Crehan and O Connor (Salford, UK) win 1st National All Round Performance Bird (RPRA) United Kingdom & Ireland (28,000 members) with Vitali Racing pigeons that excel at a particular discipline, be it sprint racing, one day races or extreme distance flights, are important and highly valuable to their owners. Those pigeons that are able to successfully compete at a combination of disciplines are rarer still. In 2013, with their ace pigeon Vitali, Crehan and O Connor managed to unearth such a rare gem! Vitali, bred from Clean Slate x Mystique Vitali and Vladmir The 2013 old bird racing season saw a pair of nest brothers record a series of remarkable results. Between them, Vitali and Vladmir achieved the following performances: 1st club 240 birds, 1st fed 1,324 birds, 1st combine 2,947 birds 1st club 169 birds, 1st fed 802 birds, 1st combine 1,686 birds 1st club 126 birds, 2nd fed 1,026 birds, 6th combine 3,708 birds 1st club 264 birds, 3rd fed 1,499 birds, 8th combine 3,305 birds 1st club 151 birds, 4th fed 1,024 birds, 7th combine 1,960 birds
1st club 114 birds, 3rd fed 743 birds 1st club 80 birds, 2nd fed 700 birds 2nd club 264 birds, 4th fed 1,499 birds, 9th combine 3,305 birds 4th club 151 birds, 5th fed 743 birds 4th club 126 birds, 10th fed 1,026 birds, 20th combine 3,708 birds 6th club 240 birds, 14th fed 1,324 birds, 16th combine 2,947 birds 9th club 200 birds, 17th fed 1,085 birds, 40th combine 2,403 birds These two racing machines were 1st (Vladmir) and 2nd (Vitali) in the RPRA North West Region sprint category awards with 1,800 competing members. Vitali then went on to gain 1st RPRA all round pigeon in the whole of the U.K (28,000 members) with Vladmir achieving 3rd in the RPRA sprint pigeon category. This is the first time that such a performance has been achieved with nest mates. Vladmir, bred from Clean Slate x Mystique A sensational pair of breeders Vitali and Vladmir are bred from Clean Slate (a son of the super couple of A. and S. Hughes) when he was paired to Mystique. Just four pigeons have ever been taken from Clean Slate and Mystique; these being Vitali, Vladmir, Awesome
(only raced as a young bird before being sold on PIPA) and Awesome s nest mate who topped the federation as a young bird. Enthusiasts of one loft races will also appreciate that the bloodlines of Mystique and Clean Slate won the big pool money in the final flights of the Million Dollar Race two years running with Spanish Identity in 2011 (the nest mate of Plutology: 13 x top 100 SCMDPR) and Lucky Tots in 2012. Mystique also bred another super young bird this year in the form of Renaldo who shone in this year s Algarve Golden Race. Much has been written about the ace hen Mystique in previous reports however the sire, Clean Slate, is also making a name for himself as an ace breeder for the partnership. He is, of course, the sire to Vitali and Vladmir but readers will also be interested to read that he is the direct sire to Grey Lady and the grandsire to Blue Flash. Clean Slate is therefore now responsible for 7 RPRA Award winners! Blue Flash, grandson of Clean Slate Another descendant of Drum Vitali, along with his ace brother Vladmir, is a grandson of Drum. The success of this family line is nothing short of incredible. Let us take a brief insight into his family tree. His ancestry can be traced back to the lofts of Marijke Vink and Gerard Koopman. Towards the end of the 1990 s, these two fanciers had a close relationship, often exchanging progeny of their champion racers. In 1999, Marijke introduced NL99-2308215 (who would later become known as Aladin) who was bred from a promising young cock at the Koopman loft, namely NL98-5821416 (who would later become known as Kleine Dirk). When Aladin was paired to another Gerard Koopman pigeon, Last Lady, they produced
Tips who has become arguably the finest breeder in the modern pigeon sport. At Marijke s loft, Tips was paired to a Dirk van Dyck hen of the Kannibaal line that we now know as Geschelptje Kannibaaltje and they became a truly super couple. They produced racers such as Dutch Master who won 1st Troyes (2,047 birds), 2nd Niergnies (3,254 birds) and 4th Chateauroux (1,037 birds). Another son is Reza whose wins include 1st Chantilly (10,589 birds), 1st Peronne (29,332 birds) and 1st Chantilly (21,892 birds). In 2002 the couple Tips x Geschelptje Kannibaaltje bred NL02-1616136 and NL02-1616137. The 37 was to become known as Farah Diba and she won 1st Chateauroux (3,894 birds), 1st Tours (1,846 birds) and 12th National NPO Bourges (9,399 birds). She was crowned 1st Dutch National Ace WHZB Long Distance 2003 as a result of her exceptional results. The 36 won 1st Chantilly (700 birds) before being sold by Northern Premier Auctions in England. The 36 or Drum as he is now more commonly known has since become an absolute goldmine in the breeding loft with his progeny winning all over the UK.
Drum, sire of Mystique Ace fanciers with ace pigeons It will be obvious for readers to appreciate how the Crehan and O Connor partnership, ace fanciers in their own right and armed with their team of super fast racing pigeons, have achieved the 1st RPRA all-round pigeon award. Ace fanciers and ace bloodlines will always succeed! Grey Lady, daughter of Clean Slate