The busy ringside had to hold on until the end of the day to witness the top price at the Lanark Texel ram lamb sale, but it was worth the wait, with Midlock Capaldi soaring to 200,000gns – the second-top price ever paid for a Texel.
The much talked about lamb, from the Wight family – Karen, Allan, Ben, Katie and Andrew – of Midlock, Crawford, surpassed the family’s previous Texel top price of 24,000gns by some way and beat their best price for a Blackface tup of £60,000.
He is by last year’s 12,000gns Carlisle purchase, Knock Bantastic, while the dam is by the 32,000gns Mullan Amigo and is out of a ewe bought from Garngour.
He was an outstanding lamb from a young age, said Allan: “Since he was two weeks old, we knew he was something special.”
The Wights run 50 Texel ewes at Midlock, alongside Blackfaces, Mules and Bluefaced Leicesters. Their topper sold in a two-way split, to Charlie Boden, for his Sportsmans flock at Stockport, Cheshire, and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, Muirkirk.
Overall, 342 lambs sold, averaging £3,385.46, with a 65% clearance. That average is back £30 on the year, but for 17 more sold.
Clark brothers – Alan, Andrew and David, who run the Garngour, Teiglum and Clarks flocks near Lesmahagow – had a day to remember, with their pre-sale champion, Garngour Craftsman, selling at 65,000gns to the judge, Charlie Boden.
Making 20,000gns was Plasucha Cheeky Charlie, from Rob Bennett, Upper Hall, Meiford, Wales.
He is a son of Plasucha All Star, a ram sold for 11,000gns with a share retained, while the dam, one of 35 ewes in the flock, is a daughter of Kelso Wiseman. He went to four north breeders, Kenny Pratt, Hilltop, Peterculter; Graham Morrison, Deveronvale, Banff; James Innes, Strathbogie, Huntly, and Robbie Wilson, Milnbank, Turriff.
Matching that 20,000gns pricetag was Harestone Central Bank, the best from Stuart Barclay’s Harestone consignment from Insch. Sired by the 24,000gns Teiglum Braveheart and out of a Garngour-bred ewe by Knock Yardsman, he sold to Malcolm Coubrough, Hartside, Biggar, and Allan Campbell, Strawfrank, Carstairs.
The five Harestone lambs averaged out at £10,332, with the pen number two making 15,000gns, to Gary Beacom, for his Lakeview flock at Fivemiletown, Northern Ireland. That was Harestone Commander, a Rhaeadr Ace son, out of a home-bred daughter of Glenside Will.I.Am.
Best for George Wilkinson’s Ellen Valley lot, from Arkleby, Cumbria, was a 13,000gns bid for Ellen Valley Caesar, a son of the 17,000gns Silvermere Baltic, out of a home-bred ewe. The Greens at Corskie, Garmouth, bought that one.
