Texels topped the trade across all breeds at Kelso Ram Sales, selling to £36,000 early in the day, with a further nine shearling rams hitting the five-figure mark.
Lawrie and Symington auctioneer, Brian Ross, who was selling Texels in Ring 9, was impressed with the overall quality of the tups: “We had a sound commercial trade right through the sale and good sheep were easily sold, with commercial buyers willing to consistently go to four-figure prices,” he said.
Leading the way at £36,000, was Teiglum Firefly, a shearling ram from Andrew Clark’s flock at Crossford, near Lanark.
Following on from a successful sale at Lanark last month, selling a lamb at 65,000gns, Mr Clark’s topper this time was a son of Seaforde Egyptian Warrior, bought at Ballymena two years ago with the Harestone and Allanfauld flocks.
His dam is a home-bred daughter of Craighead Crusader. This one was knocked down to large-scale commercial sheep producer Paul Slater, Whiteley Hey, Cheshire.
‘Sound commercial trade right through the sale’ says Texel auctioneer
The second best price came later in the day when the Wight family sold the best from their Midlock consignment at £22,000.
He is by Bradleys Executioner, which stood champion at the Lanark Premier sale two years ago. Out of a ewe by Mullan Amigo, he sold in a two-way split to Alan Clark, Garngour, Lesmahagow, and Malcolm Coubrough, Hartside, Biggar.
From the same batch, another Midlock shearling, by the same sire, sold at £12,000 to Gerwyn Jones, Graig Goch, Conwy.
The Procters pen, brought out by Jeff Aiken in Clitheroe, proved popular, selling up to £16,000 for a son of Coniston Elmo. A third prize winner at the Royal Highland, this one sold to Caroline Orr, Halbeath, Dunfermline.
Jonathan Watson, Bowsden Moor, Berwick, sold the best from his Brijon flock at £15,000, to Jim Gibb, Rusha, West Calder, and Iain Minto, Townhead, Dolphinton.
The Laird family, Cambwell, Biggar, received £12,000 for their pen number one, a son of Blackadder De Boer, which sold to Angus Kennedy, Mitchellhill, Biggar and Ian Hunter, Dalchirla, Crieff.
Another at the same money came from Ken Hodge’s Greenarch flock, a son of Wolfclyde Dynamo, which sold to Jonathan Watson, Bowsden Moor.
Ten shearlings sell at five-figure prices
Last at five figures came from the last pen in Ring 9, Archie and John MacGregor’s Allanfauld consignment from Kilsyth. Their topper, by Seaforde Egyptian Warrior, sold at £10,000 to Billy Renwick, Blackhouse, Yarrow, shared with Steven Renwick’s Craig Douglas flock.
Donald MacGregor, Dyke, Milton of Campsie, sold to £9000, for a shearling by Ettrick Eastern Promise, which went to the Wights at Midlock, while John Green, The Craggs, Lilliesleaf, sold a Knock Yardsman son at £7200 to the Procters flock.
Best for Jim Innes’ Strathbogie lot, brought out by Michael Leggat at Dunscroft, Huntly, was a £6400 bid for a shearling son of Canllefaes Bright Spark, which sold to the Quick family, Loosebeare, Devon.
The Ingrams’ Logie Durno consignment met a steady trade, up to £5500 for their champion at the pre-sale show in Ring 5, a son of Granite Chieftain. That one sold to Winter Bros, Clickham Farm, Appleby-in-Westmorland.