Shearing giant Smith short-priced Golden Shears favourite

Shearing giant Smith short-priced Golden Shears favourite

Two-metres tall World champion Hawke’s Bay shearer Rowland Smith is likely to become the shortest-priced favourite in the history of TAB betting on the Golden Shears after annihilating a field of the next best at the Pahiatua Shears today(Sunday).

World champion shearer Rowland Smith shearing today at the Pahiatua Shears, where he won by a huge margin of almost 7pts. With 14 wins in 15 finals this summer he’s a hot favourite to win the Golden Shears Open in Masterton this week. PHOTO/Doug Laing, Shearing Sports New Zealand

The 29-year-old won by an almost unprecedented top-level finals margin of almost seven points from runner-up David Buick, of Pongaroa, in scoring his third win in three days on the last weekend before the 56th Golden Shears, which start in Masterton on Thursday.

Having won three titles last weekend, in Gore and Pukekohe, and then at Taumarunui on Friday and Apiti on Saturday, it was Smith’s 14th win in 15 finals this summer.

Scottish shearer and Taranaki farmer and shearing contractor Gavin Mutch, who in Smith’s absence last year became the first shearer from overseas to win the Golden Shears Open, tried to run Smith off the board in today’s six-man, 20-sheep final, and almost succeeded.

Smith won the race in 16min 34.64sec, beating Mutch by less than half-a-second in an exciting contest waged on stands four and five of the woolshed where the competition took place east of Pahiatua.

Where Smith recorded easily the best quality points in sheep pen judging, Mutch was ticked-off heavily, slipping to third place overall.

TAB shearing bookmaker Kieran McAnulty was opening the Golden Shears book with Smith a $1.50 favourite to take his third Golden Shears Open title having won in 2013 and 2014.

“I don’t think even the now Sir David Fagan was that short-priced, even in his prime,” he said, conceding he was still to check the history.

ENDS

© Scoop Media