Seven was a lucky number for the Fisher family celebrating another win in the blue- ribbon cattle event at the Canterbury A&P Show yesterday.

Their muscle-packed charolais bull emerged ahead of the lineup in a tightly contested competition for the unusually named Meat & Wool Cup.

This victory was the seventh for the family, with their first recorded in 1985 and, after a 12-year break in showing, they have recorded two firsts, a second and a fourth in the past four years.

On top of their latest achievement, their charolais heifer won the Junior Meat & Wool Cup.

Any doubt about the ability of their winning bull, the 3-year-old Silverstream Evolution, to pass on his genetics was quickly removed. The bull was the sire of Silverstream Wendy, which won the junior version of the competition.

Oddly enough, Evolution did not cover himself entirely with glory in the show ring earlier - he came third as a yearling in an all-breed yearling contest two years ago.

The October-born yearling gave away a few months to older bulls but has grown and overtaken the field since then.

Silverstream Charolais stud co-owner Brent Fisher said he always curbed any confidence before a show final.

"You just don't know in this game because the judging at these shows is a subjective thing. He is as good an animal as I have had. Of all the ones we have won, he's the best."

Fisher said the family took special pleasure in winning the senior and junior events because it showed Evolution had the ability to breed top younger cattle.

Australian adjudicators on the panel of 10 judges admitted two or three of the frontrunners would stand up against the best cattle at any show in Australia, and another judge commented that the finalists were world class.

The Fishers have sold semen from Evolution to two Australian charolais studs and cows are already in calf to him in Queensland.

Fisher said they had selected Evolution because of his overall structural soundness, muscling and his ability to pass on fast growth finishing to his progeny.

The bull was led by Brent's wife, Anna, with his mother and father, Bruce and Maureen, onlookers outside the ring.

The Fishers run a 220-cow stud and are building up a hereford stud.

- © Fairfax NZ News