Last updated 19:45, Thursday, 10 July 2008

HE might have won a Federation race earlier in the season, but Flimby fancier George Weaver thought he needed a change of luck.

Since the triumph at Fareham, Weaver has had the dreaded young bird sickness in the loft and five of the eleven birds he sent to Marlborough all came back badly hawked.

At the weekend he sent seven to Messac, the final channel race of the old bird season, and only got one of them back.

But that’s where the change of luck came in for the bird which homed on Saturday from the 6.25am liberation was another Fed winner.

The two-year-old blue hen was clocked at 2.34pm to win the race and give Weaver his third Fed victory. The first came 20 years ago from Nantes.

The winner is a Burghers, bred by the late Ray Scott and was among a batch of 20 which George bought off Keith Graham of the Netherton club in 2006.

She was clearly bred in the pink because her sire, a chequer cock was 15th Fed from Poole and 19th Fed from Portsmouth in 2006 and in the same year her dam, a blue hen was eighth Fed from Newbury.

Weaver said: “The Burghers pigeons have all flown consistently for me and have scored but this was the first one to win.

“She came on the second morning from Fougeres and this time I sent her sitting on five-day eggs. It was nice to win another Fed but I was very disappointed to get only the one back.”

n Results in next week’s paper.