Fly or Die: More Than Just a Poster
That blue and white poster with FLY OR DIE in big letters says everything. No cosy loft picture, no coffee cup next to the baskets. Just a sharp blue bar cock, a burning orange eye and the name Sebastian Cimpean, Reggio Emilia, Italy. This is not romantic hobby, this is high level sport.
Sebastian Cimpean has forced his way straight through the international one loft race scene. In posts and auction texts he is described as the man who uses Fast Pigeons Rimini, Five Star Golden, Balkanic Fair Play and other OLRs as his playground. Not quietly waiting his turn, but stepping into the ring with his own blood and his own vision.
From Reggio Emilia to the One Loft Race World Stage
On paper he is “just” a fancier from Reggio Emilia. In practice he is a pure OLR specialist. His name pops up at Fast Pigeons Rimini, Five Star Golden, Balkanic Fair Play, Derby Moldova and Pattaya PIPR. From different sources the same picture appears again and again. Sebastian does not enter to participate, he enters to be in the finals and the Ace rankings.
Where many fanciers dream of one early pigeon in a big OLR, he keeps extending his list. Final races around five to six hundred kilometres, thousands of pigeons at the start, international competition, and again you see “Cimpean Sebastian, Reggio Emilia” in the leading group.
Sebastian Cimpean and Invictus: Built on a Golden Pair
At the centre of this operation stands one cock: IF 2020 AFL 450, better known as Invictus. A blue bar cock, DNA verified, bred at Ado Family Loft in the United States. His parents form the famous Golden Pair Ornat x Soraia, a couple with a massive reputation in the Million Dollar environment.
This is not a pedigree full of pretty names without substance. Ornat and Soraia proved themselves in the hardest competitions. Their children and grandchildren appear in the results of South Africa, Portugal, Thailand and various American OLRs. Invictus is the son who brings this entire dynasty to Reggio Emilia.
Invictus: Son of Ornat and Soraia, Champions of the Million Dollar Circuit
The sire of Invictus is DV 2884 12 541 Ornat. On his pedigree, in red letters, you read that his blood dominates Pattaya and Thailand Master type races. Ornat won several first ACE titles against thousands of pigeons and first prizes on 400 and 500 kilometres in that circuit. On top of that he is recorded as Car Race Average Winner in the South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race, with a string of early prizes in the different Hot Spot races and a solid position in the final.
The dam of Invictus is DV 8857 11 177 Soraia, described as “the best breeding hen ever to come to us from SAMDPR”. She won the Knock Out competition of the South African Million Dollar Race and flew 19th, 34th and 16th in the Car Races against over four thousand pigeons, plus 36th in the final against almost 3500 pigeons. These are not marketing numbers, they are hard facts.
Behind this Golden Pair we again find performance genes. Wonder 757 and Lady Apollo on the sire’s side, Crack 459 and Kimberly on the dam’s side, all in the background of pigeons that actually won big races and serious money. Invictus is not just “a son of”, he is the direct product of years of selection at the very highest level.
Invictus in the Basket: How His Children Perform
A nice pedigree is good. The basket is where it counts. That is exactly where Invictus becomes truly interesting.
As a father he already has an impressive list. Children of Invictus have won 3rd Super Ace Fast Pigeons Rimini OLR 2025, 7th final Horodnic OLR against 1479 pigeons, 9th quarter final Balkanic Fair Play at 302 kilometres, 9th Super Final Fast Rimini 2025, 11th and 17th final Balkanic Fair Play at 500 kilometres, 33rd final South Bulgaria OLR, 35th final Pattaya PIPR 2025 against 6101 pigeons and 83rd final Balkanic Fair Play.
That is already a serious trophy room, but as a grandfather it becomes almost ridiculous. Invictus appears in the background of 1st and 2nd Silver Ring Ace against 6000 youngsters in Italy, an Ace Pigeon Balkanic Fair Play OLR 2025, an Ace Pigeon Middle East OLR 2024 from 5700 starters, an Ace Pigeon Five Star OLR 2025 and an Ace Pigeon Horodnic OLR 2025. Add to that a 1st Semi Final Fast Rimini 2025 at 315 kilometres against 1567 pigeons, 2nd Super Final Fast Rimini 2025 at 625 kilometres, leading positions in finals of Rimini, Carmelo Yupi, Sunny Beach, Five Star, Derby Moldova, Mazury and As Golden.
The Invictus pedigree basically reads like the result book of the international OLR calendar.
From Pattaya to Turkey: Ace Pigeon Genetics That Travel
The next level is maybe the most impressive one. In the latest references Invictus is listed as great grandsire of 1st Ace Pattaya PIPR 2024–2025, starting with 11,418 pigeons. He is also great grandsire of 3rd final Turkey Premium OLR 2024, 10th Ace Turkey Premium, and yet another Carmelo Yupi over 720 kilometres.
Through auction platforms like EPA we see concrete descendants with names and faces. Pattaya Invictus I and II, directly from Sebastian, are promoted as brothers or sisters of the 35th final Pattaya PIPR 2025 and family of the breeder of 2nd Ace and 9th final Balkanic Fair Play 2025. Golden Invictus I is described as sister of 1st Semi Final, 2nd Super Final and 6th Super Ace Fast Rimini OLR 2025 plus 6th Ace Horodnic 2025. Aurelia, a Rimini star for a Danish fancier, won 4th final Fast Pigeons Rimini 503 kilometres against 1027 pigeons and is directly from a son of Invictus.
The message is simple. The influence of Invictus is no longer limited to Sebastian’s own loft. His blood runs in Italy, Romania, Portugal, Turkey, Thailand and beyond. Always with the same pattern. Finals. Ace titles. Hard distances. Big birdage.
Champions League Breeding, No Random Crossing
One thing Sebastian Cimpean does very well. He gives chance as little room as possible. Invictus brings the raw power and toughness of Ornat and Soraia from the Million Dollar and Pattaya world. That line is crossed with modern speed and middle distance families, often with influence from names like Olympic Kittel and other genes that have already proven themselves in big one loft races.
The result is youngsters that do not only sparkle in the first hotspot but are still there when the final over five or six hundred kilometres is flown. Not “one hit wonders”, but pigeons that can climb, descend, handle heat and stay focused until the very last metre.
Why Serious One Loft Racers Should Watch This Loft
For the average fancier this might all sound far away. For everyone who is serious about one loft races, or wants to be, Sebastian Cimpean with Invictus is mandatory viewing.
Here you have a fancier who competes at a high level himself, who consistently carries his Fly or Die brand, and who has built a family that has already won on multiple continents. The combination of the Golden Pair Ornat x Soraia, the proven results of Invictus as sire, grandsire and great grandsire and the modern crossing strategy make this one of the most interesting OLR lofts of the moment.
Anyone who strengthens their loft with carefully chosen children or grandchildren of Invictus is not buying a story, but access to a bloodline that has already shown it can beat more than 11,000 pigeons in Pattaya, dominate thousands of youngsters in Italy and score top positions from Portugal to the Black Sea.
The Future Wears the Name Invictus
Pigeon sport is shifting. National races remain beautiful, but if you really want to feel the international standard you end up in the big one loft races, live streamed finals and worldwide participation. Exactly in that arena, Sebastian Cimpean and Invictus have already carved their names.
Sebastian Cimpean and Invictus are not a marketing fairy tale. They are a combination of hard selection, world class Golden Pair blood from Ornat x Soraia and a long list of tangible results in the toughest one loft races of this era. For anyone who wants to move forward in modern pigeon sport, the choice is clear. You either watch this development from a distance, or you hook in. Fly or Die.
Jan de Wijs
The Pigeon Boss
