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See what I mean? (August 2nd 2016).

 

Did you read my previous article? That true story? This story is a kind of follow up. In pigeon magazine De Duif I stated last year (2015) that I considered Willy Daniels as the best from the whole country at the ‘little long distance’.  No one protested and since pigeon fanciers are a critical kind of people you may assume I was right. Even Roodhooft, who races super in the races from 550 to 650 kms agreed.

In a few years’ time Willy won 1st NATIONAL Argenton, 1st National Chateauroux, again 1st National Chateauroux and this year as well 1st National  Chateauroux. And what is so special about him?

-He sells his National winners. According to Willy the prices that are paid for them are decadent. And it does not seem to harm him, he just breeds other winners.

-He only races hens. Just like v d Wouwer and more and more others.

-The most striking thing is that he does not need 80 birds or more to win a national and beat all those mob flyers. He starts the season with 15 hens only. He races them on widowhood and the partners stay home.

-Those hens are in an open aviary in the daytime and at night they are locked up.

-Furthermore he does not medicate during the season, not even against canker, and apart from apple vinegar and garlic he does not give any additives.

-But the most striking thing is that this Belgian Superstar number one, nicknamed the magician, never spent money on pigeons. He got the ancestors of his flying miracles from local fanciers without a name.

 

Daniels Willy 9

Willy Daniels

 LOCALS

I often write that fanciers here must laugh when Easterners ask about the strain they have. How they shake their heads when potential buyers first want to see the pedigree when they are interested in buying a record bird. As if all good pigeons descend from 20 names or so. How often they lose interest in a super bird when they see the pedigree is just unbelievable. And how many shit birds they buy just because of the pedigree is unbelievable as well.

Willy built up his family from birds he got for free from Voets, Heylen, van Aggelpoel, Hens, De Meijer, Vic de Wilder en Jos Bastiaans. Especially a bird from de Meijer had a great impact. Are those the names you would expect? No, they are not.

And this de Meijer? I myself had not even heard about him.

 JOS COOLS

So when we talk about Daniels we talk about little long distance races. As for pure Sprint I consider Jos Cools as the best from the whole country, both with old birds and with youngsters.

Both Daniels and Cools have in common that they race very few birds, none of them spent money on birds and both built up their family from unknown locals.

Cools has 9 racers only in total. With these 9 birds he participates in 4 sprint races weekly. This year (2016) he participated in 10 old bird races in which all of the birds that he had entered did not only won a prize but… All of them won in the first 10%. It happened more than once that all the birds that he had entered (two total) came home together. What kind of birds does this superman race?

Pigeons from his father in law, from Keirsmakers Senior, Adriaensen, Luso de Weerd and Courtout, all fanciers without a name. D v Dijck (Danny), Boeckmans, v d Bulck and M v d Branden are less unknown. So many names for such a little family?

Right. But both Daniels and Cools believe in crossings. So they are the opposite of numerous merchants in feathers, well known all over the world. They do have a family with good looking pedigrees. Better not ask for their results.