For me, 1/ well bred pigeons 2/natural immunity 3/ fit pigeons be it by road training or loft fitness And mentally right, And fed right for race also Everybody who handles pigeons on the Friday night can pick the lofts that are going to be at the front. In most cases Yes hawks play a large part in the race. But the same people are winning If no young bird racing. The peregrine would just come to the lofts for a easy meal ( I have had them at my lofts) For me it’s Its the same guys winning and have best returns, I also think sprint pigeons win but in a funny race can also lose a lot more as distance pigeons just plod in with better % of returns, or this happens in my loft My Welsh pigeons pigeons on a good day hammer my distance pigeons if they get a bad start they still win but I lose a high % of them The distance pigeons only score in short races when they have a bad start with good returns ( mind this is only in my loft that I have observed over the years) Small convoys have a high % of getting hit from 100 miles + it’s down to luck if you don’t get hit Most bad races are when they are getting hit at the start. Liberations Most folk talk about what needs to happen. And very few do something about it