Bontebok (ZA) Claims Diaz1 Loft Race 7 Qumbu 352km
Stay updated on Race 7 Qumbu of the Diaz One Loft! View the leading fanciers, the latest Velocity News Fancier of the Race and Follow Up rankings, "Pigeon of the Week," and the current Ace Pigeon Ranking following a demanding 352km race from Qumbu.
Qumbu 352km
For the Diaz One Loft Race 7, 396 pigeons representing 106 fanciers flew 352km from Qumbu in the Eastern Cape to a coastal loft near Bushmans River Mouth.
Liberated just after sunrise under clear skies (6°C-9°C, 14km/h WNW breeze), the birds encountered a 15-20km/h NW wind and warmer 15°C-18°C weather at the Transkei and Fish River midpoint. They reached Bushmans River Mouth under mostly sunny skies with mild temperatures of 19°C-20°C, navigating a stronger 22-28km/h WSW crosswind the final stretch.
Top 10 Fanciers
Bontebok's 'Low Risk' took the win at 1375.56 m/min, leading the group. Loft Einkamerer's 'Sir BB 2-251' followed in 2nd, with Webster Lofts' 'Youll See' close behind in 3rd. Roodt & Van Onselen's 'Beeldskoon' and Webster Lofts' 'Late Charge' rounded out the top five in 4th and 5th, arriving just seconds apart. Roxy Lofts' 'Plan A' claimed 6th, ahead of PH/H&F's '7802/0132/2' in 7th. Benn & Bailie's 'Reinvention' came home in 8th, with Billy Kruger's 'Billy 4' in 9th and Anton Schonken's 'Storm' completing the top 10.
Genetics Behind The Podium
1st Place - ZA26-DIAZ-2 Bred by Bontebok (Anru Viljoen). Direct from two fantastic racers. Father to Race 7 winner won 1st Ace Endurance Diaz 2025 flying 15 weeks in a row. Mother to Race 7 winner ZA24-OCRPC-938 5th Ace Endurance Diaz 2025.
2nd Place - ZA25-DIAZ-147 Bred by Loft Einkamerer. Directly from the basic lines. Father direct son of 'BLACKBIRD x APPLE 2' founndation breeders. Mother direct daughter 'PIZZARO x BALLONEKE'. See full pedigree:
3rd Place - 'You'll See' ZA26-DIAZ46 Bred by Webster Lofts. Top racer this season with 3e-4e-22e-28e-31e positions thus far. Bred from 'BLESS BOSS' x 'MAXI'. 'BLESS BOSS' direct son 'NEW BOSS' sired 2nd Ace Diaz' 21 x 'PRINCESS' 2nd Ace Diaz 2020. 'MAXI' dam to 3rd Place Race 7 was 2nd Ace Diaz 2019 season. See full pedigree down below:
Fancier of The Race
In Race 7 Qumbu, 37 out of 106 competing fanciers qualified for this ranking by meeting the minimum requirement of basketing at least 4 pigeons.
Rankings are based on the percentage of a fancier's basketed pigeons placing within the top 5% of the race (the top 19 out of 396 total entries), with ties broken by the highest average velocity of those positions.
Billy Kruger is named Velocity News Fancier of the Race, topping the ranking with 25.00% of his participating pigeons inside the Top 5%.
By raw volume, Webster Lofts placed the most pigeons inside the top 5% of any fancier!
*Please Note: This log scrolls from left to right.
Follow Up Ranking Race 7
The Top 10% Follow Up Ranking measures fanciers on the percentage of their basketed birds finishing in the top 10% of the race, which means the leading 39 out of 396 pigeons. In Race 7 Qumbu, 37 of 106 participating fanciers qualified by basketing at least 4 pigeons. Ties are resolved using highest average velocity across their arrivals.
Roodt & Van Onselen led the Velocity News Follow Up ranking with 40.00% of their pigeons placing inside the top 10% arrivals.
*Please Note: This log scrolls from left to right.
Ace Pigeon Ranking Week 7
Kasouga secured the top spot on the Ace rankings with 63 DIAZ 2026, achieving a coefficient of 2.1240. Following closely in second was Billy Kruger with 906 CPL 2026 at 2.1772, while Willie Munnik completed the top three with 10879 OERF 2025 at 2.2623.
Bloodlines:
1st Ace Week 7 - ZA26-DIAZ-63 Bred by Kasouga (Norman Phillips). The father is 'BRAD' direct son 'PASCAL' top breeder when mated to his g/daughter '35939' 2nd Ace Pigeon Diaz OLR 2021. The dam to the current Ace is NL21-1041956 a superbly bred C. & G. Koopman bred hen. View Pedigree below:
2nd Ace Weeek 7 - ZA26-CPL-126 Bred by Billie Kruger. The father is a '810' De-Rauw-Sablon x 410/Nokutee/Dana Clausing cross. The Mother is again a 410 /Nokutee/Dana Clausing from Anthony Hayland's Clausings (Vicksburg).
3rd Ace Week 7 - ZA25-OERF-10879 Bred by Willie Munnik out of a cock from Riaan Strydom and a top hen that won 8th Ace Pigeon Carnival Summer OLR 2025 out of Birdy/SAMDPR lines.
Pigeon of the Week
Velocity News introduced Pigeon of the Week to identify the pigeons week by week. It is awarded to the pigeon with the smallest average margin behind the winner across two consecutive races.
Comparing Race 7 Qumbu against Race 6 Ixopo, KDK Racing & Joe Gomes's 'Frank Joe 28' earns Pigeon of the Week, averaging 2 minutes and 27.040 seconds behind the winner with a 4th-place finish at Ixopo and 19th at Qumbu. Benn & Bailie's 'Stompie' follows closely at 2 minutes and 30.940 seconds (10th at Ixopo, 26th at Qumbu), while Roodt & Van Onselen's 'Beeldskoon' completes the podium at 2 minutes and 51.470 seconds (14th at Ixopo, 4th at Qumbu).
*Please Note: This log scrolls from left to right.
Looking Ahead
Kasouga's 63 Diaz 2026 now leads the Overall Coefficient Ace Bird Leaderboard, edging past Billy Kruger despite Billy Kruger's Velocity News Fancier of the Race performance this week. Elsewhere, Roodt & Van Onselen's Follow Up Ranking and Webster Lofts' consistent presence across both rankings suggest the chasing pack is closing in fast. With so little separating the leaders, the next race could reshuffle every one of these standings.
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