Got to agree wi you I remember years ago being at Matt mclachlans glencraig when i was a boy just after he won rennes and I was asking him bout different distances. He said son the pigeon doesn't know it's to fly 500 miles it's up to you to make it fly 500 mile. They don't know if they're sprinters or distance birds. I have a hen myself a pure vandenabelle who was 18 open clermont in 2010 and I'm sure velocity was round about 1050 and you'd think she could have flew another 200 mile