Race 3 Groblershoop 565km, Team Phillips claimed the win and swept both the Velocity News Fancier of the Race and Pigeon of the Week, edging out Austin Powers and JJ Botha on the podium, while Eddie Ferreira topped the Follow Up Ranking ahead of Jordaan & De Beer and Bruce Lord.

Race 3 Groblershoop 565km

Smith Fourie One Loft's 217 pigeons basketed for the 565km flight from Groblershoop, contested by 33 fanciers, were liberated at 08:15 (GMT+2) on 18 July.

Liberated under clear skies with the early morning mist already dissipated, the pigeons faced a westerly breeze of 3-4 m/s and temperatures between 11-14°C at Groblershoop. By the mid-point over the Central Karoo, conditions had warmed to 18-20°C under mostly sunny skies, with a WNW cross-tailwind giving the front-runners a helpful push south-east. Visibility stayed excellent throughout. The birds crossed into Golden Valley under a mild 21-23°C, light and variable westerly winds, and occasional fair-weather cumulus overhead. Clear skies and a steady tailwind held for the full 565km corridor, with zero adverse weather disruptions across the flight.

Top 10 Arrivals

Team Phillips claimed the win at 1518.05 m/min, leading Smith Fourie One Loft's Race 3 home. Team Phillips followed in 2nd. JJ Botha claimed 3rd, with Austin Powers close behind in 4th. Jackie Pieterse took 5th, with Team Phillips following in 6th. Austin Powers came home in 7th, with Jannie Lategan in 8th. Fourie & Olivier claimed 9th, and Tollie Jordaan completed the top 10 — the entire top 10 arriving within 4 minutes and 25 seconds of the winner.

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Team Phillips landed 3 pigeons inside the Top 10 Arrivals (1st, 2nd, and 6th) — the only fancier with more than one bird inside the top 6.

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The entire Top 10 Arrivals landed within 4 minutes and 25 seconds of the winner, despite a flight of over 6 hours.

Genetics Behind The Podium

Team Phillips sits on a gem of a pigeon with ZA25-OP-6731! Currently won 1st 2nd and 4th positions in the Smith Fourie OLR season.

On the father side is one of South Africa's most successful fanciers in Ferdie Lubbe from Mountain Lofts, with a long and rich history in our sport and recent world class performances at Afrikapro's 2025 season. The father to Race 3's winner was a top performer in the tough Diaz OLR, winning 11th Final Greytown 635km 1182mpm and also placing 5th and 11th (both occasions equal 1st).

The dam to Race 3's winner is off international bloodlines from PIPA Elite Centre, she is a full sister of 1. Ace Sofia OLR (also 6th Final) bred out of a son of 'PRINCE PORSCHE X MARIA (G. Van De Wouwer)' when mated to direct son 'BEST KITTEL' paired to a direct daughter 'DANIEL', both of these names are top in Belgium National Sprint Ace Titles.

'LUBBE COCK' Father to ZA25-OP-6731 Race 3 Winner

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Want to read more about Norman Phillips and his pigeons? Click the link below:

The '35939' Impact: A Current Breeding Masterclass in the 2026 Diaz OLR Season for Norman Phillips

Velocity News Fancier of the Race

In Smith Fourie One Loft's Race 3, 19 out of 33 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 10 out of 217 total entries), with ties broken by the highest average velocity of those positions.

TEAM PHILLIPS is named Velocity News Fancier of the Race, topping the ranking with 16.67% of their participating pigeons inside the Top 5%.

Please note: This log scrolls from left to right*.

Fancier of the Race

Race 3 · Smith Fourie One Loft · Liberation: Groblershoop · 565 km · 18 July 2026

Ranking is based on Efficiency Rate: the percentage of each fancier's own basketed pigeons that finished inside the top 5% of the race — position 10 of the 217 pigeons basketed in this race. Fanciers with fewer than 4 pigeons basketed are excluded. Ties are broken by average velocity across that fancier's top 5% finishes.

Ranking	Team Name	Pigeons Participated	Positions	Efficiency Rate	Avg Speed
1	Team Phillips 🇿🇦	18	1, 2, 6	16.67%	1513.95 m/min
2	JJ Botha 🇿🇦	7	3	14.29%	1506.21 m/min
3	Austin Powers 🇿🇦	15	4, 7	13.33%	1504.88 m/min
4	Jackie Pieterse 🇿🇦	8	5	12.50%	1506.01 m/min
5	Fourie & Olivier 🇿🇦	9	9	11.11%	1502.57 m/min
6	Jannie Lategan 🇿🇦	12	8	8.33%	1502.95 m/min
7	Tollie Jordaan 🇿🇦	12	10	8.33%	1500.23 m/min

Velocity News Fancier of the Race — official ranking — velocitypigeonnews.com

The Follow Up Ranking

The Follow Up Ranking measures fanciers with the highest percentage of their basketed birds finishing in the top 10% of the race, which means the leading 21 out of 217 pigeons. In Smith Fourie One Loft's Race 3, 19 of 33 participating fanciers qualified by basketing at least 4 pigeons. Ties are resolved using highest average velocity across their arrivals.

EDDIE FERREIRA led the Velocity News Follow Up ranking with 25.00% of their pigeons placing inside the top 10% arrivals.

Please note: This log scrolls from left to right.*

Top 10% Follow Up Ranking

Race 3 · Smith Fourie One Loft · Liberation: Groblershoop · 565 km · 18 July 2026

This ranking identifies which fanciers had the highest concentration of their basketed pigeons landing inside the top 10% of the race — position 21 of the 217 pigeons basketed in this race — relative to how many pigeons they had participating. This metric is the Follow Up Rate, a measure of how many pigeons a fancier brought home in succession relative to their total pigeons in the race. Fanciers with fewer than 4 pigeons basketed are excluded, and ties are broken by average velocity. This ranking does not decide Velocity News Fancier of the Race.

Ranking	Team Name	Pigeons Participated	Positions	Follow Up Rate	Avg Speed
1	Eddie Ferreira 🇿🇦	8	13, 14	25.00%	1498.36 m/min
2	Jordaan & De Beer 🇿🇦	4	15	25.00%	1498.23 m/min
3	Bruce Lord 🇿🇦	4	16	25.00%	1498.21 m/min
4	Camelot Hokke 🇿🇦	11	19, 20	18.18%	1493.91 m/min
5	Team Phillips 🇿🇦	18	1, 2, 6	16.67%	1513.95 m/min
6	Jannie Lategan 🇿🇦	12	8, 17	16.67%	1500.53 m/min
7	JJ Botha 🇿🇦	7	3	14.29%	1506.21 m/min
8	Austin Powers 🇿🇦	15	4, 7	13.33%	1504.88 m/min
9	Jackie Pieterse 🇿🇦	8	5	12.50%	1506.01 m/min
10	Fourie & Olivier 🇿🇦	9	9	11.11%	1502.57 m/min

Velocity News Top 10% Follow Up Ranking — velocitypigeonnews.com

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Camelot Hokke was the only fancier besides Eddie Ferreira to land more than one pigeon inside the Top 10%!

Pigeon of the Week

Velocity News introduced Pigeon of the Week to identify the best pigeons week by week. It is awarded to the pigeon with the smallest average margin behind the winner across two consecutive races.

Comparing Race 2 Prieska against Race 3 Groblershoop, TEAM PHILLIPS's ZA-2025-OP-6731 earns Pigeon of the Week, averaging 1.850 seconds behind the winner with a 2nd-place finish at Race 2 and 1st at Race 3. AUSTIN POWERS's ZA-2025-KWUG-35 follows closely at 1 minute and 31.205 seconds (9th at Race 2, 4th at Race 3), while TEAM PHILLIPS's ZA-2025-OP-8354 completes the podium at 1 minute and 33.335 seconds (13th at Race 2, 6th at Race 3) — Team Phillips's second pigeon on the podium this week.

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Team Phillips did double duty this week — ZA-2025-OP-6731 didn't just win Race 3, it also topped Pigeon of the Week, climbing from 2nd at Race 2 Prieska to 1st at Race 3 Groblershoop.

Pigeon of the Week · Smith Fourie One Loft

Two Race Comparison · Race 2 Prieska 448km (04/07/2026) & Race 3 Groblershoop 565km (18/07/2026)

Ranking date: 18/07/2026

Ranking is based on Average Margin: the mean of a pigeon's time behind the race winner across two races. Smallest average margin ranks highest.

1 Team Phillips South Africa

Avg +00:00:01.850

ZA-2025-OP-6731

Race 2 Prieska 448km · Pos 2 / 238

+00:00:03.700

1509.58 m/min

Race 3 Groblershoop 565km · Pos 1 / 217

+00:00:00.000

1518.05 m/min

2 Austin Powers South Africa

Avg +00:01:31.205

ZA-2025-KWUG-35

Race 2 Prieska 448km · Pos 9 / 238

+00:00:06.820

1509.32 m/min

Race 3 Groblershoop 565km · Pos 4 / 217

+00:02:55.590

1506.20 m/min

3 Team Phillips South Africa

Avg +00:01:33.335

ZA-2025-OP-8354

Race 2 Prieska 448km · Pos 13 / 238

+00:00:07.650

1509.25 m/min

Race 3 Groblershoop 565km · Pos 6 / 217

+00:02:59.020

1505.97 m/min

Velocity News Pigeon of the Week — velocitypigeonnews.com

Looking Ahead

Team Phillips's win sets the tone for Smith Fourie One Loft's next outing, but it's Eddie Ferreira who leaves the strongest mark on the week, topping the Follow Up Ranking. Team Phillips's Velocity News Fancier of the Race performance, paired with two podium finishes in Pigeon of the Week, points to real consistency building in that loft. Whether either can carry that momentum into next week's race remains to be seen.