The 538 pigeons owned by the club’s 18 racing members were released at Coombah just after 8am and arrived back at their home lofts much quicker than anticipated.

First-year member Charlie Gusman was to have one of his pigeons return safely and it was his first win.

Club secretary Brian Watts said Gusman was overjoyed to get the win.

“He is one of two members with their lofts in Murtoa,” he said. “Everyone in the club was elated to witness his success.”

Watts said the pigeons had been expected to arrive at 2.30pm but some arrived up to 45 minutes earlier than that.

“They caught us by surprise,”  he said. “Some of the members, including myself, missed them arriving in their loft but it doesn’t matter because they are all electronically chipped.”

A strong westerly wind helped push the pace up.

“Typically racing pigeons go around 68-70 km/h and the leading pigeon average 79km/h,” Watts said.

The club had conducted a handful of events over the past year to celebrate its 100 year anniversary.

“We wanted to conduct a race to celebrate it in order to try and involve the community as well as our sponsors,” Watts said.