Art And The 2000 Guinees

Kyleakin Lofts · May 3, 2018

Art and the 2000 Guineas

by

John Clements

I didn't get much of a reaction from my article about transcendence. In particular transcendent performances that happen occasionally in pigeons and pigeon racing. The whole article fell with a thump on very hard stony ground. I cannot say this was not expected. When pigeon conversation gets into the realm of the 'mystical' fanciers shy away from attempting to understand or even talk about it. Nevertheless, the fact that pigeons can and do home from distant places and that the homing mechanism that enables it to take place is either not at all understood in very long races or it is taken for granted in short races.

Something Mystical

All this underlines the fact that there is something remarkable and mystical taking place with pigeons that is way above our current level understanding. I would say that when it comes to races of 650 miles or over no one has absolutely cracked it. No one can say with any degree of certainty that any particular pigeon is bound to make it. This applies regardless of its past performances. No one can say that their loft is going to always remain at the top. We are all searching for answers and in all cases the search cannot be weighed, quantified or measured in a cause and effect kind of way. That, dear friends, is the joy of the experience and why we do it.

Money can never be Transcendent

In order to get some kind of inkling on transcendence we must begin to look outside pigeon racing of how sports other than pigeon racing unconsciously know about and gives some kind of weight to 'The Arts'. It is generally in the arts where transcendence occurs most and where it is most understood. Take for instance the field of the 2000 Guineas Classic Horse Race. Two horses in that race are named after artists. This indicates unconsciously what we as people historically value. The two are Gustave Klimt - and Murillo. Ask why did owners pick these names and not the names of past Chancellorâ€™s of the Exchequer or a past governor of the Bank of England or even a â€˜Hedge Fundâ€™. It is because these art names represent a similar mystic level the horses themselves are expected to reach. Chancellors and B of E Governors and Hedge Funds do not fit the bill, Money can never be transcendent.

Unconsciously owners want themselves and their horse to go down in history in the same way that painters whose names they have adopted have gone down in history. There is more to this transcendent stuff than we can imagine. We all want it, we all try for it, we all recognise it when we see it, regardless of if we admit it or not.

An Example from the Hard BICC Falaise Race

There was a transcendent performance last week in the BICC Falaise race. This race forced long flying into a difficult North East wind. Many flying much lesser distances failed but Houriham and Crowder from Croxteth in Liverpool timed a pigeon at 6pm flying 336 miles. In my mind this pigeon was equally as good as the outright winner flying to Eastbourne on the South Coast. If I was asked to choose which one I would have it would be the Croxteth one for that one was transcendent (mystically above what was expected) on that particular day.

At least one other fancier recognised this fact - Davy Burns mentioned it on the â€˜Pigeon Chatâ€™ platform. He can also be commended for his open act of recognition. He was obviously affected spiritually by the performance.