Fog forces shift

Fog forced Horsham Racing Pigeon Club to reschedule two races from Terowrie on Saturday at the last hour before the event.

A conveyer waited 90 minutes for the fog to clear at Terowrie, before a phone call to the general store at Mannahill for a weather check resulted in a change of race release point.

Despite both releases delayed by more than three hours, 286 pigeons were released in the open derby race for young and established race pigeons. Leading pigeons flew a sub-seven-hour fly for the 519-kilometre distance. The winner averaged 75kmh, with the first two thirds of the race assisted by a prevailing westerly. The final third into a southerly breeze lowered average speeds.

A second release featured 120 young pigeons with identifying gold bands and no help from older race-mature birds. The leading nine pigeons flew the journey to Horsham in an exceptional 7.20 hours, the winner averaging 71kmh.

The club also has two sections for each race to accommodate both larger and smaller team members.

None of the pigeons had flown from Mannahill before, however their homing instinct and ability served them well.

John Muszkieta continued his winning streak to build a sound lead in the 10-race championship program. The Mcphee Family was second and John Aisbett, third. Next weekend racing will be from Bannockburn.

– Mannahill Derby and sixth championship race for 2021. Section one for small teams: 1, The Mcphee Family 1237.12 metres a minute; 2, P. and J. Mcphee 1215.64mm; 3, Bruce Rentsch 1214.34mm. Section two for large teams: 1, John Muszkieta 1248.55mm; 2, John Aisbett 1230.74mm; 3, Leigh Arnott 1227.66mm. Mannahill gold band: Section one: 1, Bruce Rentsch 1158.16mm; 2, The Mcphee Family 1125.49mm; 3, Ken Kerr 1122.79mm. Section two: 1, John Muszkieta 1181.95mm; 2, Brian Watts 1176.57mm; 3, John Aisbett 1176.43mm.