Shear battle looms at NZ champs

The competition shearing season has been guaranteed a fever-pitch end in Te Kuiti with all of the top hopes making it safely through the Open championaship heats today.

The 24 qualifiers were headed by home-town hope Dean Ball, but also include key several fellow New Zealand World championships team contenders, including five-times World champion David Fagan, also from Te Kuiti and who, at the age of 48 justified TAB favouritism for possibly his last big competition in New Zealand and qualified comfortably third among the 24 to shear in the quarterfinals tomorrow afternoon.

Fagan's odds eased to $3 today, and second favourite John Kirkpatrick, of Napier, moved-in to $4, after winning his two most recent competitions and qualifying in sixth place, and TAB was keeping new Golden Shears champion Cam ferguson, of Waipawa, in check as second favourite at $5, despite him making the cut only at No 21.

Ball was at $7 with in-form Napier shearer Dion King, who qualified in 10th place, while reigning World champion Paul Avery, of Stratford, who qualified in seventh place, was quoted at $10.

At stake in tomorrow night's final is the second machine shearing place in the New Zealand team for the World Championships in Wales on July 19-22. The first place went to Ferguson when he won the Golden Shears final on March 6. If he wins, the runner-up will join the team, which also includes two woolhandlers and two blades shearers.

The TAB is also operating betting on who will join Ferguson in the team, on top-three finishes, and on a series of head-to-head options involving the top hopes.

The qualifiers for the New Zealand shearing championships Open quarterfinals starting at 1pm tomorrow (saturday april 10) are:

1 Dean Ball (Te Kuiti)
2 Gavin Mutch (Huntly, Scotland)
3 David Fagan (Te Kuiti)
4 Darrin Forde (Winton)
5 James Fagan (Te Kuiti)
6 John Kirkpatrick (Napier)
7 Paul Avery (Stratford)
8 Rowland Smith (Ruawai)
9Jerome McCrea (Whanganui)
10 Dion King (Napier)
11 Ian Kirkpatrick Jnr (Gisborne)
12 Murray Henderson (Feilding)
13 Gareth Daniel (Wales)
14 Digger Balme (Te Kuiti)
15 Kelvin Walker (Pio Pio)
16 Alan Bramley (Kaeo)
17 Nathan Stratford (Invercargill)
18 Roger Neil (Taumarunui)
19 Clint Bellamy (Stratford)
20 Sam Welch (Waikaretu)
21 Cam Ferguson (Waipawa)
22 Alan McDonald (Pio Pio)
23 Phill Wedd (Napier)
24 Neil Fagan (Te Kuiti)
ENDS