Braving blistering 36-degree heat, more than 35 elite shearers from across Australia and New Zealand met in Junee on January 24 for the second annual Junee Prime Lamb Speed Shear as part of the region’s Pacer’s Cup harness racing night.
Offering more than $10,000 in prize money across four divisions that showcased the ridiculous speed and precision that defines the sport, the competition was categorised by their average daily tallies (with the open division reserved purely for those shearing more than 300 sheep a day in regular work).
New Zealand hot shot, Hemi Power emerged victorious after a tight top ten finishing line saw everyone separated by mere seconds.
Many competitors travelled more than eight hours just to take part in the event.
Previously winning the open honours at the 2023 Mount Gambier South Eastern Hotel fundraiser (in 21.4 seconds), winner Hemi has consistently placed in the top selection among other elite shearers.
Word record holder, Sacha Bond from New Zealand also attended the event, alongside special guest MP Steph Cooke.
Organised by Saul Duck (who launched the event in 2025 as a way of introducing something new and exciting to the Junee Harness Racing Club) says the concept has quickly become a fixture for the community.
All funds were given to the Junee Harness Racing Club, and, despite the heat, the 2026 event was hailed a success.
President for more than 20 years, Trevor Allen was given life membership that night in recognition of his hard work and dedicated to the club.
On February 24, the Junee Harness Racing Club again saw success for their third race night of the year.
Steven Harris’ French Street won the first 1760m race (driven by Bruce Harpley) with Robert Garrett’s Kalkadoon Dreaming (driven by Jack Stockton) taking out the second race. Nathan Turnbull’s Pad Thai (driven by Jett Turnbull) won the third race and Jason Turner’s Feelgood Ray (driven by Roger Strong) won the fourth. Jackson Painting’s Bettors Magic (driven by Jackson himself) took out the 2270m race with Nathan Turnbull’s Capitallee (driven by Jett Turnbull) taking out the top spot in the seventh race. Justin Field’s Muriel (driven by Mikayla Towers) took home the last win the eighth race.
Steven Harris, Bruce Harpley and Justin Fields, all locals, made the club proud.
“It was great to see a couple of the locals take the win,” says Junee Harness Racing Club
Secretary, Tegan Judd.
“Trevor White couldn’t quite crack the win but had several horses in the races.”
Ultimately, she says it was great night of racing with a decent crowd in attendance.
“Those local wins were nice, because the money stays in the area,” she says.
The next Junee Harness Races Club night will be on Tuesday, 17 March.
– Elizabeth Kovacs
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