Bontebok Lofts Strikes Gold - Inside Arnu Viljoen's Diaz OLR Race 7 Victory

Arnu Viljoen's Bontebok Lofts has done it again - 'Low Risk' takes 1st place in Diaz OLR Race 7, Qumbu 352km, at 1375.56 m/min. Bred from an Ultra Ace Diaz father and 5th Ultra Ace Diaz mother, and backed by DNA testing that selects for recovery, it's a win that runs in the blood.

Race Victory

Arnu Viljoen's Bontebok Lofts (Hanover, NC) walked away with a fantastic victory in Race 7 of the Diaz OLR series, with a top pigeon named 'Low Risk' crossing the antenna first against tough competition.

The 352km race was flown from Qumbu in the Eastern Cape to the coastal loft near Bushmans River Mouth on 22 July 2026. Birds were liberated at sunrise into clear, cool conditions before pushing through a strengthening wind and a stiff crosswind on the final stretch. 'Low Risk' covered the distance at 1375.56 mpm to take the win in a 10 pigeon, 4minute break-away pack!

The Genetics Behind the Winner

'LOW RISK' wasn't a lucky pairing - both parents had already proven themselves at the top of Diaz competition before this bird ever hatched! Arnu himself is a very calculated fancier and this win was testament to his diligence.

The father 'BONT VISSIE' 1st Ultra Ace at Diaz in 2025, a title won by racing 15 consecutive weeks. 'BONT VISSIE' also Diaz OLR Winner by 49min break-away from Richmond 545km 1022mpm!

'**BONT VISSIE**' Father to '**LOW RISK**'

'**BONT VISSIE**' *49min* break-away win from Richmond 545km

The mother of 'LOW RISK' also completing 15 consecutive weeks to finish 5th Ultra Ace at the Diaz One Loft that same season. The pair covered 6,126km of hard racing across those 15 weeks - exactly the stamina and the ability to recover Viljoen looks for before committing to a pairing.

The mother 'ANDER EEN' also brings outside blood into the mix: bred by Dean Anderson, she consists of 50% Bontebok lines and 50% Anderson lines. Pairing an Ultra Ace winner with a fellow Ultra Ace was deliberate - both parents had shown, at the highest level, that they could take a hard effort, recover, and go again. Low Risk's win is that trait showing up a generation on.

'Ander Een' Dam to 'LOW RISK' Race 7 Winner Diaz OLR

Paul Viljoen and Renier Basson lines

Bontebok Lofts was built on two foundation families. The first came from Paul Viljoen, whose birds raced in an organisation where every race is flown into the wind - whatever the direction that weekend, it's a headwind race - breeding toughness into the line. The second came from Renier Basson, out of the 'Maskam' bloodline, known for its homing instinct.

Crossing the two gave Arnu's birds with both the grit to fight a headwind and the Maskam line's natural direction-sense. Racing that cross week after week at club level is what first revealed their potential, and it's the same two bloodlines, refined the past couple of over years, still running through birds like 'LOW RISK' today.

The Selection Process

Anru breeds pigeons and races a team at home, he races them week after week, as a program in its own right. Separately, birds entered into one loft races like Diaz compete week after week simply by the structure of that format.

After each season, Viljoen buys back his pigeon that competed at the one lofts and pairs them together before sending the next generation back into the One loft races. He never crosses sprinters with distance birds - the offspring tend to inherit one parent's traits and lose the other's. And he never introduces new breeding cocks: his team of cocks is fixed for good, with all new blood entering through hens, exactly how 'Low Risk's' Anderson-line dam found her way in.

Above everything, the traits he selects for is proven performance in the racing basket and recovery ability - how quickly a bird bounces back after a hard race and is race ready again about seven days later, repeatedly. The top performers that can also recover fast after races are the ones he pairs together, and that race-and-recover cycle underpins Bontebok's results.

DNA Testing Behind the Genes

Viljoen has every bird that races in a one-loft event DNA tested, using the results to refine future pairings. A recent genetic report on Ch Hen ZA19 -203431, NECPU's standout pigeon from Bontebok's lines, who started 20 races in a season and scored in 19 of them - shows exactly what that testing looks for.

Her LDHA result came back AB. The A variant is linked to more efficient lactate metabolism over 300–700km races, letting a bird hold pace longer before fatigue sets in — a direct contributor to recovery. Her DRD4 result was CT at the 954 marker, CC at 456; the CT variant is linked to more starting-line drive and faster times, and this hen carries that favourable allele. Together, it's a genetic snapshot of the recover-and-rise trait Viljoen has selected for by eye and result for years — now visible at the molecular level.

Looking Ahead

Bontebok's Race 7 win adds to a growing list of results across South Africa's toughest One Loft Races, from a 1st and 12th Diaz Final from Greytown (635km) in 2023, to top results at the Cape Town International Loft and Ou Skuur OLR. With 'LOW RISK', the latest generation from an Ultra Ace pairing has already delivered, and Viljoen's buy-back-and-enter cycle means this year's top performers will be the parents of the next generation of entries in 2026 to look forward to!