World records were broken at the Scottish National Texel sale at Lanark Mart, with trade peaking at 350,000gns, 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 and Symington managed to pull off a successful sale, which saw 283 ram lambs sell to average £4,702.78 (+£1,317 on the year).
Without doubt, the most talked about sheep were from the Boden family’s Sportsmans and Mellor Vale flocks of Stockport, Cheshire – all sons of Garngour Craftsman, which Charlie Boden judged as champion at last year’s pre-sale show and went on to buy for 65,000gns.
Particularly popular was pen number one, Sportsmans Double Diamond. Out of a home-bred ewe by Plasucha Big Gun, he 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, Sportsmans Dirty Harry sold at 50,000gns, to Bruce Renwick, Legars, Kelso; the Arnotts at Haymount, Kelso; Donald MacPherson, Castlehills, Berwick; the Nicolsons at Knock Farm, Duns; and Robbie Wilson, North Dorlaithers, Turriff.
From their Mellor Vale flock, the Bodens sold Mellor Vale Deja vu at 40,000gns, to Stuart Barclay, for his Harestone flock at Insch, and John Forsyth, Glenside, Maybole. Robert Cockburn, Hill of Errol, paid 28,000gns for Sportsmans Deal Breaker, with Thomas Muirhead also taking a share for his Orchilmore flock at Blair Atholl.
Second top price was 65,000gns, for Hexel Django, a son of the 15,000gns Procters Chumba Wumba, from Donald MacPherson’s Hexel flock at Kelso. He sold to the Knox family, Mid Haddo, Turriff; Campbells at Drimsynie, Argyll, and the Wights, Midlock, Crawford.
