Charolais winner in a different class
AN 18-month-old bull, weighing almost a tonne, classed as one of the most outstanding animals of the Charolais breed to grace the show circuit in 2017, swept to victory as the Senior Champion at the Irish Charolais Cattle Society Christmas Crackers Show and Sale at Elphin Mart on Saturday, writes Martin Ryan.
“I couldn’t pass him by — he’s too impressive”, show judge Arwel Owen (Wales) told me after he tapped forward the June 2016-born, Clenagh Maserati, to deliver another coveted accolade to the Newmarket-on-Fergus herd of Michael J Quin. Bred by the sire, Clonoulty Andraemon and out of the herd dam Clenagh Cortina, he topped the four bulls from the successful Clenagh herd when Terence McGarrigle from Belleek paid €7,700 for the champion.
His herd mates at the sale, Clenagh Mischief 2 sold for €7,500, while Clenagh Major and Clenagh Magnificient each sold for €4,600, returning an average of €6,100 for the Banner County Herd.
O’Kane Brothers from Carnalough, Co Antrim paid €10,000 to Patrick McClean, Roughan, Newtowncunningham, for the appropriately named, Roughan Most, the 15-month-old home-bred sale price topper.
The four and five star bull, on his Terminal and Replacement indexes, the second prize winner in his class was bred out of Roughan Faun by Roughan Dix De Coe. He was leader of five bulls from the herd sold at the sale at an average of €6,400 for the Donegal herd.
Second highest price of the day was €9,100 paid to newcomer to the higher echelons of the Charolais show circuit, Noel Galvin, Lackenavea, Birdhill, Co Tipperary for his 20-month-old, Kiltananlae Martin, bred by Enfield Plexus out of Kiltananlae Hellen.
A high turnout of the 105 bulls were entered and the trade went on for more than four hours under the hammer of auctioneer Tom Cox, before an overflow ringside, with CCTV being used to relay the sale process to bidders unable to be accommodated at the ringside.
While the 15 top bulls ranged from €6,000-€10,000, one in four of the throughput ranged €2,500-€3,500.
Reserve Senior Champion Bostonio Mario, exhibited by Brendan Feeney, Scurmore, Enniscrone sold for €8,100, with the Sligo herd scoring a double after Bostonio Moses was chosen Junior Reserve Champion.
Garracloon Mighty Mac, exhibited by Aiden MacHale, Knockanillaun, Ballina, Co Mayo, was judged Junior Champion of the Show, and sold to Michael McKenna, Maghera, Co Derry for €5,800.