This coming just a few days after his exploits in the Bordeaux International  when Mark not only took 1^st Place but claimed a plethora of top placings. This was achieved just one day after  his 2^nd National placing from Tarbes with the N.F.C..

On this occasion the ‘Wizard from Windsor’ not only took 1^st,2^nd and 4^th places but in fact had no less than 15pigeons in the first 40positions and this was from over 4,200 birds from many of the best lofts in England. This we are led to believe will set a club record in the oldest National pigeon racing club in the U.K

What is it that makes this man so special?. It is all so simple really. Dedication, skill and the most important ingredient GOOD PIGEONS and that last reason is really an understatement as Mark Gilbert hasn’t got good birds he has the finest blood lines that can be obtained. If he knew that there were better ones rest assured Mark would be after them like a ‘bloodhound on the scent’. There is an inbuilt desire, an insatiable lust to be the Alpha loft in not just the U.K. but worldwide and to do that he know he needs the finest ingredients.

Perhaps to give a guide as to what I mean let’s take a peep at the breeding of Mark’s 1^st,2^nd & 4^th National winners from a distance of miles.

First the national winner, a yearling chequer cock. His father is a son of ‘Drum’ who Koopman enthusiasts will know is a brother of ‘Farah Diba’ and ‘Reza’ raced by Marijke Vink. Whilst the dam is ‘Gerrie’ a daughter of the world famed ‘Kliene Dirk’ . The national winners dam is a daughter of Marcel Sangers famous arsenal namely ‘Lazer Gun’ when he was coupled with ‘Triple six’. His previous performances are 4^th Mad Hatter Open race, 10^th Open NFC, 39thopen NFC and 11^th Open National Tours.

The second placed bird which arrived with the winner and recorded just 4 seconds later is another yearling cock and is a son of a direct son of ‘Dutch Master’ a full brother of ‘Drum’, when paired to a daughter of ‘Samson’ who won 1^st National from Argenton from over 24,000 birds. The mother is daughter of ‘Golden Gaby’ which was 1^st National Orleans 12,875 birds when mated to a daughter of Gaby’s world famous ‘Bliksem’.

The third of Mark’s birds, the 4^th Open winner is of 100% Gaby Vandenabeele bloodlines, being from a son off ‘Golden Gaby x ‘Band of Gold’ and his mother is from Gaby’s ‘Loverboy’ x ‘Laura’. This bird has already shown his ‘metal’ by winning the ‘Solent Fed Open and it’s £1000 prize just  three weeks earlier. This with a 1^st placing a week later in a club race from just 78 miles. Proving the adaptability of the bird to win three excellent places from 78 to 394 miles in just three weeks.

When you remember that Mark’s 1^st International Bordeaux Yearling  hen was an inbred Broeckamp pigeon being closely related to both ‘Euro Diamond’ and ‘Mistral’. I believe that it is clear as daylight that the Gilbert loft is stocked with the finest of bloodlines. I am sure that these birds will continue and help push Mark Gilbert even further up the ‘Ladder of success’. One thing is for sure, there will be no slacking by Mark himself because ‘Success breeds Success!’