the top ten and they are 6 x German, 2 x Dutch, 1 x South African and 1 x American and 86 minutes separates 1st to 10th. Holding 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 21st OPEN is VAN VAIZEYS with BRAMBLE which was bred by STEVEN VAIZEY from PORTSMOUTH, 2nd UK, 48th Open goes to Nev Proctor from Brown Edge with his pigeon Woodhouse High Stakes, 3rd UK, 72nd Open for Mr & Mrs Brian Clayburn from Ackworth with Brian’s Dream, 4th UK, 105th Open goes to Premier Stud, owned by Graham Sparkes from Patrington with pigeon named Optomist, 5th UK, 125th Open another for Mr & Mrs Brian CLayburn from Ackworth with Barry’s Mate, 6th UK, 127th Open for Brian Long from Gipping with Gipping Mistress, 7th UK, 130th Open for English Glory Syndicate with English Queen bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 8th UK, 141st Open for Peter Reeves from Winchester with Hampshire Select, 9th UK, 167th Open for the International Syndicate with Blue Dust bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon and entered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and 10th UK, 183rd Open another for Brian Long from Gipping with Gipping Lass. Holding onto 1st IRELAND, 77th OPEN is BERNARD HEMPENSTALL with HEMPO, 2nd Ireland, 157th Open to Downshire Lofts with Eimear and 3rd Ireland, 191st Open for The Green Team with Surething.