Record- breaking Texel sale despite restrictions
This year’s Scottish National Texel sale at Lanark Mart saw prices on t he up – and as we reported yesterday, trade peaked with a new world record at 350,000gns (£ 367,500), the dearest price ever paid for a sheep.
In what would normally be a packed ringside, just 50 buyers were allowed around the ring to adhere to social distancing rules. However, with online bidding in place and auctioneers taking bids from outside the ring in the pens and the foyer, Lawrie & Symington managed to pull off a successful sale, which saw 283 ram lambs sell to average £ 4,702.78 (+£ 1,317 on the year).
Auctioneer Brian Ross, who sold the record breaker, said :“It would have been great to have the usual busy atmosphere and a full ringside to witness the sale, but under the circumstances, we are delighted at how well the sale went.”
The most talked about sheep in the market were those from the Boden family’s Sportsmans and Mellor Vale flocks from Stockport, Cheshire – all sons of Garngour Craftsman, which Charlie Boden had judged as champion at last year’s pre- sale show and went onto buy for 65,000gns.
The pen’s number one, Sportsmans Double Diamond, out of a home- bred ewe by Plasucha Big Gun,
created a bidding war between two syndicates of breeders, with the hammer falling at 350,000gns to Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, Muirkirk; Procters Farm, Lancashire, and Jeff Teward, for his New View flock in Darlington.
From the same pen, Sport smans Dirty Harry sold at50,000gns, to a team of five – Bruce Renwick, Legars, Kelso; the Arnotts at Hay mount, Kelso; Donald Macpherson, Castlehills, BerwickUpon- Tweed; the Nicolsons at Knock Farm, Duns; and Robbie Wilson, North Dorlaithers, Turriff.
From their Mellor Vale flock, the Bodenss old Mellor Vale Déjà vu at 40,000 gns to Stuart Barclay, for his H are stone flock at Insch, and John Forsyth, Glenside, Maybole.
Robert Cockburn, Hill of Errol, Errol, forked out 28,000gns for Sportsmans Deal Breaker, with Thomas Muirhead also taking a share for his Orchilmore flock at Blair Atholl.
Sportsmans Dream Big
reached 24,000gns, selling to the Dunlops at Elmscleugh, Dunbar.
Outwith the Bodens’ high flyers, the second top price of the sale was 65,000gns, paid f or Hexel Django, from Donald Macpherson’ sK el so-based Hexel flock. He sold to the Knox family, Mid Haddo, Turriff; the Campbells at Drimsynie, Argyll, and the Wights, Midlock, Crawford.
Graeme and Andrew Knox sold their best lamb, Had do Dynamite, for 34,000gns, to fellow north breeders, Brian Buchan, Clinterty, New Aberdour, and Albert Howie, West Knock, Stuartfield, Peterhead.
Making that same price was Claybur y Dunkirk, from James Draper, Shropshire, selling to Archie and John Macgregor, Allanfauld, Kilsyth; Gordon and David Gray, Sunnycroft, Selkirk, and the Wights at Midlock.
The Arnott family from Haymount received a top of 32,000gns, for Haymount Divine King, which sold to the breeder of its sire, Willy Davis, Monmouthshire.