International Press Report s1

“ INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE” REPORT ON 3rd HOT SPOT RACE & 12th TRAINING RACE in THE 14th SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR (THE RACE WITH THE PROVEN TRACK RECORD) (THE GREATEST PIGEON RACE IN THE WORLD) WHICH IS DUE TO BE HELD IN SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA ON SATURDAY 30th JANUARY 2010.

This fantastic team supplied by some of the best pigeon fanciers in the world today are gaining more and more experience as the weeks go by and now after numerous training tosses and races and they really are ready for the rest of the 2009/10 race series and these athletes of the skies are now ready to have the 3rd HOT SPOT RACE which took place on Saturday 19th December from 246km (approx. 153 miles) and a total of 3,718 pigeons from 33 different countries were basketed and this figure included 3,137 International pigeons and included in this figure are 261 from the United Kingdom and 53 from Ireland plus 581 South African pigeons. This convoy were liberated at 05-30 with a little to no wind, fine and hot conditions and a temperature of 27c (81f) and a good steady tough race around the 40mph mark was anticipated by Zandy Meyer (Race Director) and Dave van der Merwe (Loft Manager) and an estimated time of arrival would be about 09-05. It was interesting to note by looking at past race results records that entries in the 3rd HOT SPOT RACE in the 2008/9 race series it was 3,736 pigeons only 18 pigeons less for this years race. So the “RACE & TRAINING TEAM” in South Africa seem to be doing an excellent job and keeping on track with a similar number of entries for the 2009/10 race series 3rd HOT SPOT RACE.

A LATER WEATHER UPDATE WAS ISSUED ON THE SCMDPR WEB SITE AT 12-30 AND IT STATED IT WAS VERY HOT IN SUN CITY ABOUT 38c (101f), PLUS THE HUMIDITY WAS HIGH AND THAT THERE WERE VERY STRONG HEAD WINDS. THIS WOULD OBVIOUSLY HAVE AN MAJOR EFFECT THE MISSING PIGEONS AT THAT TIME AND ON THE RETURNS THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE DAY AND OF COURSE ON SUNDAY. APPARANTLY THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS THUNDERSTORM ON SATURDAY EVENING AT SUN CITY AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS AND THIS COOLED THINGS DOWN A BIT EARLY ON SUNDAY MORNING AND MEANT THERE WAS PLENTY OF WATER ABOUT FOR THOSE THAT NIGHTED OUT.

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st Open in this 3rd HOT SPOT RACE went to Mishal Ead from Kuwait with Wataniya which was officially clocked at 09-09-05 to record a winning velocity of 1230ypm (42mph), this pigeon has won 534th, 578th, 1392nd, 453rd, 311th, 461st, 2454th, NOT CLOCKED, 1748th, 716th, 1030th, 2804th, 417th and and now 1st Open in the first 14 races, 2nd Open went to Heinrich Schmitz from the Germany, 3rd Open to Club RRUK from South Africa, 4th Open for Nashers Team from Ireland, 5th Open for Peter Rasmussen from Denmark, 6th Open for Haffner - Weitstreckenclub from Germany, 7th Open for Koopman Racing Pigeons 1 from the Netherlands, 8th Open for APC Loft from United States Of America, 9th Open for Alhamli Team from United Arab Emirates, 10th Open for Helmut u Anja Klaas from Germany, 11th Open for BFHS Boys Syndicate from Australia, 12th Open for Birgit u Gerhard Luecking from Germany, 13th Open for ZG Helios – Gehrken + Bucher from the China, 14th Open for Jaap Koehoorn from Netherlands, 15th Open for Jochen Huenten from Germany, 16th Open for Team Thomas from United Kingdom, 17th Open for Camille Wuyts from Belgium, 18th Open for Team Germany – Meyer from the Germany, 19th Open for my good friends Uwe u Irma Kreutzfeldt from Germany, 20th Open for RA Bakker and Zoon from Netherlands, 21st Open for Eugen Schnarr from Germany, 22nd Open for Christian Steinhagen from Germany, 23rd Open for Horst u Frank Sander from Germany, 24th Open for Flojo Team from Netherlands and then 25th Open for Clausing and Romanski from United States Of America. Once again it turned out to be another great international result with 5 different countries taking the first five Open positions and 8 different countries being represented in the top 10 and these were all clocked within 16.60 seconds of the race winner, then 12 different countries within the top 20 and with only 6 minutes and 38 seconds between the top 50 and 12 minutes 23 seconds between the first 100 pigeons clocked. As usual Michael Holt and Pieter Saymaan who control the computers at the lofts were once again doing a fantastic job to keep competitors/entrants informed as to what was happening at the lofts in Sun City. The good thing for us in the United Kingdom and Ireland is that South Africa is 2 hours ahead of us and as quick as the pigeons were being clocked the SCMDPR Web Site was updated with returns, it was very noticeable throughout the day that within 2/3 minutes of pigeons being clocked they were on the web site for all to see. WELL DONE GUYS, YOU REALLY DO A FANTASTIC JOB KEEPING PEOPLE INFORMED. The first official report on the web site at 07-12 (UK) just 3 minutes after the actual race winner was clocked showed 25 pigeons had been officially clocked on the state of the art Unikon Electronic Clocking System by 09-12, then 56 by 09-16, then 205 by 09-23, then 308 by 09-26, 487 by 09-33, 590 by 09-35 then the next report showed 815 by 09-39 which was 30 minutes after the race winner, then 1,165 by 09-49, then 1,866 by 10-25, then 2,118 by 10-48, 2,309 by 11-39 plus about another 8 updates throughout the afternoon and the last one showed 2,395 gallant pigeons had been clocked by 19-30, leaving 819 missing on the day. Sunday dawned and the first arrival was 05-07 which was an Irish pigeon and then by 09-40 a total of 3,253 had been officially recorded, then 3,300 by 12-58, 3,308 by 14-21, 3,328 by 17-21 and then the last report of the second day showed 3,333 had returned to the lofts leaving 385 pigeons still to return to base came. A final count on Monday showed 3,356 pigeons (90.26% return rate) in the lofts, leaving just 362 still to return. When you sit down and consider what these pigeons had to undergo during this race, it just goes to show that they must have been in first class conditions to return from their toughest task yet but something that will hold them all in good stead for what is in front of them over the next few weeks in their build up to the FINAL RACE. Of course a few more will return to the lofts in Sun City over the next few days. By the Wednesday Training Race 12 a total of 3,413 had made it home which was a 91.796% return rate, leaving 305 still missing.

The winner of the BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR awarded to the first ACTIVATED pigeon in this 3rd HOT SPOT RACE was won by Mishal Ead from Kuwait with his pigeon named Wataniya that won 1st OPEN.

Winners of the $20,000 HOT SPOT CASH PRIZE MONEY in this 3rd HOT SPOT RACE were as follows and the first 20 x “ACTIVATED PIGEONS” all won $1,000 each and were virtually the same as the top 20 pigeons listed in the Open result, the only exception being that the two pigeons that took 3rd and 17th Open were “NOT-ACTIVATED” so could not win the $1,000 cash prizes, so the pigeons in 21st and 22nd Open took these two cash prizes. Congratulations to all these 20 cash winners.

The winner of the TWO-BIRD AVERAGE in this 3rd HOT SPOT RACE and a $2,000 Cash Prize went to Jochen Huenten from Germany with their two pigeons named Grey Mantle and Lovely Rhythm. A total of 4 different countries were represented in the top 10. The United Kingdom Team had 8 competitors in the top 80 places and they were as follows:- 1st UK, 14th Open for the Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith of Stansted Mountfitchet and with pigeons named African Girl & African Queen both bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon, 2nd UK, 18th Open went to The Long – McAllister – Smith Syndicate, again administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with Charity Superstar & Charity Delight both bred by Bruce McAllister from Furneaux Pelham, 3rd UK, 37th Open for N+A Evans, Cuthbert and Sutton with Burntoft Blue & Burntoft Babe both bred by N Evans from Wolviston, 4th UK, 60th Open for Crystal Palace Eagles with Crystal Tips & Crystal Friar Of Brechin both bred by Terry Peart & John Donovan from Tadworth, 5th UK, 67th Open for Team Thomas with Kirwood Gladys & Kirwood Jamie both bred by Mike, Christine & Th0mas Kirby from Asselby, 6th UK, 78th Open for Gallows Hill Kid with Durkans Rainbow & Rainbow Warrior, the first one bred by Dave Murphy from Ripon and the second one bred by Pieter & Kate Oberholster from Lask Edge, 7th UK, 81st Open for the Wallasey Superstars administer by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with Wallasey Sunrise & Wallasey Bluey both bred by Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey and then 8th UK, 90th Open for Wombles with Oakley Princess & Oakley Smartie both bred by A & M Smith from Ashbourne. The Irish Team winners were as follows:- 1st Ireland, 143rd Open went to Tom Cahill with his two pigeons named Tom C & Danny C, 2nd Ireland, 328th Open for Mackin, McKeown and Son with Amigo Kid & Rons Delight and then 3rd Ireland, 397th Open for Paul Poole and Son with The Dub & Over The Moon. Good to see so many United Kingdom and Irish Teams doing well in this strong international competition.

The HOT SPOT ACE PIGEON AWARD that offers a $5,000 Cash Prize to the winner after the 5 Hot Spot Races is currently led by the following competitors after 3 races:- 1st Open for Jaap Koehoorn from Netherlands with his pigeon named Drum Melody that leads by just 170 seconds and has so far won 340th, 203rd & 14th Open in the 3 HOT SPOT RACES, 2nd Open for Peter Rasmussen from Denmark with Rikke, 3rd Open for APC Loft from United States Of America with Maddiston, 4th Open for Koopman Racing Pigeons 1 from Netherlands with Sheena, 5th Open for Uwe u Irma Kreutzfeldt from Germany with My Lucky Ann, 6th Open for Jochen Huenten from Germany with Grey Mantle, 7th Open for Crystal Palace Eagles from United Kingdom with Crystal Tips, 8th Open for Horst u Frank Sander from Germany with Washington, 9th Open for Mark Vandaele from Belgium with Blue Female Power and 10th Open for Jos e Jules Engels from Belgium with April Babe. It was great to see 3 different countries holding the first 3 positions and a total of 6 different countries in the top 10 and only 8 minutes 13 seconds between them. The United Kingdom Team had 10 pigeons in the top 183 in the Open and they are as follows:- 1st UK, 7th Open for Crystal Palace Eagles with Crystal Tips bred by Terry Peart & John Donovan from Tadworth, which has won 138th, 31st & 148th in the 3 HOT SPOT RACES so far, which excellent flying guys, 2nd & 10th UK, 12th & 183rd Open for Team Thomas with Kirwood Tom Tittlemouse and Kirwood Jamie both bred by Mike, Christine & Thomas Kirby from Asselby, 3rd UK, 42nd Open for Mark Gilbert – NFC Sponsor Team with Southfield Grey bred by Mark Gilbert from Windsor, 4th UK, 58th Open for Wombles with pigeon named Oakley Princess and bred by A & M Smith from Ashbourne, 5th UK, 59th Open for Marchant – Baron administered by Colin Marchant from Hemel Hempstead and with Motorway Baron bred by Baron Brothers from Redbourne, 6th UK, 88th Open for N+A Evans, Cuthbert and Sutton with Burntoft Blue bred by N Evans from Wolviston, 7th UK, 107th Open for Slim Timmis and Snooker with Spartakus bred by Slim Timmis from Newcastle, 8th UK, 127th Open for the Paul Smith Syndicate administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with African Pacesetter bred by Terry Robinson from Enfield and then 9th UK, 182nd Open for Mr and Mrs Paul Bell from Liverpool with Carcanet. Nearly 22 minutes separates these top 10 pigeons after three races. Our Irish Team has 3 pigeons in the top 395 in the Open and they are as follows:- 1st Ireland, 105th Open for Nashers Team with Annette N bred by John Nash from Dublin, which has won 1044th, 2259th & 4th in the 3 HOT SPOT RACES so far, 2nd Ireland, 360th Open for Oliver Bond Flats with The Warlord and then 3rd Ireland, 395th Open for Tom Cahill with Tom C. Just over 20 minutes separates these top 3 pigeons after three races. It is great to see the United Kingdom and Irish Teams doing so well in this competition.

This was the 2nd ROUND of the “KNOCKOUT COMPETITION” in the 3rd HOT SPOT RACE and from an original 2,928 entries that were entered by 33 different countries, which included 2,559 International pigeons, including 235 from the United Kingdom and 44 from Ireland, plus 369 from South Africa and all competing for the $25,000 First Prize in the FINAL RACE. These were whittled down on the 2nd HOT SPOT RACE to 1,904 (65%) pigeons from the original entry and this was made up by 1,679 International, which included 147 from the United Kingdom and 26 from Ireland, plus 225 from South Africa and then this will be whittled down to 1,408 which will all now go forward to the 3rd ROUND and this includes 922 International including 80 United Kingdom, 10 Irish plus 126 South African pigeons and which takes place on the 4th HOT SPOT RACE from 280km (174 miles) on Wednesday 30th December 2009. GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE PIGEONS LEFT IN THIS COMPETITION.

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st United Kingdom, 16th Open went to Team Thomas with their pigeon named Kirwood Tom Tittlemouse clocked at 09-10-04 just 59.04 seconds off the winner and bred by Mike, Christine & Thomas Kirby from Asselby, whose pigeons have been flying exceptionally well during this race series, this pigeon has now won 2019th, 2188th, 2772nd, 22nd, 735th, 3568th, 84th, 773rd, 319th, 1203rd, 906th, 731st, 564th and now 16th Open in first 14 races, 2nd UK, 51st Open went to the Long – McAllister – Smith Syndicate, administer by Paul Smith of Stansted Mountfitchet and with a pigeon bred by Bruce McAllister from Furneaux Pelham, which has already won quite a few prizes in this series and actually held on to the 1st Open position in the Sun City Overall Averages for two races earlier on, 3rd UK, 64th Open for Wombles with a pigeon bred by A & M Smith from Ashbourne, 4th UK, 66th Open for N+A Evans, Cuthbert and Sutton with a pigeon bred by N Evans from Wolviston, 5th UK, 73rd Open for Team Oberholster with a pigeon bred by Pieter & Kate Oberholster from Lask Edge, 6th UK, 79th Open for Mark Gilbert – NFC Sponsor Team with a pigeon bred by Mark Gilbert from Windsor, 7th UK, 93rd Open another for Team Thomas and also bred by Mike, Christine & Thomas Kirby from Asselby whose team of pigeons have been flying well, 8th, 9th, 10th & 16th UK, 113th, 118th, 127th & 278th Open all for the Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with the first, second and fourth pigeons bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon and the third one bred by Terry Robinson from Enfield, 11th UK, 148th Open for Crystal Palace Eagles with a pigeon bred by Terry Peart & John Donovan from Tadworth that won previously won 1st UK, 31st Open in the 2nd HOT SPOT RACE and also 1st UK, 9th Open in the HOT SPOT AVERAGES after 2 races that count, 12th UK, 168th Open for Marchant + Baron, administered by Colin Marchant from Hemel Hempstead with a pigeon bred by Baron Brothers from Redbourne, 13th UK, 184th Open for Evans and Bamford with a pigeon bred by Paul Bamford from Pembroke Dock, 14th UK, 227th Open for Mr and Mrs Paul Bell from Liverpool, 15th UK, 262nd Open for Brown Brothers from Gloucester, 17th UK, 318th Open for the Wallasey Superstars Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet and with a pigeon bred by Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey, 18th UK, 325th Open for Don Lupo from Southampton, 19th UK, 338th Open for Slim Timmis and Snooker with pigeon bred by Slim Timmis from Newcastle and then 20th UK, 369th Open Gallows Hill Kid and bred by Dave Murphy from Ripon. The first report on the web site showed a total of 1 United Kingdom pigeon was officially clocked in by 09-09, the next one showed 2 by 09-16, then 13 by 09-23, then 16 by 09-26, followed by 25 by 09-33, then 36 by 09-35, then 46 by 09-39 which was 30 minutes after the race winner, numerous more updates throughout the morning then 166 were clocked by 12-11 then numerous more updates during the afternoon and the final on at 19-30 showed 198 officially clocked, leaving 63 still to return home to the lofts. The first report on Sunday morning showed 223 pigeons clocked by 09-40 with the first UK pigeon being clocked at 05-44, then 227 by 12-58 and the final report of the second day showed 229 UK pigeons clocked, leaving 32 still missing and to return to base camp. A final count on Monday showed 231 (88.505% return rate) had returned to the lofts leaving 30 still to return. Of course some of these will probably work back in the next few days, so if yours is missing keep you eye on the web site on the basketing list. By the Wednesday Training Race 12 a total of 234 had returned which was a 89.655% return rate, leaving 37 still missing.

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st Ireland, 4th Open goes to Nashers Team with pigeon named Annette N which is a Stef van Reet bred by John Nash from Dublin and which was clocked at 09-09-11 just 06.05 seconds after the winner, this pigeon has now won 3050th, 392nd, 162nd, 3809th, 512th, 1487th, 166th, 1044th, 279th, 295th, 127th, 2259th, 525th and now 4th Open in its last 14 races, it was interesting to hear for John on the Sunday morning that Annette N is a half-sister to his pigeon named Annette that won 1st OPEN and a BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR in the 4th HOT SPOT RACE in the 2008/9 race series, then 2nd Ireland, 171st Open for Pats Team, 3rd Ireland, 387th Open for Billy Wallace, 4th & 5th Ireland, 391st & 407th Open for Oliver Bond Flats and then 6th Ireland, 433rd Open another for Pats Team. The first report on the web site showed a total of 1 Irish Team pigeon had been officially clocked by 09-10, the next one showed still only 1 clocked by 09-23, followed by 2 at 09-26, then 7 by 09-23, followed by 9 by 09-39 which was 30 minutes after the race winner, numerous more updates throughout the morning and by 12-11 a total of 30 Irish pigeons had been clocked and the last of these was Carlo the Irish pigeon that had been having a wonderful run in the last 13 races, numerous more updates during the afternoon and then the final report of the day still showed 39 officially recorded by 19-30, leaving 14 pigeons to return to base camp. The first pigeon clocked on Sunday morning was an Irish pigeon at 05-07 and by 09-40 a total of 45 had been officially recorded and still only 45 when the last report of the second day was published on the web site, leaving 8 missing. A final count on Monday showed a total of 47 (88.679% return rate) had returned to the lofts, leaving 6 still to return. Of course some of these may return to the lofts over the next few days so if yours is missing keep you eye on the basketing list on the web site. No more had returned home by the basketing for the Wednesday Training Race 12.

SUN CITY OVERALL AVERAGES carries $5,000, $3,000 and a $2,000 cash prize for the first three pigeons in this category but only No. 1 pigeons or pigeons fully paid for before the first official Training Race are eligible to win the actual prize money. Now after 14 official races have taken place the web site shows the following:- 1st Open goes to Wilhelm Stoll from Germany with his excellent pigeon named Jandia which has so far won 561st, 315th, 706th, 799th, 436th, 57th, 132nd, 2167th, 192nd, 68th, 218th, 135th, 32nd and now 62nd Open in the 14 races that count and total time is 21-16-47, leading by just 25 seconds, 2nd Open to Team Waldeck from Germany with Dancers Choice, 3rd Open for Koopman Racing Pigeons 1 from Netherlands with Sheena, 4th Open for Koopman Racing Pigeons II from Netherlands with Count Look Alive, 5th Open for Jochen Huenten from Germany with Grey Mantle, 6th Open for Hannes Weinberger from Austria with Dansgill, 7th Open for Team Godau from Germany with Merima, 8th Open for Georg Oswald from Germany with Achilles, 9th Open for Christian Steinhagen from Germany with Day by Day and then 10th Open for Team Brandy from Germany with Lancaster. It was good to see 3 different countries represented in the top 10 in this category and with nearly 34 minutes covering them all.

Holding onto 1st UK, 57th Open in this category goes to the Magnificent Seven Syndicate with their very consistent pigeon Ocean Wave bred by Paul Simpson from Ripon which is now leading this competition by just over 10 minutes, his results so far are 1417th, 58th, 138th, 9th, 23rd, 59th, 661st, 534th, 129th, 1678th, 1378th, 2842nd, 312th and now 408th Open in the 14 races that count, then 2nd UK, 71st Open goes to the Horseshoe Syndicate with Horseshoe Mistress bred by Steve Radcliffe from Skelmersdale, 3rd UK, 87th Open goes to the Gorse Syndicate with High Tip bred by Arnold Tweats from Congleton, 4th UK, 97th Open for Mark Gilbert- NFC Sponsor Team with Southfield Grey bred by Mark Gilbert from Windsor, 5th UK, 104th Open for Mr and Mrs Paul Bell from Liverpool with Winter Lad, 6th UK, 125th Open for Freedom Fighters with Freelands Vickers bred by Mr & Mrs Bill & Beryl Lewis from Kempsey, 7th & 9th UK, 153rd & 181st Open two pigeons for Tony Darling from Southampton with Hampshire Queen and Hampshire Boy, 8th UK, 172nd Open for LJ Rix from Mildenhall with Mysterious Girl bred by Brian Colclough from Newmarket and then 10th UK, 197th Open for Don Lupo from Southampton with his pigeon named Emilo. The UK top 10 is covered by nearly 53 minutes. It really is good to see so many United Kingdom pigeons doing well in this competition.

Holding onto 1st Ireland, 73rd Open in this category goes to Oliver Bond Flats with their pigeon named The Budgie and is now leading this competition by nearly 26 minutes and has so far won 1018th, 2193rd, 721st, 1100th, 1715th, 1221st, 1858th, 2122nd, 2397th, 665th, 63rd, 659th, 998th and now 407th Open in the 14 races that count, 2nd Ireland, 131st Open for Tom Cahill with Danny C, 3rd Ireland, 189th Open for McCourt – Larkin with their pigeon named Larkin, 4th Ireland, 207th Open for Nashers Team with Annette N bred by John Nash from Dublin who won 1st Ireland, 4th Open in the 3rd HOT SPOT RACE, 5th Ireland, 325th Open another for Oliver Bond Flats with The Warlord then 6th Ireland, 330th Open for Cannon Lillis Lofts with their great pigeon named Carlo and bred by Jos Reilly from Dublin, which had been holding onto 1st Ireland, 1st Open in this category for the last seven races, however on this 3rd HOT SPOT RACE made its first mistake and was nearly 3 hours after the actual race winner, still I bet Jos was pleased to see it home.

The 3rd HOT SPOT RACE GLOBAL NOMINATION attracted a total of 503 pigeons (48 from the UK) and there was 1,847 nominations placed and flown for in the $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 categories and a total of $15,333-15c was up for grabs and there was four UK winners as follows:- Wombles won $306-00c for 64th Open with Oakley Princess bred by A & M Smith from Ashbourne, N+A Evans, Cuthbert and Sutton won $306-00c for 66th Open with Burntoft Blue bred by N Evans from Wolviston, Team Oberholster won $136- 00c for 73rd Open with Obi Arra bred by Pieter & Kate Oberholster from Lask Edge and then Mark Gilbert – NFC Sponsor Team won $1,164-50c for 79th Open with Southfield Grey bred by Mark Gilbert from Windsor. In the UNITED KINGDOM NOMINATIONS in the $1, $2, $5, $10 and $20 categories there were 47 pigeons entered and a total of 188 nominations were placed and $979-20cc was paid out and there were four winners and they were as follows:- Wombles won $484-50c, N+A Evans, Cuthbert and Sutton won $365-50c and Team Oberholster won $129-20c, details of all these three competitors are as above. Congratulations to all these winners.

Another brand new competition started on the 2nd HOT SPOT RACE and it is called the CASCADE CHALLENGE and it allows any competitor/entrant to just enter one single pigeon per syndicate for $10 and the SCMDPR will also add an extra $2,000 of prize money each time this competition is won. In the first race a total of $2,807-50c was up for grabs but was not won, so in this second race there was now a grand total of $3,861-50c up for grabs. The rules are quite clear and they are that if one of these $10 entries actually wins the 1st Open position, it wins the all the allocated Prize Money. If however, there is no actual winner, then the money rolls over to the next Nomination Race and if we get to the FINAL RACE and the “POT OF GOLD” is still not won, it will then rollover to the first Nomination Race next year. Competitors and entrants can if they wish enter a different pigeon each week which will be their $10 single pigeon and try to win this very tough competition. This is going to be a really good and hard competition to win because every competitor or entrant can only enter one pigeon per syndicate. This weekend the “POT OF GOLD” winnings rose to $3,861-50c and for the second week running this competition was not won with the first single nominated pigeon winning 7th Open for Koopman Racing Pigeons 1, so this money will automatically rollover to the 4th HOT SPOT RACE. Taking 1st UK, 51st Open was the Long - McAllister – Smith Syndicate with their pigeon named Charity Superstar which also won 1st UK, 121st Open in the last HOT SPOT RACE and was bred by Bruce McAllister from Furneaux Pelham, 2nd UK, 66th Open for N+A Evans , Cuthbert and Sutton with Burntoft Blue and bred by N Evans from Wolviston, 3rd UK, 148th Open for Crystal Palace Eagles with Crystal Tips bred by Terry Peart & John Donovan from Tadworth and the 4th UK, 278th Open for the Paul Smith Syndicate with African Queen bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon. GOOD LUCK TO ALL COMPETITORS IN THE NEXT NOMINATION RACE WHICH TAKES PLACE ON WEDNESDAY 30th DECEMBER 2009.

I was interesting to watch the 1st Test Match on Sky Television between South Africa and England that took place in Pretoria from Wednesday through to Sunday night, with no interruptions for the whole 5 days and very high temperatures on the Saturday and Sunday. The end result was a draw with England just managing to hold on with one wicket to spare. An extremely exciting and nail biting finish to say the least. It was very hot for these guys playing cricket so christ knows what it must have been like for our pigeons flying in this heat and humidity?

All results are available for anybody wanting to see them by just logging onto the official state of the art Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race Web Site at www.scmdpr.com

After a day enjoying themselves around the lofts on Sunday and another training toss TRAINING RACE 12 took place on Wednesday 23rd December and a total of 3,413 pigeons from 33 different countries were officially basketed, which included 2,874 International which included 234 pigeons from the United Kingdom and 47 from Ireland, plus 539 South African pigeons and then they were all liberated at 07-10 from 81km (approx. 50 miles) with little to no wind in fine and clear conditions and a temperature of 26c (79f) and a good race was anticipated by Zandy Meyer (Race Director) and Dave van der Merwe (Loft Manager), which would be just what the pigeons wanted after the tough 3rd Hot Spot Race.

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st Open and a “RIGHT CHRISTMAS CRACKER” went to Norman Filip from Belgium a past 1st Open winner in the SCMDPR, with pigeon named I Cant Hold Out E C which was clocked at 08-05-53 to record a winning velocity of 1602ypm (54mph), this pigeon has been racing steady and already won 1186th, 1146th, 919th, NOT CLOCKED, 2318th, 101st, 1129th, 480th, 349th, 1714th, 1369th, 2730th, 247th, 1123rd and now 1st Open in its last 15 races, 2nd Open went to Fernando Alvarez from Mexico, 3rd Open went to Willie Nel from South Africa, 4th Open to Mishal Ead from Kuwait with the same pigeon that won 1st OPEN and a BRAND NEW CAR in the previous race, 5th Open to Italian Champions Group from Italy, 6th Open to Team Chattenfighter from the Germany, 7th Open for Herbots – Fahad Al Watri from Belgium, 8th Open for Hermann Wienekamp from Germany, 9th Open for Zaben Alazmi from Kuwait and 10th Open for Martin De Roover from Belgium. It turned out to be a really truly great International result with 6 different countries taking the first 6 positions with 6 different countries being represented in the top 10 and with only 14.60 seconds between them with 44.75 seconds covering the first 50 and 61.85 seconds covering the first 100 in this result. A total of 407 pigeons were officially electronically recorded by 08-08, then 3,266 by 09-08, then the web site showed 3,315 by 09-29, then 3,351 by 13-02, then the final report of the day showed 3,359 back in the lofts by 18-05, leaving 54 still to make it back to base camp.

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st, 11th, 12th & 14th United Kingdom, 13th, 165th, 179th & 266th Open and a “RIGHT CHRISTMAS CRACKER” went to the Paul Smith Syndicate, administered by Paul Smith from Stansted Mountfitchet with the very consistent African Queen being first pigeon again and which was clocked at 08-06-10, just 17.20 seconds after the actual race winner, this pigeon has been flying well and has now won the last two Wednesday races on the trot and she has won 2 x 1st, 2 x 2nds & 7th UK plus 4263rd, 956th, 3852nd, 14th, 767th, 484th, 294th, 3729th, 1900th, 30th, 88th, 196th, 12th, 278th and now 13th Open in its last 15 races and the 3 pigeons that took 1st, 12th & 14th UK were bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon and the pigeon that won 11th UK was bred by Terry Robinson from Enfield, 2nd UK, 35th Open for Mark Gilbert – NFC Sponsor Team with pigeon bred by Mark Gilbert from Windsor, 3rd UK, 48th Open for MJ Wilkes and Son from Solihull, 4th UK, 58th Open for The Posh with a pigeon bred by Steve Spinks from Peterborough, 5th UK, 59th Open for Team Oberholster with a pigeon Obi Kate which has been flying very well and bred by Pieter & Kate Oberholster from Lask Edge, 6th UK, 85th Open for Chris Gordon from Snydale who won a Brand New Car in the 2005/6 race series, 7th UK, 114th Open for Joesch – Burger with a pigeon bred by Jurgen & Caroline Josch from Hailsham, 8th UK, 140th Open for Gallows Hill Kid for Dave Murphy from Ripon with a pigeon bred by Pieter & Kate Oberholster from Lask Edge, 9th UK, 151st Open for Tony Darling from Southampton who sent out 6 pigeons to this race and still has all 6 left and they have been flying exceptionally well, 10th UK, 156th Open for Crystal Palace Eagles with their excellent pigeon Crystal Tips which is currently holding onto 1st UK, 7th Open in the Sun City Hot Spot Ace Pigeon Averages after 3 races that count, this pigeon was bred by Terry Peart & John Donovan from Tadworth, 13th UK, 184th Open for Freedom Fighters with a pigeon bred by Mr & Mrs Bill & Beryl Lewis from Kempsey, whose pigeons have also been flying well in the race series, 15th UK, 271st Open for Radcliffe and Hall with a pigeon bred by Steve Radcliffe from Skelmersdale, 16th UK, 304th Open for SJDR Syndicate, administered by Paul & Roland Stokes from Leicester and also bred by them, 17th UK, 314th Open for Brown Brothers from Gloucester, 18th UK, 317th Open for The Three Tom-Boggies with a pigeon bred by Eddie Thompson from Romford, 19th UK, 326th Open for Dave + Paul McCarthy from Wallasey who won a Brand New Car in the 2006/7 race series and then 20th UK, 335th Open for the Horseshoe Syndicate with pigeon named Horseshoe Mistress bred by Steve Radcliffe from Skelmersdale which has also been flying exceptionally well and was holding onto 2nd UK, 71st Open in the Sun City Overall Average prior to this race. A total of 23 United Kingdom pigeons were electronically recorded and clocked by 08-08, then 228 by 09-08, then 231 by 09-29, then 232 by 13-02 and then the final report of the day showed 232 had made it back to base camp by 18-5, leaving 2 still to return.

CONGRATULATIONS for winning 1st & 2nd Ireland, 126th & 168th Open went to Cannon Lillis Lofts and a “RIGHT CHRISTMAS CRACKER” with their pigeons named My Girl and Carlo and both bred by Jos Reilly & Son and the winner was officially clocked at 08-07-05 just 57.05 seconds after the race winner and had won 2171st, 1041st, 565th, 1221st, 2697th, 649th, 1624th, 239th, 599th, 713th, 307th, 1329th, 547th, 3189th and now 126th Open in the first 15 races, 3rd Ireland, 174th Open for Tom Cahill, 4th Ireland, 364th Open for Philip + Mark Smith, 5th Ireland, 421st Open for Bernard Smyth and then 6th Ireland, 456th Open for Mackin, McKeown and Son. Cannon Lillis Lofts second one today was their great pigeon named Carlo which has already won in this series 3 x 1sts, 3 x 2nds, 2 x 3rds, 3 x 4ths, 5th, 6th & 9th Ireland and 57th, 352nd, 318th, 17th, 420th, 65th, 211th, 35th, 524th, 296th, 396th, 291st, 402nd, 2385th and now 168th Open in the last 15 races, back on form hopefully after being nearly 3 hours behind in the 3rd HOT SPOT RACE last Saturday, which cost it losing 1st Open in the Sun City Overall Averages that it had held for the last 7 races. A total of 4 Irish pigeons were electronically recorded by 08-08, then all 47 of them by 09-08.

SUN CITY OVERALL AVERAGES carries $5,000, $3,000 and a $2,000 cash prize for the first three pigeons in this category but only No. 1 pigeons or pigeons fully paid for before the first official Training Race are eligible to win the actual prize money. Now after 15 official races that count have taken place the web site shows the following:- 1st Open goes to Wilhelm Stoll with their very consistent pigeon named Jandia and representing Germany, which has now won 561st, 315th, 706th, 799th, 436th, 57th, 132nd, 2167th, 192nd, 68th, 218th, 135th, 32nd, 62nd and now 21st Open and just leads this category by 25 seconds, 2nd Open for Team Waldeck from Germany with Dancers Choice, 3rd Open for Koopman Racing Pigeons 1 from Netherlands with Sheena, 4th Open for Koopman Racing Pigeons II from Netherlands with Count Look Alive, 5th Open for Hannes Weinberger from Austria with Dansgill, 6th Open for Jochen Huenten from Germany with Grey Mantle, 7th Open for Team Godau from Germany with Merima, 8th Open for Georg Oswald from Germany with Achilles, 9th Open for Team Brandy from Germany with Lancaster and 10th Open for Christian Steinhagen from Germany with Day by Day. A truly International result with pigeons from 3 different countries represented in the top 10 positions with just over 36 minutes separating them all.

Holding onto 1st UK, 55th Open in this category goes to the Magnificent Seven Syndicate with his good pigeon named Ocean Wave bred by Paul Simpson from Ripon, leading the UK by nearly 7 minutes which has so far won 1417th, 58th, 138th, 9th, 23rd, 59th, 661st, 534th, 129th, 1678th, 1378th, 2842nd, 312th, 408th and now 1166th Open in the 15 races that count, 2nd UK, 65th Open for Horseshoe Syndicate with their pigeon named Horseshoe Mistress and bred by Steve Radcliffe from Skelmersdale, 3rd UK, 87th Open for Mark Gilbert – NFC Sponsor Team with pigeon named Southfield Kelly bred by Mark Gilbert from Windsor, 4th UK, 93rd Open for Gorse Syndicate with High Tip bred by Arnold Tweats from Congleton, 5th UK, 100th Open for Mr and Mrs Paul Bell from Liverpool with Winter Lad, 6th UK, 120th Open for Freedom Fighters with Freelands Vickers bred by Mr & Mrs Bill & Beryl Lewis from Kempsey, 7th & 8th UK, 135th & 159th Open two pigeons for Tony Darling from Southampton with Hampshire Queen and Hampshire Boy, 9th UK, 162d Open for LJ Rix from Mildenhall with Mysterious Girl bred by Brian Colclough from Newmarket and then 10th UK, 182nd Open for Don Lupo from Southampton with Emilo. Great to see the United Kingdom Team doing so well in this very tough International competition. Holding onto 1st Ireland, 86th Open in this category goes to Oliver Bond Flats with their pigeon named The Budgie which currently leads by nearly 21 minutes which has won 1018th, 2193rd, 721st, 1100th, 1715th, 1221st, 1858th, 2122nd, 2397th, 665th, 63rd, 659th, 998th, 407th and now 2328th Open in the 15 races that count, 2nd Ireland, 124th Open for Tom Cahill with Danny C, 3rd Ireland, 175th Open for McCourt - Larkin with pigeon named Larkin, 4th Ireland, 187th Open for Nashers Team with Annette N, 5th Ireland, 298th Open for Cannon Lillis Lofts with their great pigeon Carlo and then 6th Ireland, 310th Open another for Oliver Bond Flats with The Warlord. It really is fantastic to see an Irish pigeon doing so well in this great International competition.

A few more training tosses during the Christmas/New Year period and then hopefully the 4th HOT SPOT RACE will take place on Wednesday 30th December from 280km (approx. 174 miles) and it currently looks like we will have an entry in excess of 3,400 pigeons (it was interesting to note from my past records that the 2008/9 4th HOT SPOT RACE had an entry of 3,636 pigeons). As usual there will be a BRAND NEW MOTOR CAR for the first “ACTIVATED PIGEON” clocked, 20 x $1,000 Cash Prizes for the first 20 x “ACTIVATED PIGEONS” clocked, $2,000 Cash Prize for best 2-BIRD AVERAGE, 4th Round of THE HOT SPOT ACE PIGEON AVERAGES which offer a $5,000 Cash Prize after 5 x HOT SPOT RACES, plus it will be the 3rd Round of “THE KNOCKOUT COMPETITION” which has 1,408 pigeons left in competing for that $25,000 Cash 1st Prize in the “FINAL RACE”.

The remaining races in this 2009/10 SCMDPR series are as follows:- HOT SPOT RACE 4 on Wednesday 30th December from 280km (174 miles), Training Flight 13 on Wednesday 6th January 2010 from 80km (50 miles), HOT SPOT RACE 5 on Saturday 9th January from 350km (218 miles), Training Race 14 on Wednesday 13th January from 50km (31 miles), Training Flight 15 on Saturday 16th January from 80km (50 miles), Training Flight 16 on Wednesday 20th January from 80km (50 miles), Training Flight 17 on Saturday 23rd January from 110km (68 miles), Training Flight 18 on Wednesday 27th January from 80km (50 miles) and then the SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR FINAL RACE on Saturday 30th January 2010 from 552km (343 miles).

GOOD LUCK TO ALL CONCERNED AND REGULAR “PRESS RELEASES”, “NEWSLETTERS” AND “UPDATES” WILL BE SENT OUT TO ALL COMPETITORS/ENTRANTS ON A WEEKLY BASIS OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. ALSO WEEKLY “PRESS RELEASES” WILL BE SENT OUT TO OUR PIGEON PUBLICATIONS AND WILL ALSO BE ON OUR WEB SITE www.scmdpr.com FOR ALL TO VIEW.

This is the “FOURTEENTH YEAR” since this great International One Loft Race started and every year since day one the Organising Committee have created new competitions and this year will be no exception. The CASCADE CHALLENGE is a new $10 SINGLE NOMINATION (only 1 pigeon per syndicate can be entered each week), the winner will be the first nominated pigeon to win a NOMINATION RACE and if this does not happen it will rollover until it finally happens. This really is going to be a tough competition to win but whoever does finally win it, will walk off with BIG MONEY.

It is worth mentioning that three brand new cars have been won by fanciers representing the United Kingdom Team in the last three years, Richard Elliott from Plymouth and Chris Gordon from Old Snydale both won new cars during the 2005/6 race series and Paul & Dave McCarthy from Wallasey won one a new car during the 2006/7 series. Also John Nash from Dublin, Ireland won a car last year in the 2008/9 race series. I am hopeful that somebody from the United Kingdom or Ireland will also win one or maybe more during the 2009/10 series. GOOD LUCK TO ALL COMPETITORS IN THE FIVE HOT SPOT RACES IN THE 2009/10 RACE SERIES.

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.iprr.co.uk www.elimarpigeons.com www.pigeonportal.com www.pigeonglobe.co.uk www.cyberpigeon.co.uk www.pigeonbasics.com plus of course they will also be in the “”BRITISH HOMING WORLD” and “THE RACING PIGEON” for all fanciers to see and read on a weekly basis.

The race date for the 15th SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE has already been agreed and this will once again take place in Sun City, South Africa on Saturday 29th JANUARY 2011. If you are interested in participating or acting a Country Race Team Shipper, then please contact me as soon as possible on 01279-812005 and I will give you all the information you require. I have just been notified that the organisers are bringing the first intake period forward by about two weeks, so my shipping date will now take place on about the 20th MAY 2010.

If you need anymore information regarding the 14th SCMDPR then a full International Press Release was published in the BRITISH HOMING WORLD and THE RACING PIGEON on the 2nd October 2009.

IF ANY PIGEON FANCIER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR IRELAND 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 CURRENT EMAIL ADDRESS AND I WILL FORWARD THEM ALL THE INFORMATION BY EMAIL ON A REGULAR BASIS.

These International Press Releases take me hours of time to collate the information and then write them up and I know by the response I get from fanciers literally all over the world that they really do enjoy reading them, however unfortunately it is not possible to mention every competitor in each race as I am sure most of you are aware and accept but anybody anywhere in the world can log onto to a state of the art web site www.scmdpr.com and follow the weekly reports on each Training Race and Hot Spot Race at your leisure. This web site is without doubt the most informative, up to date and best presented one loft race web site anywhere in the world, just take a few minutes to log on and I am sure you will agree.

***ACTIVATIONS” Any fancier/entrant that has pigeons entered into this race and has not yet “ACTIVATED” their Reserve Pigeon/s can do so at any time. All they have to do is call the person that shipped their pigeons for them and give them the name of the pigeon or pigeons and the UK code number/s. Once “ACTIVATED” they will then be eligible to compete for prize money and cars in the remaining HOT SPOT RACES and of course the “FINAL RACE”.

***SOME SYNDICATE SHARES ARE STILL AVAILABLE*** Once again I have two big syndicates entered into the 14th SCMDPR and I have some shares still available if you are interested in joining in the fun and being part of this fantastic international race. The PAUL SMITH SYNDICATE has 31 pigeons all entered and paid for with 23 of these bred by Jimmy Richards from Laindon and the other 8 by Terry Robinson from Enfield. Also the WALLASEY SUPERSTARS SYNDICATE has 17 pigeons all entered and paid for and all bred by Dave & Paul McCarthy from Wallasey. Just for the record from these 48 pigeons a total of 47 of them successfully competed in the 1st HOT SPOT RACE from 157km (98 miles) on Saturday 28th November 2009. If you are genuinely interested in being a shareholder, then please call me on 01279-812005 for more information about costs of each of these syndicates. A total of 46 were sent to the 2nd HOT SPOT RACE from 209km (130 miles) with 45 being clocked and then a total of 45 of these syndicate pigeons will be basketed for the 3rd HOT SPOT RACE from 230km (143 miles) and I can now reveal that 40 of these were officially recorded. ALL THESE SYNDICATE SHARES WILL BE SOLD ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS, SO IF INTERESTED DON’T DELAY, CALL ME TODAY FOR DETAILS.

WHY NOY JOIN IN THE FUN AND BE PART OF THE UNITED KINGDOM NATIONAL RACE TEAM AND FLY THE FLAG WITH PRIDE FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM IN THIS PRESTIGIOUS PIGEON RACE?

If you have any questions or queries about any aspect of the SUN CITY MILLION DOLLAR PIGEON RACE, then please contact me on 01279-812005 and I will do my best to answer any of your questions or queries about this great race to the best of my knowledge.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all pigeon fanciers and their families, competitors, entrants, syndicate shareholders, my group travellers, all readers of my International Press Releases, staff of the “BHW” and “RP”, the owners of the web sites that publish my weekly reports and all the staff of the SCMDPR a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and an extremely HEALTHY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

Paul Smith. United Kingdom Race Team Shipper for The 14th Sun City Million Dollar (The Greatest Pigeon Race In The World), which is due to be held in Sun City Resort, South Africa on Saturday 30th January 2010. Regency Lofts Limited, “Five Pennies”, High Lane, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. CM24 8LQ. England. Telephone/Facsimile:- 01279-812005 (Int. Code:- +44-1279-812005). Mobile:- 07860-568216. Email:- [email protected] SCMDPR Web Site:- www.scmdpr.com