THE FLEECE off this year’s Sydney Royal Show grand champion superfine Poll Merino ram has won the 2017 Australian Wool Network (AWN) open fleece show from 120 entries.
Exhibited by Malcolm Cox and family’s Bocoble Poll stud, Mudgee, the grand champion had won the four-tooth August shorn show class at the Sydney fixture which helped push Bocoble to the most successful exhibitor – August shorn section.
At Dubbo last week the fleece gained 96.5 points, the highest in the show to win the grand champion ram and supreme fleece award for a superfine ram fleece entered in the housed section and weighing 9.2 kilograms greasy fleece weight with the runner-up also from Bocoble stud at 7kg and scoring 96 points.
The supreme champion gained top points for soundness and clean fleece weight.
Mr Cox said he entered four fleeces with two others being housed ewes – one placed third at 91.5 points.
Judges were AWN’s Uralla based northern regional manager, Harold Manttan, and Queensland sheep and wool specialist, Greg Hunt, Longreach.
Mr Manttan said the fleeces were among the best he had judged at any wool show at any time.
“The winning fleece would win at Sydney Royal easily. It scored 96.5 points which is a great score.
“Some the heaviest fleeces we judged were rams’ fleeces up to 13kg. These are great weights and came with high quality.”
Five fleeces shown by the Rayner family, Grathlyn stud, Hargraves, gained a first with 95 points securing grand championship in the housed ewe class while another was placed third in the housed ram section.
Andrew and Patrick David, Demondrille stud, Harden, took out the finewool housed ewe class and also the runner-up with point scores of 94.5 and 92.5 respectively from eight other fleeces.
Finewool housed ram award went to Lynford Poll stud, Hargraves, with 93.5 points.
The medium wool housed ewe class was won by a fleece from Airlie stud of Iona Partnership, Walcha, while south Australian-based Orrie Cowie stud operated by the Dalla family, Warooka, won the ram class, and both ram and ewe strong wool classes.
In the unhoused section the Westvale stud of Leo Blanch and family, Wollun, took out the championship with its superfine ram fleece with 91 points.
The commercial value class winner was an 18.2 micron fleece weighing 11.1kg greasy weight tallying $162.34 for the Grassy Creek stud, Rugby.
Runner-up was an 18.5 micron fleece weighing 10.6kg from Blinkbonnie Merinos, Tarana, valued at $159 and Overland Merinos, Bogan Gate placed third at $136.80.