Shahzad Family Loft Wins CPL OLR Sprint 2 as McPherson Takes Fancier of the Race
Shahzad Family Loft claimed CPL OLR Sprint 2 ahead of Jacques McPherson and Team Judels. McPherson backed up the runner-up finish with the race's biggest individual result, topping the Fancier of the Race stats.
The Race
Central Provincial Loft's One Loft Sprint Race 2 released 940 pigeons from Colesberg on 26 June 2026, covering 195 km to the loft in Bloemfontein, contested by 237 fanciers. Shahzad Family Loft took the race win. McPherson, Jacques led the Top 5% Efficiency Rate ranking to take Fancier of the Race, while Fourie Forte Lofts topped the Top 10% Follow Up Rate ranking.
Liberation & Race Conditions
Pigeons left Colesberg into a crisp 7°C morning, under mostly cloudy skies that muted the early sun. Wind stayed calm and variable, under 5 km/h, giving the pigeons a clean start with no early resistance.
Approaching Gariep Dam and the southern Free State, temperatures lifted to 11-12°C under partly cloudy skies clearing through the morning. A North/North-West breeze of 14-16 km/h met the pigeons as they turned north-east for Bloemfontein, a cross-headwind demanding sustained effort.
Bloemfontein reached 14-15°C by the finish, with passing clouds and high visibility. A steady North-westerly wind of 12-15 km/h provided a final test before the pigeons reached the loft.
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Top 10 Arrivals
Shahzad Family Loft took the win with 'Hawk Wing', clocking 1285.14 m/min into Bloemfontein.
McPherson, Jacques followed in 2nd with OERF 9181 2025. Team Judels landed 3rd with 'Peregrine'. Versters took 4th with 'Luno'. Bomb Squad placed 5th with ZA 2973 2025, ahead of AC Botma Hokke in 6th with SA 1835 2025.
Alpha & Omega Hokke crossed 7th with DLS 2426 2025, followed by JJJ van der Linde in 8th with BPF 756 2025. Barlu completed the top 10's named pigeons in 9th with 'Thunder', with Fourie & Olivier rounding out the top 10 in 10th with FOURIE 56 2025.
Velocity News Fancier of the Race Ranking
Fanciers needed at least 4 pigeons basketed to qualify for the ranking. Of the 237 fanciers in Central Provincial Loft's CPL OLR Sprint 2, 91 meet that minimum and make up the pool competing for the title.
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 47 of the 940 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.
The 10 Most Efficient Fanciers of the Day
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Top 10% Follow Up Rate Ranking
Fanciers needed at least 4 pigeons basketed to qualify for the ranking. Of the 237 fanciers in Central Provincial Loft's CPL OLR Sprint 2, 91 meet that minimum and make up the pool competing for this ranking.
This ranking identifies which fanciers had the highest concentration of their basketed pigeons landing inside the top 10% of the race — position 94 of the 940 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.
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Top 25 Ace Pigeon Rankings Week 2
Munnik, Willie tops the Ace Pigeon Ranking with ZA 224 2025, clocking 1267.92 m/min, just ahead of Team Judels with KUR 406 2025 and Shahzad Family Loft with SHAZ 139 2025 in third. The top 25 stayed tight throughout, with under 26 m/min separating first from last.
Two fanciers placed multiple pigeons inside the top 25: SRKJ landed MPV 144 2025 at 6th and MPV 153 2025 at 17th, while Team Oberholster placed PPK 1338 2025 at 8th and PPK 1340 2025 at 19th.
Looking Ahead
Jacques McPherson, Team Judels, and Bomb Squad all backed up strong race-day finishes with places atop the stats tables, a pairing of speed and consistency that's harder to fake than a single fast pigeon. Whether that form carries into the next race, or whether Fourie Forte Lofts' quiet depth on the Follow Up Rate table turns into race day results, is the open question heading into Sprint 3. We'll see how it unfolds.
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