Texels hit 130,000gns at Lanark

The Texel breed enjoyed a successful Scottish national show and sale at Lanark, with a top price of 130,000gns and an average of £2704 for 415 ram lambs – down by £100 on the year, but for 64 more lambs sold.

Chief executive John Yates said that was down to the current confidence in the breed: “We had a very solid sale and a confident atmosphere around the ringside. The breed’s membership is the highest it’s been for ten years.”

Setting the trade alight early on was Sportsmans A Star, the pen number one from Charlie Boden’s 60-ewe Sportsmans flock at Mellor, Stockport. Securing the flock’s best price in more than 40 years of breeding Texels, this one is a son of the 70,000gns Teiglum Young Gun, bought at Lanark last year. The dam, meanwhile, is a Cowal-bred ewe by Cairnam Talisman, pur- chased for 9,000gns in 2014 and bred a son to 17,000gns last year. He was knocked down to Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, Muirkirk, and John Forsyth for his Glenside flock at Maybole.

Another from the same pen hit five figures, Sportsmans Advantage selling at 20,000gns to Malcolm Coubrough, Hartside, Lamington, and Robin Orr, Halbeath, Dunfermline.

Being last in the ring at 6pm did not curtail Graeme Morrison’s trade for his Deveronvale lambs from Cornhill,banff.hereceived 50,000gns for Deveronvale Ace of Diamonds, a Millar’s Windbrook son, out of a 14,000gns Strathbogiebred female. Final bidder was Charlie Boden. Two lambs reached 42,000gns, the first being Mullan Armani, an AI son of Glenside Willie Winkie, from Brian Hanthorn, Abbey Lodge, Tynan, Co Armagh sold to Jim Innes’ Strathbogie flock at Dunscroft, Huntly.

Matching that was the Royal Highland reserve male champion, Knockem Abracadabra,frombryden and Johanna Nicolson, Knock, Duns, Berwickshire, sold to Charlie Boden, Sportsmans, and Danny Sawrij, Swalesmoor.

Sandy and Isobel Lee returned back to Fraserburgh delighted with their, trade, with lambs from their nine-ewe Fordafourie flock selling to 24,000gns. Best was Fordafourie Amalert, a March-born son of the 7000gns Stainton You Bet, out of a Deveronvale ewe by Garngour Ultimatum, bought at Carlisle for 3000gns,another to sell to Charlie Boden. Another to make 24,000gns far later in the day was Allanfauld Am The Man, a son of the 20,000gns Knap You’re The Man, from Archie and John Macgregor, Allanfauld, Kilsyth. Out of a Garngour Ultimatumsired dam, he sold to the Knock, Haddo and Logie Durno flocks.