*Last week I had a call from John Davies who together with Richard Millington flying as Team Bagillt reported the great news that they had won Somerset One Loft Race Haselmere Hot Spot on the 3rd of August. Their winner was bred from a Grandson of Caliph and Poppy bred by Alun Maul and the mother was a gift from their friends Phil and Niel Bates from the very good son of Drum and Cleopatra when coupled with a Ronnie Williamson hen.

Two days later on the 5th August our own partnership Colijn- Fox won 1st U.K . and 6th International in the Belgian Masters One Loft Race Ace Pigeon Flight from Clermont. Our winner was bred from Golan our good breeding son of the Young Couple (Galileo x Agent Starling) when he was coupled with Mellisa our great racing hen winner of 13th Dutch National Ace Young Bird in 2011 being bred from Comet (Drum x Marina) x Athena (Dtr. Nieuwe Dream Couple of Leo Heremans).

Four days later on the 9th August, Mrs Ann Smith of Ashbourne called to say she and her daughter Michelle flying as Smith and Massey had won 1st and 2nd in the ‘Who Dares Wins’ One Loft Race Hot Spot from Wincanton. Their winner is bred from a son of Outlaw (Son of Figo of Reynaert) with Rowen (Direct Young Couple Galileo x Agent Starling) when he when he was paired to a daughter of Dutch Master x Marina. Second prize was won with one bred from a son of Drum x Seven Eleven (Zidane brother Kannibal x Agent Starling) paired to a hen that Mrs Smith bought from Mr Reilly in Ireland.

This morning 12th August I spoke with Ritchie Owen who together with partner Ken flying as Owen and Hogarth won the RPRA One Loft Race Nantwich Hot Spot. Their winner is bred from a quite extraordinary line of One Loft winners for them. The father is bred from GB04A38761 a son of Zidane x Agent Starling that they bought as a baby in our Blackpool auction in January 2005. He was coupled with a hen down from our original Blue Diamond (Wittenbuik x Sissi) lines.  Another son of the cock GB14A38761 from Zidane x Agent Starling also with the Blue Diamond hen therefore a brother to the father of yesterdays winner won the 1st Prize in the RPRA One Loft Race in 2010 winning Ritchie and Ken £20,000 and in June of this year they also won 1st  and 2nd with two nest mates in the Somerset One Loft Yearling Race from Hassalt in Belgium a distance of 401 miles winning £13,000 in prize and pool money. They were also bred from a son of GB14A38761 Zidane x Agent Starling with the Blue Diamond Hen that had flown the Somerset One Loft Race program last year when he were coupled to a Van Reet hen that was purchased from the same race last year that had also flown the program.

It is easy to see the influence of our Agent Starling hen in most of these winners. This daughter of Dirk Van Dyke’s Kannibaal really was one in a million!!