As early as April there were whispers around the Merino shed at Sydney Show that as good as any of the sheep there might be, Boonooke had "a helluva show team".
The minute the stud's huge-framed, medium-wool ram walked onto the mat at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo on Saturday, it was clear the stories were true.
The 155-kilogram ram's huge structure, scale and coverage cemented Boonooke as a contender for supreme Merino exhibit early on.
And in the end nothing could match him in the eye of the judges.
Medium wool judge Peter Harker, Rosela, Muckadilla, Queensland, said the Boonooke sire was "the kind of ram that only comes along every 10 or 20 years".
"He has tremendous depth of body and a brilliant fleece that carries all the way through."
* Extract from a full report from the Australian Sheep and Wool Show to appear in Stock & Land, Vic, July 24.
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