Australian pigeon flyers will have a chance to tap into the success and bloodlines of one of South Australia’s most respected long distance flyers – John Kokolakis – at his disposale sale in Adelaide on April the 6th.
Kokolakis has been at the top of his game since starting in the early 1960’s and has an incredibly successful family of birds that excel over all distances
The West Torrens club member has won a string of big races in the South Australian Homing Pigeon Assocation during his career including Byrock, Morundah, and Nyngan, and two Sires Produce races – with one of the Sires victories winning him a car in 2010 when he finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
But his SAHPA magic didn’t finish there … with his birds also finshing 2nd Inglewood, 2nd Mount Willoughby, 2nd Morundah, 2nd Springhurst, and 2nd Cobar (Twice)
Kokolakis pigeons have also finished 3rd Association on 6 or 7 occasions
In 2007 his yearling cockbird won SAHPA Bird of the Year after finishing 2nd Warracknabeal SAD, and 5th SAHPA Mitiamo
Kokolakis has proved to be one of the toughest flyers to beat, consistently getting birds home in some of the toughest races.
He is not a mob flyer and says his only secret is hard work
Kokolakis switches to a slightly lighter mix once his birds are through the moult … adding barley … and closely monitors his birds to ensure they work well around the loft and come into condition at the perfect time for a race.
He never starves his birds, but keep a close watch on each birds weight
**Picture: One of John’s Sires Produce Winners**
Kokolakis started racing in 1962 ….. and after taking an extended break to concentrate on his other passion, soccer, resumed his association with pigeons in 1995 … reaching the height of the sport in the SAHPA
He has crafted a unique family of birds based on the Goodger, Wickham, Van Loon, Janssen and Jim Cox Bloodlines
His breeding philosophy is to mate birds that compliment each other … and he is not afraid to breed from older birds IF they are still producing winners.
Kokolakis practises both inbreeding and linebreeding and loves the birds that win on the track AND replicate those winning genes in the breeding loft
He is wary of birds becoming hamper shy, and although he sometimes doubles in their racing workload, he says you have to keep birds fresh if you want to get them in big races in the most important latter half of the season
Kokolakis has been a long-time member of the West Torrens Club
He emigrated to Australia from Greece as a young boy on the same ship as another successful South Australian flyer Nick Albanos
But after a lifetime in the Sport, he has decided its time to sell his birds, and return home to Greece for a long overdue break
His Sale will be held in Adelaide in April
