| Sumo
“Super breeder in the world” |
| 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. |
So
just to keep things in perspective from the artificial insemination
angle from Sumo’s frozen sperm Jos Thoné selected
various hens who’s eggs were fertilized by Sumo’s
sperm, all were bought over to Great Britain to be auctioned
by the UK’s auctioneer Mark Evans of Heart of England
Auctions. In December of 2004 this was the firstly the fairest
and only way Jos Thoné could neat the demand hear and
secondly to celebrate the success of Brian Sheppards 1st and
2nd International wins, Jos’ way of saying thanks. Most
of those direct offspring were cock birds and not long before
his auction I expressed to Jos my concern of a lack of hens
in his sale from “Sumo”. Jos Thoné being
the man he is, several late breds were promptly shipped over,
and one nature hen named Brittania, she was a full sister
of the Emperor and her daughter is none other than Sedna II
a perfect example of the fact that all times Jos Thoné
prides himself on quality never quantity. |
I
have been contacted by many of those that were fortunate to
secure Sumo’s offspring and the purchases of many other
birds for sale that day. Nearly all have breed winners including
1st federations and top federations prize-winners, things
will only get better. With the added plus that all birds were
sold with a DNA- guaranty that day. Plus Jos Thonés
personal guaranty that any bird sold that day could be replaced
if it failed to produce winners underline Jos Thonés
impeccable integrity and enormous sincerity. |
I’ll
close with these words “You will hear a lot more about
Sumo because YOU AINT SEEN NOTHING YET!!!!” |
Ronny
Bigwood |
