A Perthshire falcon breeder is celebrating after one of his birds won more than £100,000 in prizes for its middle eastern owners and trainers so far this season.
Falcon racing is a huge sport in the Arab world and for Adrian Hallgarth, who breeds the birds from a base near Gleneagles, the champion bird is the culmination of a lifetime’s work.
“We are a small falcon breeding farm based here in Perthshire involved with the line breeding of specialist falcons for the Arab racing market by artificial insemination,” said Mr Hallgarth, 51.
“This season we have been lucky enough to produce the top Gyr x Peregrine racing female who has won both the Fazza Public Championships in December in Dubai as well as the President’s Cup Race in Abu Dhabi. This is unheard of and we are very proud to have produced one of the fastest falcons in the middle east race series this year from our humble base.
“It is a bit of a rags to riches story akin to Red Rum or Desert Orchid of the horse world.”
As well as the prize money, the value of the bird to her owners will have soared and successful falcons have been known to change hands for millions of dollars.
The Perthshire bird, which doesn’t have a name, just a ring number, will now have to prove its true worth and win her elite class in February in Dubai.
Mr Hallgarth said that the breeding facility, which he runs with his wife Lynn, operates exclusively for the middle east market.
“Scottish falcons are some of the fastest in the world,” he said,.
“We line breed for speed and have been working on this for the last 15 years – with this superfast falcon we have hit the nail on the head with a dual winner.”
Falcons can cover 600 metres in 17.5 seconds making them “the fastest creature on the planet for level flight”.
Middle eastern clients often come to Perthshire to see how the birds are bred and the latest success for Mr Hallgarth has meant his phone is “jumping off the hook” with breeding requests flowing in.
