Fagan stays in race for last Golden Shears open title   7 Mar 2015

Golden Shears

Fagan stays in race for last Golden Shears open title

Shearing legend David Fagan remains in the race for a 16th and final Golden Shears Open title after surviving the quarterfinals in Masterton tonight.

Fagan, a $3 TAB favourite to win in his last of 33 years in Open-class shearing, qualified in 9th place of 12 for the semi-finals to be shorn tomorrow afternoon, after which the remaining top six will contest the 20-sheep final a few hours later.

The quarterfinals involved the Top 30 of the original field of 74, split into six heats of five shearers each, and saw a marked reversal from 2010 Golden Shears and World Champion and Waipawa shearer Cam Ferguson.

He had only just made it into the quarterfinals, in 29th place, but is top qualifier for the semi-finals.

The pace over the eight sheep tonight was set by 2012 World champion Scotsman and Taranaki farmer Gavin Mutch, the only one of the 30 to average under a sheep a minute and finishing his heat in 7min 45.895sec, more than 45 seconds quicker than Ferguson finished his heat.

Mutch ultimately qualified in third place, beaten only by Ferguson and Invercargill shearer Nathan Stratford, who had the best quality points.

The major failiure was Pongaroa farmer David Buick, a first-time Golden Shears open finalist last year and who had been well-backed to produce Wairarapa’s first win in it’s biggest annual event.

Fagan’s son, Jack, who had qualified 6th in the first round also departed in the evening Top 30 Shootout, as the quaretrfinals are known.

It’s all back to scratch fort each round, with Southland shearer Troy Pyper looking the most likely newcopmer to the final.

The TAB maintains the 53-year-old Fagan as the $3 favourite, followed in order by King at $4 and Ferguson and Mutch each paying $6. The TAB is also running pools on which shearers will finish in the top 3, who will make the final, and who will shear the final in the fastest time.

The qualifiers for the semi-final are: Cam Ferguson (Waipawa), Nathan Stratford (Invercargill), Gavin Mutch (Whangamomona and Scotland), Adam Brausch (Porangahau), Dion King (Hastings), Mark Grainger (Te Kuiti), Troy Pyper (Invercargill), Murray Henderson (Feilding), David Fagan (Te Kuiti), Aaron Haynes (Feilding), Digger Balme (Te Kuiti), Angus Moore (Kaitangata).

ENDS

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