In his record, Smith had successive run tallies of 164, 142, 142, 141 and 142.

Timed right, shearers can boost their chances by getting the last catch each run any time up to the bell, as this event’s manager, Rod Sutton, did when he set a record of 721 in 2007, making the last, record-breaking catch just seconds before time was called, but under the rules being able to complete the sheep and add it to the total.

As the day wore on, conjecture started as to the possibility of the first time a record had been equalled in the nearly 60 years since the first formal rules were put in place in the late 1960s.

The crowd in the woolshed, including a support team of over 30 and including several others who have broken world shearing records, burst into spontaneous applause as Goss switched off the machinery for the last time.

But the record was not confirmed until the four World Sheep Shearing Records Society referees completed their job about 40 minutes later, satisfied the rules and quality standards had been met.

The sheep had to be at least 2 years old and carry an average of at least 3kg of wool each, as determined in a sample shear that took place on Sunday afternoon.

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