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REVIEW: To many around the globe, they are cooing nuisances that blight city streets. But, to a few, these “little birds that have the brain the size of a pea” are truly something special.
Making use of their ability to find their way “home” from large distances, pigeon racing has been described as “the sport of kings and queens, presidents and peasants, millionaires and movie stars”.
However, Dublin baker and pigeon-fancier John O’Brien believes the fact that it is “classless” is one of the secrets to its popularity.
A member of the Clondalkin Pigeon Club, he’s one of the many characters featured in Gavin Fitzgerald’s charming and eye-opening documentary Million Dollar Pigeons (which debuts on Sky TV’s Rialto Channel at 8.30pm on Thursday, June 29).
The Irish director, whose previous focuses have included singer Liam Gallagher and boxer Conor McGregor, does a terrific job of not only providing an excellent primer to the sport, but also some of the politics and tensions.
O’Brien himself eventually admits that “the rich pigeon men” are in a different league from him and his clubmates, while serial American champions Mike and Debbie Ganus confess that winning races only really helps boost the price where the money really is – in breeding.
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To many around the globe, pigeons are cooing nuisances that blight city streets. But, to a few, these “little birds that have the brain the size of a pea” are truly something special.
Mike Ganus, who sends an army of birds to international competitions to increase his victory chances, believes that “jealousy is one of the sport’s biggest evils”. “But nobody says what I’m doing is stupid…well, maybe one or two…and the rest under their breath.”
British champ Paul Smith is more forthright, claiming that his birds dominated so much that a petition was launched to kick him out of his club – that his own father and brother-in-law signed. Even O’Brien, with his more modest ambitions, knows the score: “When you become a good flier, you’re about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit.”
As we meet them though, all three have their sights set on the same goal – competing in the 2020 edition of South Africa’s Million Dollar Race. Despite a US$1000 entry fee, more than 9000 pigeons from 40 countries were signed up to compete for the US$300,000 top prize in an event where all the birds are trained and looked after by a team at a single loft. But just like New Zealand’s own cinematic celebration of avian competition – 2017’s Pecking Order – Fitzgerald’s cameras witnessed something they never expected would happen.
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Dublin baker and self-confessed pigeon-fancier John O’Brien is one of the many colourful characters featured in the documentary Million Dollar Pigeons.
What follows is so compelling, a little horrifying and truly jaw-dropping, that Fitzgerald then attempts to temper it by focusing on an emerging rival event in Thailand. As they extol the virtues of transparency and having an all-female staff of “nurturers” (who self-identify as “The Dog Heart Gang”), it’s clear that all our interviewees are still finding what went down in South Africa somewhat hard to shake off.
But what’s also apparent is that this is a sport in a growth phrase. Increasing interest from Asia is boosting bird prices at auctions to new heights. Belgian pigeon New Kim sold for NZ$2.87m to a Chinese buyer.
Just a flight of fancy, or a truly bird-brained decision? It might not truly answer that question, but this enlightening, entertaining documentary will at least provide an insight into why some people are so keen to take a flutter on pigeon racing.
Million Dollar Pigeons will debut on Sky TV’s Rialto Channel at 8.30pm on Thursday, June 29. It is also available to stream on iTunes.
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