NRCC Dunbar young birds
They used to call him “Sniffer” Sayers when, as a young man, he was banging in the goals for his all-conquering village soccer team.
That nick-name could still stand as, nowadays, Albert Sayers “sniffs” around the North Road Championship Club results like a hungry terrier.
But, just as all good strikers work in pairs on the football pitch, so it can be in pigeon racing, and he has a top man at his side in Tim Dales. To prove the point, the Louth duo of Dales and Sayers ended their season by winning the NRCC’s national young bird race from Dunbar on Sunday, after a day’s holdover.
It was the partnership’s second open win in the NRCC as they won the helter-skelter old bird race from Fraserburgh last year.
This time it was a tougher test for the babies and, in a gusty south-west wind, the winning velocity was down to 1159 in a race which saw Section Two fill the first 16 places in the provisional result based on verification times.
Their winning pigeon was a pencil blue white flighted cock bird sent on the day his hen was laying her second egg. Having been on darkness, he mastered the tough test will a full wing.
Out of the 15 they sent, Tim and Albert had 14 home on the day, and are likely to be third and fourth as well when the open result is finalised.
It is a fitting climax to a fine season, and some consolation for having been beaten by a whisker by club colleagues and near neighbours, Burtons and Collins, in the Perth old bird race, when they were also ninth.
Earlier this season, they were 21st open Dunbar old birds, and 14th and 16th in the tough Fraserburgh race.
And just to remind you of their NRCC pedigree, their 2010 NRCC open results were: Dunbar 8th; Perth 3rd, 8th, 11th and 19th; Fraserburgh 1st and 6th; Thurso 6th and 22nd; Dunbar young birds 29th, 36th and 41st; Dunbar old hens 6th.
So you can see they are always “sniffing” around.
Their new champion had already had second club in its first race this year, and was second to register when they had six drop together in another race.
The Dales and Sayers young birds have just got better and better as the season progressed and, after their club and Hull Federation successes, they were the tip of many fanciers for this last NRCC race – if conditions were in their favour.
Well, the setting was right, and they did not disappoint.
They have clocked up 14 firsts in their Louth club this season, and all this is the reward for the combined talents of two excellent fanciers, and a lot of hard work.
But they will be the first to admit that not everything goes right all the time. For instance they sent 88 pigeons to the first young bird race this season, and lost 39. They, however, are not alone in losses in the first race across the Humber.
The mother of Sunday’s winner was a consistent performer until she came home from last year’s Fraserburgh with a damaged wing. Although she recovered to compete again, she was never quite the same as before her injury and was lost at the last Berwick old bird race.
The father was lost at Lerwick this year.
But the winner’s nest mate has flown well this young bird season, and was one of the early arrivals from Dunbar on Sunday.
Although conditions were obviously in favour of Section Two competitors, and they took full advantage of that, there were, as usual, some excellent results in other areas.
Provisional section winners are: Section One, Riggott and Richardson, Newark; Section Two, Dales and Sayers, Louth; Section Three, Frank Bristow, Horbling; Section Four, Terry Roughton, Wisbech; Section Five, P Longland, Denton; Section Six, Mal Waller, Norwich; Section Seven, George Chalkley and Son, London; Section Eight, Peter Crawford, Ipswich.
NRCC Dunbar young birds
They used to call him “Sniffer” Sayers when, as a young man, he was banging in the goals for his all-conquering village soccer team.
That nick-name could still stand as, nowadays, Albert Sayers “sniffs” around the North Road Championship Club results like a hungry terrier.
But, just as all good strikers work in pairs on the football pitch, so it can be in pigeon racing, and he has a top man at his side in Tim Dales. To prove the point, the Louth duo of Dales and Sayers ended their season by winning the NRCC’s national young bird race from Dunbar on Sunday, after a day’s holdover.
It was the partnership’s second open win in the NRCC as they won the helter-skelter old bird race from Fraserburgh last year.
This time it was a tougher test for the babies and, in a gusty south-west wind, the winning velocity was down to 1159 in a race which saw Section Two fill the first 16 places in the provisional result based on verification times.
Their winning pigeon was a pencil blue white flighted cock bird sent on the day his hen was laying her second egg. Having been on darkness, he mastered the tough test will a full wing.
Out of the 15 they sent, Tim and Albert had 14 home on the day, and are likely to be third and fourth as well when the open result is finalised.
It is a fitting climax to a fine season, and some consolation for having been beaten by a whisker by club colleagues and near neighbours, Burtons and Collins, in the Perth old bird race, when they were also ninth.
Earlier this season, they were 21st open Dunbar old birds, and 14th and 16th in the tough Fraserburgh race.
And just to remind you of their NRCC pedigree, their 2010 NRCC open results were: Dunbar 8th; Perth 3rd, 8th, 11th and 19th; Fraserburgh 1st and 6th; Thurso 6th and 22nd; Dunbar young birds 29th, 36th and 41st; Dunbar old hens 6th.
So you can see they are always “sniffing” around.
Their new champion had already had second club in its first race this year, and was second to register when they had six drop together in another race.
The Dales and Sayers young birds have just got better and better as the season progressed and, after their club and Hull Federation successes, they were the tip of many fanciers for this last NRCC race – if conditions were in their favour.
Well, the setting was right, and they did not disappoint.
They have clocked up 14 firsts in their Louth club this season, and all this is the reward for the combined talents of two excellent fanciers, and a lot of hard work.
But they will be the first to admit that not everything goes right all the time. For instance they sent 88 pigeons to the first young bird race this season, and lost 39. They, however, are not alone in losses in the first race across the Humber.
The mother of Sunday’s winner was a consistent performer until she came home from last year’s Fraserburgh with a damaged wing. Although she recovered to compete again, she was never quite the same as before her injury and was lost at the last Berwick old bird race.
The father was lost at Lerwick this year.
But the winner’s nest mate has flown well this young bird season, and was one of the early arrivals from Dunbar on Sunday.
Although conditions were obviously in favour of Section Two competitors, and they took full advantage of that, there were, as usual, some excellent results in other areas.
Provisional section winners are: Section One, Riggott and Richardson, Newark; Section Two, Dales and Sayers, Louth; Section Three, Frank Bristow, Horbling; Section Four, Terry Roughton, Wisbech; Section Five, P Longland, Denton; Section Six, Mal Waller, Norwich; Section Seven, George Chalkley and Son, London; Section Eight, Peter Crawford, Ipswich.