Club Championships Minor Pairs: Peter Hocking and John Cronin have made their way to the final of the minor pairs with a series of outstanding results over the past month being underdogs in all three matches they’ve played. A 20-19 round one win over John Rayner and Glenn Breust saw them play Don Martin and Mick Daley in the quarter finals narrowly winning 19-17. A Semi-Final showdown against Rob Jordan and Ross McKenzie scored another close 21-20 win and now they sit comfortable in the decider. Their opponents in the Final will again be favourites. In round one, Ellis Breust and Wayne Stimson were pushed all the way until the last few ends against Nora Saffiotti and Lisa before running out 30-15 winners. Their quarter final match against Roger Gamble and Billy Moore could have gone either way before edging home 15-12 in a tough struggle. Their Semi-Final contest against Chris Cole and Ray Lanyon (sub) was a little bit less stressful at 22-8. Everybody loves an underdog and a good old David-Goliath yarn, so it’ll be unlikely Breust and Stimson will have many vocal supporters on the weekend, and let’s face it, Pete Hocking and Cronin The Barbarian have been absolutely awesome so far so let’s lift our glasses to another upset. At the very least, that result would annoy Beedle Bartel and Bevan Krause enormously. Both feel The Barbarian is way, way over-rated. Handicap Singles: This Championship is almost going to schedule except for the Jake Anderson verses Bruce Saffioti match. The young bloke was crook over the weekend so the match committee have shown a bit of leniency and hopefully this match will be played later this week or by the end of the weekend. If not, well, Good Cop Bad Cop takes place, and the match committee will look like executioners. Glenn Breust is awaiting the outcome of the above-mentioned match while Mike Tucker and Billy Moore sit in the other Semi-Final set to be played this weekend. Handicap Pairs: There are five round one matches scheduled for the first week of this championship with Ray Lanyon and Steve Gilchrist conceding a three shot start to Peter Harpley and Jon Wilson. Bill Spletter and Harry Wilson give Phil Waterston and Billy Moore a five-shot headstart on Friday afternoon. Ross Winfield and Chris Cole received eight shots from Jake and John Anderson. Wendy Douglas and Bruce Lack conceded four shots against Rob Jordan and Ross McKenzie while Terry Greenham and Herb New get a five-shot leg-up from Dean Walsh and Glen Keane. All round two matches are set to be completed by Sunday the 8 July. Minor Singles: There are only two round one matches set to be played this weekend. Harry Wilson has drawn Don Martin while Rob Jordan has drawn Phil Reid. Like the handicap pairs, all second round matches are to be completed by Sunday the 8 July. The reduced number of first round matches in both the handicap pairs and the minor singles is a pleasant problem to have. It’s a result of a healthy nomination rate for both events but it also means the following week is going to be very, very busy for those involved. King Of The Turf An awful race last week in the KOTT with 2,487 protests lodged immediately after Mick Daley and Don Martin dead heated for first place just in front of Tracey Breust. Deliberate interference. Deliberate blocking. Intentional physical contact. It was simply a disgraceful advertisement for the wonderful product and Cult Colossus we call the King of the Turf. Just when you think chief steward Bomber Edwards has everything under control, boom, it just blows up spectacularly. Leo Casey must have thought he was some sort of Western Bear as he set about attacking anyone near him and growling and roaring like, well, a bear. Bruno Saffioti caught the bug too. Terrible carnage.
