On
the lofts of 4x world champion Jos Thoné can be found an abundance of super
breeders and their progeny that have trough performance year in year out earned
for them selves and for Jos Thoné the reputation of the Worlds NO 1 all round
performance loft!
Such
is the depth of quality one does not know where to start!
When
you are fortunately a guest at the Jos Thonés lofts and start to handle his
pigeons you quickly realise the experience is one you never forget.
Other
world famous names all say the same “Jos Thoné” his lofts contains the
“crown jewels” of pigeon racing!
One
of Jos Thonés “Diamonds” has sparkled more brilliantly than all others and
in doing so has played a major role in this in the world stage of racing pigeons
and indeed it’s history rewriting the books forever! The world renowned
“Sumo” of “Jos Thoné”!
As
in all successful lofts the origin and foundation the stock are and always will
be the pillars of support for it’s future and on going success. Stock pigeons
are purchased, bred, and kept for one purpose: “To bred winners”!
On
Jos Thonés loft those winners have to be of a quality and standard that is by
far beyond the expectations of most other lofts! Jos Thonés racing pigeon’s
feet only ever reach the floor of his loft to feed and drink! At all other times
they must fly the skies above and in the races fly at speed and win. Not once,
not twice but in many races, many times and from all distances! The parents of
such are not, and will not be valued by Jos Thoné if only one or two such
athletes from them are produced! Such stock pigeons are considered by Jos as hit
and miss pigeons, they do not stay on his lofts for long. And if their superson
or daughter does not produce in the first generation multiply big winners then
they soon follow their parents, they are ‘out’!
Jos
knows that such a foundation will always be hit and miss in future years. One
can never confidently select the unraced athlete from such pigeons and put it to
stock with confidence! On Jos Thonés lofts the most valued breeders are those
who’s direct offspring are multiply winners and more importantly super
breeders themselves. For Jos “Super breeders” are….the breeders of
breeders”!
Super
breeders will be those who’s multiple winning sons do not share the same
mother. The Super breeder sires big winners with many and almost all hens he
covers. And when one races hens as does Js Thoné, such is the fact they too
follow in the footsteps of these many champion brothers and half brothers and
sisters. Super breeders also have superior natural vitality, never get sick,
have super fertility and extreme longlivity.
Take
as an example Jos Thonés wonder Breeder Valentino Belg 92-5335439. In this the
year 2005 he is a grand 16 years old! Still he handles like a 2 year old, he is
100% fully fertile and as was witnessed by the famous Hans Yerkamp of
“Ponderosa-farm”, Holland. Breeds super-super offspring, so impressed was Mr
Eyerkamp he parted with a substantial figure when purchasing a 2005 bred direct
son from Valentino.
Jos
Thonés world renowned wonder Poco Diego Belg 92-5000631 she was sired by the
super breeder “Oude Diego” when he was ten years old.
And
so to the subject of this piece the phenomenal super breeder of Jos Thoné
“Sumo”. Considered at this up to date monument in time by many as the
greatest producer alive in the world to day. His sire Speedy Belg 84-2558479 was
the winner of 14x 1st prise in speed races, Speedy’s brother won
20x 1st prises all pure another 24x 1 prizes all pure and Speedy’s
sire and Grandsire of Sumo was the winner of 20x 1st prizes all pure.
“Speedy”
was also the sire of Sumo’s famous older half brother on the lofts of Jos Thoné
“SupermanII” Belg 88-5100722 himself the winner of 52nd open
Belgium National Bourges against 10.992 birds and a great producer himself, sire
grandsire, grandgrandsire of winners all over the world.
Sumo
himself had a short but sweet racing career winning 5x 1st all pure,
and Jos did not need to hesitate when putting him on the stock loft!!
Sumo’s
mother Belg 92-5000929 was also a golden goose that laid the golden eggs for
when paired to different cocks produced phenomenal racing athletes including
“Het Fenomeentje” 1st National ace pigeon Netherlands ’97 and
she also laid the egg that produced the winner of 6th National
Bourges against 39119 birds. It may be of interest to know that Sumo’s mother
carry’s in her genes the bloodline of Jos Thonés great friend, the world
renowned Roger Desmet-Mathijs! This trough her sire. So as you can see Sumo
carry’s within his genes truly world-class bloodlines. Racing athletes that
sprint from 100 to 600 miles! On Jos Thonés own lofts can be traced over 25x 1st
prizewinners from Sumo, but when one looks deeper one discovers the true value
of Jos Thonés Sumo-bloodline the bigger more competitive “National Stage”
and the ultimate world stage of Internationals!
I
said above that Sumo’s direct offspring won over 25x 1st, but what
have they bred themselves?
Sumo
is this year 2005 a sprightly 11 years old, still 100% fully fertile, but as
insurance Jos has several very valuable semen of Sumo frozen for the future, the
reason is obvious read on!
A
few years ago Jos sent to England a draft of 4 young birds amongst which was a
small pencil blue cock, direct son of Sumo. Those 4 birds were taken by a friend
of Jos to be offered for sale to the British public. The price was a very
reduced offer as Jos wanted to see his pigeons competing in Great Britain. At
the end of that weekend in Birminghams NEC- Complex the racing pigeon magazines
“Old Comrades show” that little
pencil blue son of Sumo remains no one even picked him up. He was taken back to
the lofts of Jos’ friend and put in an aviary were he remained, celibate,
unpaired until he was 2 years old, finally he was offered at Blackpool for sale
bij Jos’ friend but just imagine all those thousands of experts, selectors,
world renowned names that attend the Blackpool pigeon weekend annually, all
those auctions and thousands of pounds being spent, and there in a basket for
sale, that little pencil blue cock, son of Sumo, still unsold, no interest,
desperate to be noticed. Then late on Sunday just before it was time to pack
away things were about to change and the lives of people too, history was in the
making. British racing would change with it and all because a little English
gentleman named Brian Sheppard purchased from that basket that little pencil
blue son of Sumo. The first son he bred at Brian Sheppards lofts was two years
later to write the history books, showing his class he won in the English
National flying club 6th open Saints against 5000+ birds. Then a few
weeks later was sent to the Dax International racing against the best fanciers
in the whole of Europe and arguably the world were he won 1st
National , 1st Open International Dax against approx 20.000 birds.
Never ever in his wildest dreams did Brian expect such a performance. If only it
was considered at that time impossible to win an International on to the shores
of Great Britain with the dangerous channel, dangerous as in minutes the weather
ever it can and does change from good to absolute tremendous in minutes,
visibility down to zero, heavy swell and the English long distance pigeon having
to cross it to west country folk at the widest point (120 miles+) having flown
already over 400 miles and often solo, with day light fading fast. It takes
tremendous courage, motivation and confidence for such pigeons to take on that
English Channel alone. But that Grandson of Jos’ Sumo did and made history in
doing so, earning himself the worthy name of “Legend” earning his father,
that little pencil blue cock, son of Sumo, that no one wanted to buy, the name
of “Emperor”, earning the British fancier the worlds respect and underlining
the quality of Jos Thonés pigeons and the difference they can make and in this
case the great Sumo.
Even
after this being said still there remained the lyrics, the sceptics and those in
denial, a one in a million performances, they cried.
But
they would all eat their words, as sitting in Brian Sheppards loft was a little
late bred, himself like the “legend” a grandson of Sumo but this time from a
different mother. Brian was out to prove those lyrics; sceptics and disbelievers
how wrong they were and with that in mind, began preparing his Dax International
winners little late bred brother for the same race the following year. He was
given just three races in preparation all across the channel from Picaville,
winning the 1st prize in all three, then into the Dax International
of 2004. With conditions similar to 2003 Brian was confident so much that he
told me the week leading up to the race that he would definitely get that little
late bred grandson of Sumo on the day!
When
he came as Brian predicted unlike last year when his “Legend” made history
Brian had a garden full of visitors, friends that anted to witness and share in
Brians confidence, however what was to happen was not in the script and almost
15 heart sloping minutes that little late bred played about clapping and
clapping and clapping and spanking about as he knew he had the time to spare
eventually being clocked to win 2nd open National, 2nd
open International Dax 2004, beating 17.000+ birds, earning himself the name
“Super Sumo” and earning for his owner Brian Sheppard the respect he so
richly deserved from pigeon fanciers all over the world. No longer could anyone
but the fool cry luck and no longer could any true long distance British fancier
find an excuse no to support the International Programme. It must be said that
the day that all the long distance British organisations sit around the table,
act like gentlemen and work together in deleting these race programmes so that
they are all at the same race points, the same days as the Internationals were
by thousands not hundreds of British pigeons can compete in those Internationals
will be the day that British long distance pigeon racing took the biggest step
forward in its history. Do not make excuses, do it.
That
said, Sumo now the grandsire of 1st National, 2nd
National, 6th National, 1st International, 2nd
International plus several 1st prizes through one son that little
pencil blue cock now known as the “Emperor” is just the beginning. In 2003
weeks after Brian Sheppards historical performance Jos Thoné himself was
focussing his attention preparing his team of young birds for the Belgium
National from Vichy! I was there the week leading up to the basketing filming
the video “Cracked vol2” those that have seen the film already know the
story, Jos crowned yet another super season by winning the 2nd open
Belgium National Vichy with “The artificial Yutta”. She is a
greatgranddaughter of Sumo through her mother whose dam is a full sister of the
“Emperor” of Brian Sheppard. Shortly after this race Jos Thoné lost his
voice, advised by the doctor not to speak Jos inside wishing to shout with
pride, could say nothing, his phone was red hot with well wishes from all over
the world and they all wanted to purchase direct offspring from Jos Thonés
Sumo! As seen in the video Cracked Vol 2 Jos took Sumo to the artificial
insemination Centre, run by his friend a man who Jos has helped in the past by
selecting some of his own pigeons to get the concept off the ground. He kindly
let them use his winner of the 1st National Limoges against 16.000+
birds.
During
numerous conversations with myself and after much research – Jos never one to
stand still – tried an experiment of his own. Armed with the knowledge that
Brian Sheppard had used his son of Sumo, the Emperor, as a first cross into his
old English long distance family, old not in quality or ability but in origin,
pigeons of iron constitution that could fly all day and get up and do it again
the next day, Jos posed himself a question. He wondered if by crossing his Sumo
bloodline on to his world famous Poco Diego line which are considered amongst
the best Barcelona pigeons in Europe, would this result in an athlete capable to
win at National level at distances of 600 miles?
So
in 2004 he selected two daughters of Sumo and covered them both with selected
cocks from his Poco Diego line. This resulted in two hens being produced. This
year 2005 as yearlings those two hens were prepared and entered in the Narbonne
International race.
A
distance to Jos’ lofts of approx 515 miles, both dropped together, side by
side, to be clocked to won the following: 1st National, 2nd
National, 1st International and 2nd International but also
the fastest of more then 10.000 birds (old pigeons and yearlings) National.
These hens are now known as “Sedna I” and “Sedna II”. Both are
granddaughters of Sumo. Sedna I has also made this year the 7th Open
Semi-National Jarnac against 5000+ birds, 98th Semi-National
St-Vincent against 3320 birds and 206th National St-Vincent 10.000+
birds. So she is Provincial ace pigeon long distance.
SednaII
has also made 134th National a Souterraine against 16.000+ birds, 29th
Provincial Nanteuil against 1222 birds and many other prizes.
Before
we continue I’ll let you into a little secret, at this moment Jos has
something else in mind. If he pairs both Sedna I and Sedna II with two selected
“Poco Diego” bloodline cocks could their offspring win at National level
flying to Niel-Bij-As from Barcelona? Well, I wouldn’t hold your breath, the
prognosis is certainly good and when rather than if that happens I wouldn’t
mind betting that Sumo will still be filling all his eggs in other words it
won’t be long.
I’ll
close with these words “You will hear a lot more about Sumo because YOU AINT
SEEN NOTHING YET!!!!”
Ronny Bigwood