Pyper looks like the bolter at the Golden Shears

Pyper looks like the bolter at the Golden Shears

Southland shearer Troy Pyper’s surpassed even his own hopes by rapidly making it into the top of New Zealand shearers in a season he says was a trial just to see how he would go.

Pyper, 30, who returned from Australia to try his luck among the big guns back home, reached the finals of six of New Zealand’s biggest shearing competitions this summer, including three in two trips to the North Island.

Today he shaped as possibly the most likely new Golden Shears final newcomer, although everything hinged on the Top 30 quarterfinal shootout in Masterton’s War Memorial Stadium tonight(Friday).

Pyper was top qualifier for the quarterfinals after 74 shearers took part in the heatrs during the afternoon.

The next qualifier was local Wairarapa hope David Buick, followed with two of shearing’s legends next – Australian shearer and two-times World champion Shannon Warnest followed next by New Zealand great David Fagan, the favourite in his last Golden Shears.Fagan’s son Jack qualified in sixth place..

Pyper went into the day with no doubts about the task ahead, saying after his two weerkend finals at Taumarunui last Friday and Apiti on Saturday: “I’ve never been in finals that fast.”

“I’ve shorn a lot in Australia,” he said. “I’ve just come back in the last year and a half. I’m going to go professional, it was going to be a trial this year to see how it would go.”

Compared with the dream, he said: “I’m goping better than anything.”

The TAB responded to slashing Pyper’s odds from $41 to $12 in its Golden Shears open win pool, and favourite David Fagan’s eased from from $2.50 back to his opening price of $3.

The quarterfinals start just after 7pm, the semi finals are tomorrow afternoon, and the final tomorrow night.

Quarterfinal qualifiers are: Troy Pyper (Invercargill), David Buick (Pongaroa), Shannon Warnest (Australia), David Fagan (Te Kuiti), Aaron Haynes (Feilding), Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti), Darin Forde (Lornville), Casey Bailey (Masterton), Murray Henderson (Feilding), Dion King (Hastings), Angus Moore (Kaitangata), Tipene Te Whata (Tautoro), Tama Niania (Gisborne), Digger Balme (Te Kuiti), Axle Reid (Taihape), Nathan Stratford (Invercargill), Gavin Mutch (Whangamomona), Adam Brausch (Porangahau), Tony Coster (Rakaia), Douglas Smith (Ruawai), Mark Grainger (Te Kuiti), Ian Kirkpatrick (Gisborne), Neville Osborne (Dargaville), Jimmy Samuels (Marton), Peter Chilcott (Whananake), Paerata Abraham (Masterton), Colin O’Neill (Alexandra), Shelford Wilcox (Gisborne), Cam Ferguson (Waipawa), Matene Mason (Masterton).

ENDS

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