It's a flying shame. Ireland's best hope of winning one of the most valuable pigeon races in the world has disappeared during a training flight, just one week before the international final.
Annette the pigeon, from Cabra in Dublin, was tipped to take the 200,000 top prize in the Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race in South Africa this week, after she flew the fastest ever time in the history of the race during its last leg in December.
John Nash, Annette's owner, said he was "stunned" when Annette beat more than 5,000 birds by flying 193 miles in just over three hours 17 seconds. The win secured Annette's position as the first ever Irish winner of a Hot Spot race in South Africa, and