The New Zealand shearer David Fagan has cemented favouritism for next week's World Championships by winning the Great Yorkshire open final, his 600th open-class win.
Fagan, 48, of Te Kuiti, first competed in the open class in 1982 and has scored almost 150 of his wins in Britain, including eight now in the Great Yorkshire, which he first won in 1986.
In today's final, he beat Scotland's Hamish Mitchell by 1.65pts, with another New Zealander John Kirkpatrick, of Napier, third.
The win's just six days before the start of the 14th Golden Shears World
Championships at the Royal Welsh Show where Fagan will be aiming to win a sixth individual World title, and a seventh in the teams event.
