Marlbank Main Auction Day : Best of The Best From Hotspot 4 - Three Top Lots Included

1st Place Hotspot 4 Springfontein

Ferdie Lubbe of Pretoria, South Africa, stands as one of the country's elite fanciers. Whether competing in union races or one loft challenges, Mountain Lofts remains a prominent name in modern pigeon racing.

The foundational pigeons driving the colony’s achievements include key birds such as 'Alles Acht', 'Master Piece', 'New Replacement', and 'Concord', along with famed breeding pairs like 'Master Piece x Endless Power' and 'Alles Acht x Super Girl'.

This breeding strength has yielded major achievements, including 1st and 3rd Afrikapro Blue Jacket Ace Pigeons in 2023, as well as 2nd and 4th place finishes in the 2025 Afrikapro Black Jacket team competition.

Among recent highlights are two 1st-place Marlbank Hotspot victories and a 3rd-place finish in Afrikapro Race 7 achieved by 'Jamaican Music'.

Ending On: September 27, 2026 5:00 pm

Lot 049 - ZA-25-MOUN-231 "NEW INVESTMENT"

ENTERED BY MOUNTAIN LOFT/MURRAY&MILLS/C OXLEY

MARLBANK OLR WINTER - SEASON 2026

1st HS 6 - NOUPOORT 566KM (1230 PIGEONS)

View Lot 49

2nd Place Hotspot 4 Springfontein

Francios Steinmann, based in Kimberley, Northern Cape, is emerging as one of South Africa's promising fanciers to watch after an exceptionally successful 2026 One Loft campaign that achieved nine Top 10 finishes.

At the foundation of these outstanding results is his primary breeder, a cock named 'Die Perongeluk Cock'. On his paternal side, he is a half-brother to 'Concord' (1st National Ace), while his dam is a full sister to 'Golden TT' (1st National Ace SANPO).

By investing in premier genetics, Francios maintains top-tier lines from renowned breeders such as JJJ van der Linde, Webster Lofts, and Gavin Rous, among others.

Recent Accomplishments:

• 2nd Marlbank Hotspot 4 '26
• 3rd Marlbank Trans Karoo 805km '26
• 3rd Dinokeng OLR Race 5 '26
• 4th Dinokeng OLR Race 1 '26
• 4th Dinokeng OLR Race 2 '26
• 7th Dinokeng OLR Race 6 '26
• 8th BarZAlona Dinokeng '26
• 8th Ace Pigeon Dinokeng '26
• 9th Dinokeng OLR Race 1 '26

3rd Place Hotspot 4 Springfontein

RMG Racing is a premier force in pigeon racing. Their achievements include Top 10 overall rankings for three consecutive years in the AfrikaPro Premier Series, as well as winning the SANPO Ultra Long Distance Gold Medal and the Super Marathon category. Demonstrating extreme endurance, RMG clocked a bird on the same day at 17:47 from a 1,000 km race. Internationally, they secured 4th place in the Cape Town International Summer Race final and 35th out of thousands of entries in the Pattaya International Pigeon Race (PIPR). RMG Racing offers fanciers top-tier, battle-tested performance genetics.

Ending On: September 27, 2026 9:00 pm

Lot 097 - ZA-25-RMG-43 "GROOT BAAS"

ENTERED BY RMG RACING

MARLBANK OLR WINTER - SEASON 2026

17th HS 3 - EDENBURG 390KM (1350 PIGEONS)

87th HS 2 - BLOEMFONTEIN 315KM (1375 PIGEONS)

107th FINAL - RICHMOND 655KM (905 PIGEONS)

View Lot 97

Fancier of the Race

Michael Burger built the season's story on consistency where it counts most. His season includes 2 Velocity News Fancier of the Race appearances, and that reliability carried into the Follow Up ranking too - 4 appearances (4th most appearances among 233 fanciers). Two pigeons also reached the Overall Ace Top 100. This is a fancier whose birds keep showing up at the front, race after race.On auction: Lot 58

Ending On: September 27, 2026 5:45 pm

ENTERED BY  MICHAEL BURGER

MARLBANK OLR WINTER - SEASON 2026

7th HS 6 - NOUPOORT 566KM (1230 PIGEONS)

View Lot 58

Pigeon of the Week

Competing in the Vanderbijlpark Pigeon Club under the Vaal Posduif Unie, the father-and-son partnership of Andries and Johan Fivaz has built a highly successful loft. Their foundation relies heavily on top-tier breeding, with approximately 60% of their stock deriving from previous-generation Gys Louw pigeons—tracing back to Kees Bosua and the renowned "auto Koppel," featuring Lot 7 as a key foundation cock. The remainder of their team is built upon a proven family of grizzles originating from Gerald Swart in the 1970s.

This prominent grizzle line notably produced "Zarina," the 2022 South African Gold Medal winner flown by Gys Louw. At the core of the Fivaz loft's current success is a key breeding pair: a full brother to Zarina paired with a daughter of Zarina's paternal uncle. A two-time winning daughter from this mating has already produced the 2026 2nd Sprint Ace Pigeon at Marlbank, adding to the loft's early accomplishments at the OLR, which include securing 5th Ace Pigeon in their debut season.

You're invited to Marlbank Winter OLR 2027!

R6 000/entry, pay only after activation (4 Jun). Intakes close 27 Feb 2027. 7 Hotspots win up to R50 000, Richmond Final race win R500 000, Ace Pigeon prizes up to R250 000 – over R4.4m in total! Top birds to auction + Great Transkaroo race! Enter now: www.marlbankolr.co.za