Life in St Arnaud

[Murray]

I put the tools away and took the young stars back out to the same place as we went a couple of days ago.
They all arrived in a bunch again, but suffice it to say that no records were threatened during this fly.

[Devo1956]

Sounds good Murray, keep them ticking mate. Just enjoy the birds, there are some crackers there.

[Murray]

Yes, I am now starting to settle into my retirement plan, since I was was a jockey.
I am breeding racing pigeons. There are one or two quite nice ones out there and I really enjoy not having to rush away to be at work

[Murray]

If you want to win races, start with plenty of good ammunition.
A photo of one of Aidan O'Brien's strings at Ballydoyle.
Impressive.
And notice they are nearly all bays. A couple of chestnuts and a couple of dark browns, no greys.
It seems that by breeding for elite performance the chestnut gene is fading out.
I wonder if the same thing is happening with the pigeons? You don't see as many reds in the hampers any more.

[Devo1956]

If you want to win races, start with plenty of good ammunition.
A photo of one of Aidan O'Brien's strings at Ballydoyle.
Impressive.
And notice they are nearly all bays. A couple of chestnuts and a couple of dark browns, no greys.
It seems that by breeding for elite performance the chestnut gene is fading out.
I wonder if the same thing is happening with the pigeons? You don't see as many reds in the hampers any more.

I would have to say, there are more grey horses over the jumps. Then grey horses on the flat, maybe a distance fact. But I do agree Murray,

[Andy]

If you want to win races, start with plenty of good ammunition.
A photo of one of Aidan O'Brien's strings at Ballydoyle.
Impressive.
And notice they are nearly all bays. A couple of chestnuts and a couple of dark browns, no greys.
It seems that by breeding for elite performance the chestnut gene is fading out.
I wonder if the same thing is happening with the pigeons? You don't see as many reds in the hampers any more.

Of course the blue colour is much more prevalent in pigeons but it’s also down to the latest fashions. Hence the amount of grizzles around at present.
The other thing is that a lot of fanciers won’t keep reds as they think that they will be taken by the hawks first.

[Devo1956]

If you want to win races, start with plenty of good ammunition.
A photo of one of Aidan O'Brien's strings at Ballydoyle.
Impressive.
And notice they are nearly all bays. A couple of chestnuts and a couple of dark browns, no greys.
It seems that by breeding for elite performance the chestnut gene is fading out.
I wonder if the same thing is happening with the pigeons? You don't see as many reds in the hampers any more.

Of course the blue colour is much more prevalent in pigeons but it’s also down to the latest fashions. Hence the amount of grizzles around at present.
The other thing is that a lot of fanciers won’t keep reds as they think that they will be taken by the hawks first.

If I had a choice my loft would be Blues and Light Cheqs. winners of course.

[Andy]

If you want to win races, start with plenty of good ammunition.
A photo of one of Aidan O'Brien's strings at Ballydoyle.
Impressive.
And notice they are nearly all bays. A couple of chestnuts and a couple of dark browns, no greys.
It seems that by breeding for elite performance the chestnut gene is fading out.
I wonder if the same thing is happening with the pigeons? You don't see as many reds in the hampers any more.

Of course the blue colour is much more prevalent in pigeons but it’s also down to the latest fashions. Hence the amount of grizzles around at present.
The other thing is that a lot of fanciers won’t keep reds as they think that they will be taken by the hawks first.

If I had a choice my loft would be Blues and Light Cheqs. winners of course.

I’ve always liked the red chequers and mealies. At present I only have 1 red chequer and 3 red grizzles. 2 of the red grizzles are nearly white. 1 is 9 years old and has always been flying out with no trouble from the hawk.

[Devo1956]

Of course the blue colour is much more prevalent in pigeons but it’s also down to the latest fashions. Hence the amount of grizzles around at present.
The other thing is that a lot of fanciers won’t keep reds as they think that they will be taken by the hawks first.

If I had a choice my loft would be Blues and Light Cheqs. winners of course.

I’ve always liked the red chequers and mealies. At present I only have 1 red chequer and 3 red grizzles. 2 of the red grizzles are nearly white. 1 is 9 years old and has always been flying out with no trouble from the hawk.

Great to hear when they are still flying out at that age, I hope the hawks stay away to give you a chance in racing mate.

[Murray]

If you want to win races, start with plenty of good ammunition.
A photo of one of Aidan O'Brien's strings at Ballydoyle.
Impressive.
And notice they are nearly all bays. A couple of chestnuts and a couple of dark browns, no greys.
It seems that by breeding for elite performance the chestnut gene is fading out.
I wonder if the same thing is happening with the pigeons? You don't see as many reds in the hampers any more.

And they say that Aidan O'Brien greets every rider by name, every morning at Ballydoyle.
This is what makes him a champion trainer.
It's easy when you have 12 or 16 youngsters, but I have a mate with 114 youngsters in his shed. Point at any one and he will tell you what it is. To three generations.