Table of Contents
“SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE”.
ON
HOT SPOT CAR RACE 3 & TRAINING RACE 11.
IN
THE 21st SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE
(THE BIGGEST & GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD!)
(THE RACE WITH THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD)
(THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN THE PIGEON WORLD)
DUE TO BE HELD AT
HERON BANKS GOLF & RIVER ESTATE,
SOUTH AFRICA
ON
SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY 2017.
ANOTHER RACE SEASON STARTS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN SUNSHINE.
LIVESTREAM was once again up and running and I logged on bright and early at 06.20 GMT (08.20 SA) time, the weather was beautiful with a lovely blue sky and fluffy clouds and hardly any wind at the loft or on route. The pigeons were liberated at 05.30 and headed for home. After a few false alarms of some pigeons that decided to return from earlier tosses. I really did not have to wait long as at 06.49 GMT (08.49 SA) because all of a sudden I saw a gang of about 6 pigeons swing round the loft and hit the landing area, smartly followed by another gang of about 3 pigeons, then another 20/30 pigeons arrived, followed by more small gangs. The result came up on the iPad screen and I saw that 1st OPEN went to a fancier in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Within twenty minutes of the winner being clocked over 500 pigeons had been officially recorded. As the pigeons arrived they looked in super condition, a few crash landed as they hit the landing platform. If you have never logged on to watch the pigeons arrive, I strongly suggest you give it a try, you will just love the experience. https://youtu.be/Vo_5wjZgKok HOT SPOT CAR RACE 3 was held on Saturday 31st December 2016 from 251km (156 miles) and for this race a total of 3,224 pigeons from 35 different countries were basketed and this included 2,973 International pigeons and 251 pigeons from South Africa and this figure also included 261 from the United Kingdom and 36 pigeons from Ireland. There were also 80 pigeons that were not basketed because they were left in the Hold Back section because they had made earlier mistakes and were not fit to be entered, this total included none from the United Kingdom or Ireland. So the total in the loft was 3,304 pigeons. The convoy were liberated at 05.30 with little to no wind in fine and cool conditions on route and a temperature of 17c (62f). The convoyer reported the pigeons cleared well and headed directly for home. A good race was anticipated. It really was an ideal day for a pigeon race. As the day progressed the temperature would steadily rise to around 31c (90f). CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st OPEN goes to the ME FUI + GALLO LOFT from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeon named HOT AMERICAN GIRL bred by MANUEL RODRIGUEZ, which was officially clocked at 08.50.02.50 to record a winning velocity of 1,372ypm (20.9123 m/s) (47 mph), this was well fancied and pooled all the way through to US$200 in the Global Nominations, this pigeon also won 95th OPEN in TR2, 239th OPEN in HSCR1, 98th OPEN in TR7, 131st OPEN in HSCR2, 42nd OPEN in TR8, 68th OPEN in TR9 and now 1st OPEN in HSCR3. 2nd Steve Sterchi from United States Of America, 3rd Saad Alqanem from Kuwait, 4th Koopman Racing Team from Netherlands, 5th Loft Einkamerer from South Africa, 6th Yousuf Al-Eidan from Saudi Arabia, 7th ZG Helios – Yu Tao – Huebner – Gehrken from China, 8th Alois Wiefler from Austria, 9th Aldahoum Loft from Kuwait, 10th Guys Lofts Elite from United Kingdom, 11th Lucky Devils Syndicate from United Kingdom, 12th SG Adelmann from Germany, 13th Gino Clicque from Belgium, 14th Furia Loft from United States Of America, 15th Abdullah Al-Bakhit from Saudi Arabia, 16th Jan Hooymans – Hu Zhen Yu from Netherlands, 17th Team Lincs from United Kingdom, 18th Club Pretoria Oos Wedvlugduiwe Klub from South Africa, 19th Sheikh Abdulla Mohammad Al Thani from Qatar and 20th Team Lehrte from Germany. The top twenty were separated by 5 minutes 04.75 seconds and had 11 different countries represented in this result with 14 different countries represented in the top 50 and these were 7 minute 15.90 seconds apart. A great International result with 7 different countries in the top 8 pigeons clocked in the OPEN. A total of 500 pigeons were officially clocked up to 09.10, then 1,000 up to 09.17, then 1,500 up to 09.28, then 2,000 by 09.57. A further update showed 2,500 pigeons were officially recorded by 11.30. The last loft list showed that 2,778 pigeons had been officially recorded by 19.12, leaving 446 pigeons to make it back to base camp. Sunday morning dawned and the pigeons started to roll and 2,978 were recorded by 11.32, a further update showed 3,003 pigeons had returned by 19.18, leaving 221 to return to the race loft. With the 80 pigeons that were not sent that were still in the lofts the total left was now 3,083 pigeons. The Monday loft list showed that 3,162 pigeons were still in the race loft. THE BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR was won in HSCR3 by the pigeon which actually took 1st OPEN, ME FUI + GALLO LOFT from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeon named HOT AMERICAN GIRL bred by MANUEL RODRIGUEZ. A late Christmas Present and a great start to The New Year. HOT SPOT CAR RACE 1, the 19 x US$1,100 (£917) CASH PRIZES were won as follows:- The pigeons that took 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 19th and 20th OPEN positions which are all mentioned above. Then the pigeons that took 21st, 22nd, 23rd & 25th OPEN won the remaining Hot Spot Cash Prizes, these included 1 from Qatar, 1 x Germany, 1 x Netherlands, 1 x South African and 1 x American pigeons. WELL DONE TO ALL THESE WINNERS. THE 2-BIRD AVERAGE and US$2,000 (£1,667) was won by ZG HELIOS – YU TAO – HUEBNER – GEHRKEN (Team 1) from GERMANY with pigeons named VREDENS CHIPO and LAUGHING BOY bred by this partnership with an average velocity of 40.781 m/s. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 17th OPEN went to K CONSULTANCY (Team 1) with pigeons named BLACK SL and BLACK HOUBEN bred by PIETER OBERHOLSTER from KEYSOE with an average velocity of 38/968 m/s. 1st IRELAND, 60th OPEN went to GROVE HILL LOFTS (Team 1) with pigeons named GROVE HILL TED and GROVE HILL TINY both bred by this MC CONLON and with an average velocity of 38.318 m/s. THE 3-BIRD AVERAGE and US$3,000 (£2,500) was won by ZG HELIOS – YU TAO – HUEBNER – GEHRKEN (Team 1) from GERMANY with pigeons named VREDENS CHIPO, LAUGHING BOY and FRANKS FAVORITE with and average velocity of 60.293 m/s. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 37th OPEN went to UK ELITE SYNDICATE (Team 2), administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeons named ESSEX FLAME, ESSEX INSPIRATION and ESSEX GOLD all bred by LEE FRIBBINS from FRATING with an average velocity of 53.439 m/s. 1st IRELAND, 20th OPEN went to GROVE HILL LOFTS (Team 1) with pigeons named GROVE HILL TED, GROVE HILL TINY and GROVE HILL BRUNO all bred by MC CONLON with an average velocity of 55.616 m/s. THE HOT SPOT AVERAGES after 3 races stands as follows:- 1st OPEN goes to FAYEZ Q8 from KUWAIT with pigeon named Q8_FAYEZ_277 and bred by FAYEZ JAMAAN ALOTIBI, with a combined time of 08.50.50.20, which has taken 27th OPEN in HSCR1, 6th OPEN in HSCR2 and now 71st OPEN in HSCR3. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 9th OPEN goes to MR & MRS CLAYBURN with pigeon named MAJOR VALANTIN, bred by BRIAN CLAYBURN from ACKWORTH, with a combined time of 09.02.02.50, which has taken 38th OPEN in HSCR1, 366th OPEN in HSCR2 and now 83rd OPEN in HSCR3. 1st IRELAND, 321st OPEN goes to MORAN & BOWDEN with their pigeon named CAPTAIN CHRIS bred by ANDREW MORAN, with a combined time of 09.42.44.35, which has taken 1,970th OPEN in HSCR1, 164th OPEN in HSCR2 and now 1,096th OPEN in HSCR3. THE OVERALL AVERAGES after 13 official races now stand as follows:- 1st OPEN goes to TORONTO TRICFECTA FUTURITY from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeon named PRETTY ASADIACOS bred by JOE ZARACHOWICZ, actual flying time 21.14.54.60 with 1148th TR1, 212th TR2, 40th TR3, 782nd TR4, 902nd TR5, 174th TR6, 130th HSCR1, 8th TR7, 1057th HSCR2, 566th TR8, 157th TR9, 88th TR10 and now 291st HSCR3. 2nd Open goes to Abdullah Bohaimed from Kuwait with his great pigeon Bohaimed 6 and 3rd Open goes to Ado Family Loft from United States Of America with pigeon named ALMA. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 8th OPEN goes to ZANDYS DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named ZANDYS PRIDE bred by PAUL SMITH, actual flying time 21.30.55.94 with 403rd TR1, 632nd TR2, 1318th TR3, 146th TR4, 491st TR5, 379th TR6, 639th HSCR1, 324th TR7, 546th HSCR2, 2233rd TR8 and now 205th TR9, 85th TR10 and now 1044th HSCR3, this pigeon is the nestmate to Zandys Venture below. 2nd UNITED KINGDOM, 10th Open goes to Carlos Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon named Carlos Magic bred by Jos Reilly from Dublin. 3rd UNITED KINGDOM, 22nd Open goes to Zandys Dream Team, with pigeon named Zandys Venture, bred by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet. This pigeon is the nestmate to Zandys Pride mentioned above. 1st IRELAND, 240th OPEN goes to SAFET DURAN, with pigeon named BOSNIAN PREDATOR bred by SAFET DURAN with a combined flying time of 23.14.06.40 with 1896th TR1, 544th TR2, 58th TR3, 982nd TR4, 1322nd TR5, 1072nd TR6, 218th HSCR1, 2544th TR7, 1469th HSCR2, 1128th TR8, 2329th TR9, 2502nd TR10 and now 1086th HSCR3. 2nd IRELAND, 553rd Open goes to Robbie Daly with his pigeon named Big Bird and 3rd IRELAND, 671st Open goes to Philip & Mark Smith with pigeon named Eliz. THE COUNTRY CHALLENGE is a separate country competition which costs US$120 (approx. £100) per pigeon to enter and offers 3 cash prizes in each of the 5 Hot Spot Car Races and currently there is 143 UNITED KINGDOM pigeons entered and the Prize Money will be as follows:- There will be cash prizes of 1st Prize US$125 (approx. £104), 2nd Prize US$75 (approx. £62) and 3rd Prize US$50 (approx. £42) on Hot Spot Car Races 1, 2, 3 & 4. Then on Hot Spot Car Race 5 the prizes will increase to 1st Prize US$5,130 (approx. £4,275), 2nd Prize US$3,078 (approx. £2,565) and 3rd Prize US$2,052 (approx. £1,710). In The Final Race there will be just a 1st Prize winner takes all and that will go to the entered pigeon with the best average over the 5 x Hot Spot Car Races and The Final Race. The winning pigeon will be crowned THE UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY CHALLENGE ACE WINNER and the Prize is now standing at US$5,920 (approx. £4,934). Of course only pigeons that were fully paid for and entered into this competition prior to basketing for Hot Spot Car Race 1 are eligible to fly for this ACE PIGEON AWARD. The UNITED KINGDOM TEAM have always supported this extra competition and the winners in this HSCR1 were as follows:- THE UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY AVERAGES after 13 races are as follows: 1st UNITED KINGDOM ZANDY DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET, with pigeon named ZANDYS PRIDE bred by PAUL SMITH, with a combined flying time of 21.30.55.94, this pigeon is nestmate to Zandys Venture mentioned below, 2nd UNITED KINGDOM CARLOS DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named CARLOS MAGIC bred by JOS REILLY from DUBLIN, with a combined flying time of 21.34.09.35, 3rd UNITED KINGDOM ZANDYS DREAM TEAM, administered by bred by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with pigeon named ZANDYS VENTURE bred by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with a combined flying time of 21.50.04.34, this pigeon is the nestmate to Zandys Pride mentioned above. 1st UNITED KINGDOM and US$125 (approx. £104) goes to 11th OPEN LUCKY DEVILS SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named LUCKY DREAM and bred by BOB FENECH from ATTLEBOROUGH. 2nd UNITED KINGDOM and US$75 (approx. £62) goes to 74th OPEN MILLYS LOFTS, with pigeon named DUNDEES BACK bred by MICHAEL MELLOR from CREWE, 3rd UNITED KINGDOM and US$50 (approx. £42) goes to 92nd OPEN ZANDYS DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon bred by him and named ZANDYS VENTURE. The IRELAND TEAM only entered 6 pigeons and will fly for 1st Prize US$125 (approx. £104), 2nd US$75 (approx. £62) and 3rd Prize US$50 (approx. £42) on Hot Spot Car Races 1, 2, 3 & 4. Then on Hot Spot Car Race 5 the prizes will increase to 1st Prize US$335 (approx. £279), 2nd Prize US$201 (approx. £167) and 3rd Prize US$134 (approx. £112). In The Final Race there will just be a 1st Prize winner takes all and that will go to the pigeon with the best average over the 5 x Hot Spot Car Races and The Final Race. The winning pigeon will be crowned THE IRISH COUNTRY CHALLENGE ACE WINNER and the Prize is now standing at US$440 (approx. £367). Of course only pigeons that were fully paid for and entered into this competition prior to basketing for Hot Spot Car Race 1 are eligible to fly for this ACE PIGEON AWARD. THE IRISH COUNTRY CHALLENGE AVERAGES after 13 races are as follows:- 1st IRELAND PHILIP & MARK SMITH with their pigeon named ELIZ with a combined flying time of 25.11.42.80. This partnership are also 2nd with pigeon named Jamie Hayden. 1st IRELAND and US$125 (approx. £104) goes to 730th OPEN G+J DOUGLAS with pigeon named LURGAN BELLE and bred by this partnership, 2nd IRELAND and US$75 (approx. £62) goes to 1153rd OPEN PHILIP + MARK SMITH with pigeon named GAELIC HOPE and bred by this partnership, 3rd IRELAND and US$50 (approx. £42) goes to 1619th OPEN PHILIP + MARK SMITH with pigeon named ELIZ and once again bred by this partnership. CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 10th OPEN went to GUYS LOFTS ELITE, with their pigeon named LITTLE STAR 1 which was bred by GRAHAM GUY from WOLVERHAMPTON, which was officially clocked at 08.54.32.70 just 4 minutes 30.20 seconds away from the actual race winner. 2nd UK, 11th Open Lucky Devils Syndicate, administer by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Bob Fenech from Attleborough, 3rd UK, 17th Open Team Lincs with pigeon bred by Paul & Tracey Stacey from Sleaford, hope this perks Paul up after a horse riding accident on Christmas Day, which meant Paul spent Christmas in hospital. Hope you make a good recovery mate?, 4th UK, 74th Open Millys Loft with pigeon bred by Michael Mellor from Crewe, 5th UK, 83rd Open Mr & Mrs Clayburn with pigeon bred by Brian Clayburn from Ackworth, 6th UK, 92nd Open Zandys Dream Team with pigeon bred by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet, 7th UK, 109th Open K Consultancy with pigeon bred by Pieter Oberholster from Keysoe, 8th UK, 119th Open Hilamb Syndicate, entered by Ken Ambler from Keighley with pigeon bred by Ron Hillcoat from Sowerby Bridge, 9th UK, 134th Open Carlos Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jos Reilly from Dublin, 10th UK, 137th Open R Bartley & W Gardner from Lancaster with pigeon bred by W Gardner from Lancaster, 11th UK, 152nd Open The Royal Lofts (Her Majesty The Queen) and with pigeon bred by Peter Farrow (Loft Manager) from Wolverton, 12th UK, 160th Open Jutla Brothers from Upton Park, 13th UK, 188th Open John Chipperfield from Herne Bay, 14th UK, 192nd Open W Gray & Son with pigeon bred by Willy & Ian Gray from Birgham, 15th UK, 197th Open another for Mr & Mrs Clayburn from Ackworth, 16th UK, 209th Open Crammond, Langstaff & Gilbert from Fontwell and Windsor, 17th UK, 213th Open UK Elite Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon bred by Clive Baldwin from Edgware, 18th UK, 224th Open another for Zandys Dream Team with another pigeon bred by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet, 19th UK, 289th Open John Cooper from Pontypridd and 20th UK, 325th Open Premier Stud UK Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with pigeon bred by Premier Stud from Patringham Haven. A total of 50 pigeons from the United Kingdom were officially recorded up to 09.12, with 100 up to 09.22. A later update loft list issued showed 150 UK pigeon had returned to the lofts by 09.36 and then 205 by 11.28 and by 19.152 a total of 227 had been officially recorded, leaving 34 UK pigeons still to return to the loft. Sunday dawned and by 11.32 a total of 246 UK pigeons had returned, with no more making it by nightfall, leaving 15 UK pigeons to return to the loft. However I am sure a few more will work back in the next few days. The Monday loft list showed that 252 UK pigeons were still in the race loft. CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 165th OPEN went to PAT MAHER with pigeon named EL DORADO and bred by PAT MAHER, which was officially clocked at 09.01.18.34, 11 minutes 15.84 seconds behind the actual race winner, this pigeon was a Marcel Ailbrecht based Rauw De Sablons and similar bloodlines are responsible for Pat’s 1st & 2nd Irish National winners from Penzance. 2nd Ireland, 294th Open Grove Hill Lofts, 3rd Ireland, 730th Open G+J Douglas, 4th Ireland, 986th Open Maurice O’Donnell, 5th Ireland, 1086th Open Safet Duran and 6th Ireland, 1096th Open Moran & Bowden. A total of 6 Irish pigeons were officially clocked by 09.19, with a later report showed 20 were clocked by 10.15, then 24 by 11.01. The last loft list on the day showed 30 Irish pigeons were in the loft, leaving just 6 Irish pigeons to make it home. Two more returned early on Sunday morning taking the total to 32 and a further update shows, 2 more showed up before darkness, leaving just 2 Irish pigeons to return to the race loft. The Monday loft list showed that 36 Irish pigeons were still in the race loft. GLOBAL NOMINATIONS on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 3 amounted to a staggering US$22,591.30c (£18,826) and there was a total of 459 pigeons actually entered which included 23 from the United Kingdom and none from Ireland and there was 1,646 nominations and all this money in this race was won by pigeons in the top 122 positions. There was just one UK winners in this race and that was 109th OPEN for K CONSULTANCY with pigeon named BLACK SL bred by PIETER OBERHOLSTER from KEYSOE that won US$28.90c (£24) for its efforts. UNITED KINGDOM NOMINATIONS amounted to US$770.10c (£642) and showed 17 pigeons with 50 nominations and the winners were TEAM LINCS taking 17th OPEN with their pigeon named STAMFORD, bred by PAUL & TRACEY STACEY from SLEAFORD which won US141.10c (£118) for its efforts and then 109th OPEN for K CONSULTANCY with pigeon named BLACK SL bred by PIETER OBERHOLSTER from KEYSOE winning US$510 (£425) for its efforts and then lastly MANCHESTER MAESTROS taking 534th OPEN with pigeon named LADY LOIS 2, bred by JOHN CREHAN from MANCHESTER winning US$119 (£99) for its efforts. WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED. THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION offers a US$25,000 (£20,834) First Prize and only fully paid up pigeon before basketing of Hot Spot Car Race 1 are eligible to compete for this great cash prize. This great competition offer the following conditions and one lucky winner will walk away with “THE POT OF GOLD” after the Final Race. These rules are as follows:- This competition will take place over the last four Hot Spot Car Races and the Final Race, if however any Hot Spot Car Race is cancelled the race committee can use a Training Race to replace any Hot Spot Car Race. As usual this competition is very well supported and this year was no exception as there was a total of 2,747 pigeons entered, which was made up of 2,571 International pigeons, which included 236 from the United Kingdom and 37 from Ireland and 176 pigeons from South Africa. KNOCKOUT ROUND 1 will take place on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 2 and 1,787 (65%) of the entered pigeons will move forward to the next round. KNOCKOUT ROUND 2 will take place on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 3 and 984 (55%) of the entered pigeons will move forward to the next round. KNOCKOUT ROUND 3 will take place on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 and 345 (35%) of the entered pigeons will move forward to the next round. KNOCKOUT ROUND 4 will take place on HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5 and 69 (20%) of the entered pigeons will move forward to the next round. Then KNOCKOUT ROUND 5 will take place on THE FINAL RACE on SATURDAY 4th FEBRUARY 2017 and just 69 top class pigeons will be competing and the first pigeon clocked of these remaining 69 KNOCKOUT PIGEONS will walk away this coveted First Prize of US$25,000 (£20,834). THIS REALLY IS A GREAT INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION THAT CREATES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF INTEREST AND EXCITEMENT THROUGHOUT THE RACE SERIES. After HOT SPOT CAR RACE 2 there were a total of 1,787 pigeons still in this competition and they were 1,669 International pigeons which included 150 from the United Kingdom and 19 from Ireland and 118 South African pigeons. After HOT SPOT CAR RACE 3 there were a total of 984 pigeons still left in this competition and they were 922 International pigeons which included 91 from the United Kingdom and 7 from Ireland and 62 pigeons from South Africa. See SAMDPR Results & Listings for full list. GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE PIGEONS IN THE NEXT ROUND. Next race is TRAINING RACE 11 is due to take place on Wednesday 4th January 2017. LIVESTREAM was up and running at the race loft so I woke up very early and logged on at 05.30 (GMT) or 07.30 (SA time) on Thursday morning at home to watch the pigeons arrive from TRAINING RACE 11 after a one day delay because of continuous heavy rain throughout the day. With even more heavy rain forecast for later this morning a decision was taken to shorten the toss from 114km (71 miles) to 62km (39 miles) and they liberated at 07.15. Good to see the team are thinking of the pigeons. Once again it is fantastic to be able to sit nearly 6,000 miles away and watch the pigeons arrive back home. The weather looked very good with a nice blue sky, with fluffy clouds and a light head wind for most of the journey. I did not have to wait long for the first arrivals as the first gang of about 80 pigeons arrived at 07.06 (SA time) or 05.06 (GMT), another group of about 100 pigeons appeared swung round the loft and were joined by a few more big gangs, then all of a sudden hundreds started hit the landing platform and started to trap. I also had my iPad ready for the result and all of a sudden I showed 1st OPEN had gone to UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The pigeons just fell out of the sky with literally hundreds being clocked within a few minutes of the race winner, in fact over 1,000 pigeons were officially clocked within 4 minutes of the actual race winner. If you have not logged on yet to watch the pigeons arrive from the races, you do not know what you are missing, it is fantastic and also a great experience. https://youtu.be/-1WwjlRDkh8 TRAINING RACE 11 took place on Thursday 4th January 2017 from 62km (39 miles) and a total of 3,190 pigeons were basketed from 35 different countries and this total included 2,954 International and 236 South African pigeons and this total also included 251 from the United Kingdom and 36 from Ireland. Only 7 pigeons were held back and not basketed, these included none from the United Kingdom and also none from Ireland, these were all left in the lofts because they had made mistakes earlier in the week. Total still in the loft was 3,197 pigeons. The convoy were liberated at 07.15 in fine and cloudy conditions, with a light head wind on route, 18c (64f) and a good steady race was anticipated. The temperature was expected to rise to during the day but once again heavy rain was forecast to start about 11 am, because of the persistent heavy rain over the last few days the pigeons have not been trained. CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st OPEN goes to GORDON LAU from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeon named HANA bred by GORDON LAU, which was officially clocked at 08.05.48.65 to record a winning velocity of 1346ypm (20.3369 m/s) (46mph), this pigeon had already won 79th OPEN in TR2, 63rd OPEN in TR4, 76th OPEN in TR5, 53rd OPEN in TR8 and now 1st OPEN in TR11. 2nd Van Kerckhove – Vercauteren from Belgium with their good pigeon Blue Daisey that has already won 1st OPEN in TR2, 2nd OPEN in TR4, 3rd OPEN in HSCR2, 11th OPEN in TR8, 47th OPEN in TR9, not clocked in TR10 or HSCR3, now 2nd OPEN in TR11, 3rd Loft Einkamerer from South Africa, 4th Red Dragon Lofts from United States Of America, 5th Jan Hooymans – Hu Zhen Yu from Netherlands, 6th Team Styrum from Germany, 7th Roan & Haack from United States Of America, 8th Nicole De Weerd from Belgium with pigeon that won 2nd OPEN in HSCR2, 3rd OPEN in TR9 and now 8th OPEN in TR11, 9th Jack Olsen Loft from United States Of America, 10th Larry Payne from United States Of America, 11th SG Adelmann from Germany, 12th V & W Vahle from Canada, 13th RA Bakker & Zoon from Netherlands, 14th Jancan from Canada, 15th Rolf Berger from Germany, 16th Robert Darr – Donald Bicknell from United States Of America, 17th Millys Loft from United Kingdom, 18th Xaver Heinloth from Germany, 19th Marian Mucha from United States Of America and 20th Orlowski – Puzio from Poland. The top twenty in this result were separated by just 20.94 seconds and had 8 different countries represented in the top 20 and 13 different countries in the top 50, only 33.80 seconds away from the actual race winner. This race resulted as another with fantastic returns with 1,000 recorded by 08.10, then 2,000 by 08.13, then 2,500 by 08.16, then 3,000 by 08.30, then 3,131 by 09.56 leaving 59 to make it back to the lofts. A total of 3,138 pigeons were officially clocked by 14.19, leaving just 52 pigeons to make it back to the loft. CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 17th OPEN went to MILLYS LOFT and with pigeon named MILLYS BABE which was bred by MICHAEKL MELLOR from CREWE, which was officially clocked at 08.06.06.95, just 18.30 seconds away from the race winner. 2nd UK, 40th Open Zandys Dream Team with pigeon bred by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet, 3rd UK, 75th Open Alistair Hogg from Winchburg, 4th UK, 84th Open Carlos Dream Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeon bred by Jos Reilly from Dublin, this pigeon is currently holding on to 2nd UK, 9th OPEN in the Overall Averages and also 2nd UK Country Challenge Averages after 14 races, 5th UK, 121st Open Crammond, Langstaff & Gilbert from Fontwell and Windsor, 6th UK, 130th Open Manchester Maestros with pigeon bred by John Crehan from Manchester, 7th UK, 131st Open another for Millys Loft with a second pigeon bred by Michael Mellor from Crewe, 8th UK, 141st Open Trainspotters with pigeon bred by Turner & Watson, 9th UK, 159th Open another for Zandys Dream Team also bred by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet, 10th UK, 167th Open another for Crammond, Langstaff & Gilbert from Fontwell and Windsor, 11th UK, 173rd Open Guys Lofts Elite with pigeon bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton, 12th UK, 177th Open a third pigeon for Crammond, Langstaff & Gilbert from Fontwell and Windsor, 13th UK, 186th Open Jutla Brothers from Upton Park, 14th UK, 195th Open Mendip Lofts with pigeon bred by David Hunter from Bath, 15th UK, 206th Open Tim Atkin from Rugby who entered 6 pigeons and still has all 6 left in the loft, 16th UK, 208th Open a third pigeon for Zandys Dream Team with another pigeon bred by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet, 17th UK, 233rd Open a third pigeon for Millys Loft with another pigeon bred by Michael Mellor from Crewe, 18th UK, 238th Open Lloyd & Kelly from Didcot, 19th UK, 273rd Open a fourth pigeon for Zandys Dream Team with another pigeon bred by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and then 20th UK, 279th Open Guys Lofts with a second pigeon bred by Graham Guy from Wolverhampton. Another great race with 50 UK pigeons being officially clocked by 00.09, then 100 up to 08.11 and then 150 by 08.13, then 200 by 08.17, then 245 by 09.20 leaving 6 UK pigeons to return to base camp. The last loft list of the day showed 246 UK pigeons had been clocked, leaving 5 still to make it back to base camp. CONGRATULATIONS on winning 1st IRELAND, 25th OPEN went to GERRY McCOURT with pigeon named SURE THING, bred by GERRY McCOURT which was officially clocked at 08.06.12.84, just 24.19 seconds after the actual race winner. 2nd Ireland, 119th Open Padraig & Caoimhe, 3rd Ireland, 184th Open Joe Kennedy & Son, 4th Ireland, 283rd Open Donnelly & Kirkwood, 5th Ireland, 638th Open Moran & Bowden and then 6th Ireland, 692nd Open Pat Maher with the pigeon that won 1st Ireland in HSCR3. A good race with 8 pigeons being officially clocked by 08.10, then 23 by 08.15 then the final list showed all 36 Irish pigeons had been officially recorded by 08.33. THE OVERALL AVERAGES after 14 official races now stand as follows:- 1st OPEN goes to TORONTO TRICFECRA FUTURITY from UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with pigeon named PRETTY ASADIACOS and bred by JOE ZARACHOWICZ, actual flying time 22.07.36.10, with 1148th TR1, 212th TR2, 40th TR3, 782nd TR4, 902nd TR5, 174th TR6, 130th HSCR1, 8th TR7, 1057th HSCR2, 566th TR8, 157th TR9, 88th TR10, 291st HSCR3 and now 271st TR11. 2nd Open goes to Abdullah Bohaimed from Kuwait and 3rd Open goes to Ado Family Loft from United States Of America. 1st UNITED KINGDOM, 8th OPEN goes to ZANDYS DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named ZANDYS PRIDE bred by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET, actual flying time of 22.24.20.44, with 403rd TR1, 632nd TR2, 1318th TR3, 146th TR4, 491st TR5, 379th TR6, 639th HSCR1, 324th TR7, 546th HSCR2, 2233rd TR8, 205th TR9, 85th TR10, 1044th HSCR3 and now 479th TR11. 2nd UNITED KINGDOM, 9th Open is Carlos Dream Syndicate with pigeon named Carlos Magic bred by Jos Reilly from Dublin and 3rd UNITED KINGDOM, 28th Open goes to Manchester Maestros with pigeon named Lady Lois 2 bred by John Crehan from Manchester.1st IRELAND, 250th OPEN goes to SAFAT DURAN with pigeon named BOSNIAN PREDATOR bred by SAFET DURAN, actual flying time 24.16.48.20, with 1896th TR1, 544th TR2, 58th TR3, 982nd TR4, 1322nd TR5, 1072nd TR6, 218th HSCR1, 2544th TR7, 1469th HSCR2, 1128th TR8, 2329th TR9, 2502nd TR10, 1086th HSCR3 and now 2661st TR11. 2nd IRELAND, 537th Open goes to Robbie Daly with pigeon named Big Bird and 3rd IRELAND, 666th Open goes to Philip & Mark Smith with pigeon named Eliz. GLOBAL NOMINATIONS on TRAINING RACE 11 amounted to US$5,049.85c (£4,408) and there was a total of 221 pigeons actually entered which included 17 from the UK and just none from IRELAND and there was 662 nominations and all this money in this race was won by pigeons in the top 69 positions. There were no UK winners. UNITED KINGDOM NOMINATIONS amounted to US$228.15c (£190) and there was a total of 16 pigeons entered and there was 35 nominations. There was just one winner as follows:- 130th OPEN for MANCHESTER MAESTROS with pigeon named LADY LOIS 2 bred by JOHN CREHAN from MANCHESTER winning US$228.15c (£190) for its efforts. WELL DONE JOHN. THE COUNTRY CHALLENGE is a separate country competition which costs US$120 (approx. £100) per pigeon to enter and offers 3 cash prizes in each of the 5 Hot Spot Car Races and currently there is 143 UNITED KINGDOM pigeons entered and the Prize Money will be as follows:- There will be cash prizes of 1st Prize US$125 (approx. £104), 2nd Prize US$75 (approx. £62) and 3rd Prize US$50 (approx. £42) on Hot Spot Car Races 1, 2, 3 & 4. Then on Hot Spot Car Race 5 the prizes will increase to 1st Prize US$5,130 (approx. £4,275), 2nd Prize US$3,078 (approx. £2,565) and 3rd Prize US$2,052 (approx. £1,710). In The Final Race there will be just a 1st Prize winner takes all and that will go to the entered pigeon with the best average over the 5 x Hot Spot Car Races and The Final Race. The winning pigeon will be crowned THE UNITED KINGDOM COUNTRY CHALLENGE ACE WINNER and the Prize is now standing at US$5,920 (approx. £4,934). Of course only pigeons that were fully paid for and entered into this competition prior to basketing for Hot Spot Car Race 1 are eligible to fly for this ACE PIGEON AWARD. The UNITED KINGDOM TEAM have always supported this extra competition and the winners in this HSCR1 were as follows:- THE COUNTRY CHALLENGE AVERAGES after 14 races are as follows:- 1st UNITED KINGDOM is ZANDYS DREAM TEAM, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET with pigeon named ZANDYS PRIDE which was bred by PAUL SMITH and has a combined flying time of 22.24.20.44. 2nd UNITED KINGDOM is CARLOS DREAM SYNDICATE, administered by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and with pigeon named CARLOS MAGIC bred by JOS REILLY from DUBLIN and has a combined flying time of 22.25.42.55, 3rd UNITED KINGDOM is MANCHESTER MAESTROS with pigeon named LADY LOIS 2 bred by JOHN CREHAN from MANCHESTER with a combined flying time of 22.55.18.15 then 4th UNITED KINGDOM is another for ZANDYS DREAM TEAM with pigeon named ZANDYS VENTURE (nestmate to Zandys Pride mentioned above) bred by PAUL SMITH from STANSTED MOUNTFITCHET and has a combined flying time of 22.59.00.94. The IRELAND TEAM only entered 6 pigeons and will fly for 1st Prize US$125 (approx. £104), 2nd US$75 (approx. £62) and 3rd Prize US$50 (approx. £42) on Hot Spot Car Races 1, 2, 3 & 4. Then on Hot Spot Car Race 5 the prizes will increase to 1st Prize US$335 (approx. £279), 2nd Prize US$201 (approx. £167) and 3rd Prize US$134 (approx. £112). In The Final Race there will just be a 1st Prize winner takes all and that will go to the pigeon with the best average over the 5 x Hot Spot Car Races and The Final Race. The winning pigeon will be crowned THE IRISH COUNTRY CHALLENGE ACE WINNER and the Prize is now standing at US$440 (approx. £367). Of course only pigeons that were fully paid for and entered into this competition prior to basketing for Hot Spot Car Race 1 are eligible to fly for this ACE PIGEON AWARD. THE IRISH COUNTRY CHALLENGE AVERAGES after 14 races are as follows:- 1st IRELAND is PHILIP & MARK SMITH with pigeon named ELIZ bred by these fanciers and with a combined flying time of 26.10.24.05. 2nd IRELAND is another for PHILIP & MARK SMITH with pigeon named JAMIE HAYDEN bred by these fanciers with a combined flying time of 29.27.06.80. Pigeons nominated and paid for into THE COUNTRY CHALLENGE competition from other countries were as follows:- AUSTRALIA 18, BELGIUM 10, CANADA 2, DENMARK 9, GERMANY 35, IRELAND 6, NETHERLANDS 5, POLALD 9, SOUTH AFRICA 72, UNITED KINGDOM 143 and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 17. These figures are quoted just shows what great support the UNITED KINGDOM gives this special competition. GOOD LUCK TO ALL FANCIERS AND ENTRANTS IN HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 ON SATURDAY 7th JANUARY 2017. It has just been announced on the SAMDPR web site that there is a “WEATHER WARNING” of heavy and persistent rain over the next few days in South Africa, so this HSCR may be delayed until the weather conditions change. PROPOSED RACE PROGRAMME:- The remaining Training Races, Mid-Week Races and Saturday Races during 2016/17 race series are now listed as follows:- HOT SPOT CAR RACE 4 from 300km (187 miles) on Saturday 7th January 2017, Training Race 12 from 62km (39 miles) on Wednesday 11th January 2017, Training Race 13 from 100km (62 miles) on Saturday 14th January 2017, Training Race 14 from 80km (50 miles) on Wednesday 18th January 2017, HOT SPOT CAR RACE 5 from 350km (218 miles) on Saturday 21st January 2017, Training Race 15 from 62km (39 miles) on Wednesday 25th January 2017, Training Race 16 from 80km (50 miles) on Saturday 28th January 2017, then THE FINAL RACE from 550km (342 miles) on Saturday 4th February 2017. These dates are not be set in stone and if the proposed date for any of these races is not suitable for liberation, then these will take place on the next best day in that week. Daily training will also take place during the week providing the weather is suitable. No training will take place on Sundays unless of course a holdover takes place on the Saturday race. The Overall Averages and the allocated US$17,500 (£14,000) Prize Money will only count in races of 50km (31 miles) and over. ***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT*** I am sorry that I can’t add all the information about who bred all the pigeons or where they live as I can only publish details which I am in possession of. If there are no details besides your winning pigeon/s then please contact me on reglofts@aol.com with your details and I will include these in my later International Press Reports. I personally do my best to give all the fanciers, entrants and breeders all the credit they and their pigeons deserve when they manage to get in the results so your help in this matter will be greatly appreciated. For the first few races numerous pigeons will not trap, so do not worry if yours is clocked late. The main thing to consider over the first few shorter races is that all the pigeons will not trap quickly but if they have made it back to the race loft on Heron Banks Golf & River Estate they are there to fight another day. With each race the pigeons will learn a bit more, giving them more experience to tackle all the tasks that they are going to have in front of them during the testing 2016/17 training and race series. GOOD LUCK TO ALL CONCERNED AND REGULAR “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES”, “NEWSLETTERS” AND “UPDATES” WILL BE SENT OUT TO ALL COMPETITORS/ENTRANTS AND SYNDICATE SHAREHOLDERS ON A WEEKLY BASIS BY EMAIL OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. ALSO WEEKLY “PRESS RELEASES” WILL BE SENT OUT TO BOTH OUR TWO PIGEON PUBLICATIONS NAMELY THE “BRITISH HOMING WORLD” AND “”THE RACING PIGEON” PLUS IT WILL ALSO BE ON MY REGENCY LOFTS WEB SITE www.regencylofts.com FOR ALL TO VIEW. I would also just like to notify fanciers that my weekly “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE”, “NEWSLETTERS” and “UPDATES” can now also be seen on the following pigeon web sites:- www.regencylofts.com www.iprr.co.uk www.elimarpigeons.com www.pigeonportal.com www.pigeonglobe.co.uk www.cyberpigeon.co.uk www.pigeonbasics.com www.starpigeons.com www.pigeonpixels.co.uk www.theloftreport.com www.oneloftracing.com plus of course they will also be published in the “”BRITISH HOMING WORLD” and “THE RACING PIGEON” weeklies and other world pigeon publications for all to see, read and enjoy. The race date for THE 22nd SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE has already been agreed and confirmed by the race organisers as SATURDAY 3th FEBRUARY 2018. If you are interested in participating or acting a Country Race Team Shipper/Co-ordinator, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or SMS or email on reglogfts@aol.com and I will give you all the information you require. My two proposed shipping dates for THE 22nd SAMDPR will take about the middle of MAY 2017 and then the second one should be around the middle of JUNE 2017. Of course these two dates will be confirmed nearer the time. I strongly recommend that you try to ship your race entries on the 1st shipping date as this then gives these pigeons much more time to settle into the race lofts. If you have any questions about any aspect of THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 or my mobile 07860-568216 or by SMS or email at reglofts@aol.com and I will do my best to answer any of your questions or queries about this great race. These “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES” do take a lot of my time to prepare and I try to get as much into them as possible as I know fanciers and entrants like to know what is happening, unfortunately some time, some information will not be to hand when the print deadline is reached so can’t be included in that report. I can only apologise if I leave something out but I can assure everybody that I do my best to get as much information as possible to put into each of these international reports. IF ANY PIGEON FANCIER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR IN FACT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE MY WEEKLY “INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASES”, “NEWSLETTERS” AND “UPDATES” BY EMAIL, THEN ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS EMAIL ME THEIR ACTUAL EMAIL ADDRESS I WILL PUT THEM ON MY EMAIL DATABASE AND I WILL THEN FORWARD THEM ALL THE INFORMATION BY EMAIL ON A REGULAR BASIS. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL PIGEON FANCIERS/SYNDICATES & ENTRANTS WORLDWIDE DURING THE 2016/17 RACE SERIES. Paul Smith, United Kingdom Race Team Co-ordinator/Shipper and International Race Co-ordinator for The 21st South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race, which is due to be held at Heron Banks Golf & River Estate and Emerald Resort, Casino & Hotel, South Africa on Saturday 4th February 2017. Regency Lofts Limited, 2, Highmead, off Coltsfield, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LJ. England. Tel/Fax:- 01279-812005. (Int. Code:- +44-1279-812005), Mobile:- 07860-568216. Email Address:- reglofts@aol.com Regency Lofts Website:- www.regencylofts.com Skype Address:- talbot7944 Twitter Address:- PaulSmith@SmithReglofts The South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race Website:- www.samdpr.com ]]>