Texels once again met a buoyant trade at Kelso ram sales, hitting the top price of the day, the highest average and the most sold of all breeds. In all, 593 registered shearling rams sold to average £2092, an increase of £248 per head on the year, for 46 more sold, while 58 ram lambs levelled at £1077, up by £161 on last year’s sale, for 19 more sold.
Auctioneer Brian Ross, selling at Kelso in Lawrie and Symington’s Ring 9 for what could be the final time before his retirement, said: “I’ve been selling Texels here for about 35 years and that’s as strong a trade as I’ve seen, there was so much confidence from buyers and sellers. Commercial buyers were easily willing to pay £1200-1700 for good tups, which put a solid base on the trade. Texel breeders have adapted to what the commercial buyers wants, good tops, skins, backsides and power – and those types of tups were in abundance today.”
Topping the trade, at £32,000 and one of nine Texel shearling rams to hit the five-figure mark, was Cambwell Hotshot, from Robert and Joyce Laird and daughters Amy and Kim, Cambwell, Biggar. Their 12 Cambwell shearlings, which were all naturally born, realised the top pen average of £5275.
Achieving the family’s best shearling price yet, in more than 40 years selling at Kelso, Hotshot had stood third at the Royal Highland Show in June and second at the texelplus show the evening prior to the sale.
He is a twin-born son of Deveronvale Fastrac, which had been bought jointly at Lanark for 1400gns, while the dam is by Charben Cobra. Buyer was Angela Nairey, for the family’s Meinspride flock in Blackburn, Lancashire.
Three shearlings reached £22,000, including Midlock Hurricane, the pen number one from the Wight family, Midlock, Crawford. Sired by the £9000 Campsie Foretrack and out of a ewe by Hexel Django, he sold to Jonathan Wales, Thackwood, Carlisle.
Next to hit £22,000 was the best from Archie and John MacGregor, Allanfauld, Kilsyth. That was Allanfauld Here Goes, a Knap Godzilla son, out of a ewe by Seaforde Egyptian Warrior. Buyer was Harry Wood, Popes Farm, Dutton, Lancashire.
Completing the trio, the other at £22,000 was Elmscleugh Hurricane, from the Dunlop family’s Dunbar-based flock. Sired by Midlock Express and out of a ewe by Plasucha Coming King, he went to Ian Hunter, Dalchirla, Crieff, buying alongside Billy and Andrew Renwick, Blackhouse, Yarrow.
Leading the Campsie consignment, from Jimmy and Donald MacGregor, Dyke, Milton of Campsie, was a son of Ettrick Eastern Promise, which sold at £14,000 to the Harehead flock at Cranshaws, Duns. His dam is sired by the £65,000 Campsie Drambuie.
Shearlings from Matthew Seed’s Turriff-based Auchry flock sold to a top of £12,000 – the flock’s highest price to-date. Making that money was a son of the 10,000gns Loosebeare Chief, out of a ewe by Canllefaes You Are The One, which sold to the Green family, Corskie, Garmouth.
From the same pen, another by the same sire and out of a different daughter of the Canllefaes sire, made £10,000, selling to John Elliot, Roxburgh Mains, Kelso and Ken Hodge, Greenarch. That one had stood first at the Texplus show the previous evening.
Best for Gordon and David Gray’s Ettrick consignment was a £10,000 bid for Ettrick Hugo Boss, a son of Saddlerhead Fury, out of a homebred ewe that is the 26,000gns Ettrick Earthquake’s maternal sister. He sold to Steven Renwick for his Craig Douglas flock at Peebles.
The Ingram family enjoyed a strong trade for shearlings from their Logie Durno flock, based at Inverurie. Leading the pen, at £10,000, was a son of the 22,000gns Roxburgh Dirrington, out of a ewe that has previously bred shearling sons to £7000. He sold to the Robsons at Yatesfield, Otterburn.
Allan Campbell, Strawfrank, Carstairs, sold to a top of £9500, with that taken for a son of Overburns Gladiator, out of a ewe by Strawfrank Catalyst, selling to Ian Hunter, Dalchirla, alongside Malcolm Coubrough, Hartside, Lammington.
Next best from Logie Durno was a £9000 seller which was knocked down to John Green, Greenall, Melrose and A J E Calder, Tor, Duns. He’s sired by the homebred Logie Durno Goliath, out of a ewe by Granite Chieftain.
Nia Rainnie made a memorable debut as a consignor at Kelso, with shearlings from her Mynach flock, based at Aboyne, selling to a top of £9000. That one, sired by Granite Eddie and out of a Strathbogie-bred ewe, sold to Thomas Illingworth, Glenrock, Lockerbie and Jack Austin, Woodcroft, New Abbey.
Two from Logie Durno made £8500 apiece, including the champion in the Ring 5 pre-sale show, sired by the 40,000gns Douganhill Extra Special. He went in a two-way split to R Halliday and J Anderson.
The other £8500 seller from Logie Durno was knocked down to Messrs Patterson, Orkney. He is by Logie Durno Goliath, a Douganhill Extra Special son that was used at home before being sold at Kelso for £7500.
Selling at £8200 was another from Matthew Seed’s Auchry pen, this time sired by the home-bred Auchry Commander, which had been sold at Kelso for £5000 and later bought back for use at home. Out of a ewe by Teiglum Bandana, he went to Messrs Boow, Corney Hall, Cumbria.
Best for Meikle Jackson, Wolfclyde, Biggar, was £8000, for a son of Teiglum Gladiator, out of a ewe by Haymount Enter the Dragon, which sold to Andrew Provan, Parkhall, Lanark.
Back in the Logie Durno consignment, another son of the Douganhill sire made £7200, selling to Messrs Jack, Woodend, Muir of Ord. He’s a full brother to the Ring 5 champion that made £8500.
From the Cambwell pen, the twin brother to the £32,000 seller sold at £7000, to Cobbleheugh Farms, Dinnet, while another son of Deveronvale Fastrac, out of a ewe by Grougfoot Wizard, sold at £6800 to Messrs Pedley, Kirkby Stephen.
Matching that £6800 price tag was one from the Gibbs at Toftcombs, Biggar, a son of Toftcombs Fast and Furious, which sold to the McGowans, Incheoch, Alyth.
Keith and Andrew Campbell’s Overburns consignment from Lamington, also topped at 6800gns, for a son of Haymount Foremost, which was another to head to Orkney with the Pattersons.
Best for Alex and Russell Gray’s Langside entry, from Lanark, was £6500, for a shearling by Scrogtonhead Glint, which was used on loan before being sold by the Grays at Kelso last year. That one sold to Robert Rennie, Attonburn, Yetholm.
Iain Minto, Townhead, Dolphinton, also sold to £6500, for a son of Collielaw Gilbert, bought at the Scottish Texel Club sale two years ago where he was champion. A natural twin, this one sold to Gary More, Townhead, Arnprior.
David MacTaggart’s Threave flock from Castle Douglas also produced a £6500 seller, sired by Tima Gold Digger which went to E Probert and Sons, Covehope, Leominster.
Topping the Texel lamb trade was one from the Knox family, Mid Haddo, Turriff, a son of Milnbank Hercules which went at £3500 to G V and J A Hardman, Shrewsbury.
Meanwhile, a lamb from Robbie Wilson’s Milnbank flock at Turriff, made £2800 to Willie Baird, Floors, Eaglesham. He’s by Clanfield Golden.
LEADING FLOCK AVERAGES:
Flock (no.) Top price Average
Cambwell (12 sh) £32,000 £5275
Logie Durno (14 sh) £10,000 £5114
Campsie (5 sh) £14,000 £5080
Allanfauld (8 sh) £22,000 £4938
Elmscleugh (8 sh) £22,000 £4425
Auchry (14 sh) £12,000 £3929
Ettrick (12 sh) £10,000 £3508
Midlock (14 sh) £22,000 £3421
Strawfrank (8 sh) £9500 £3113
Garngour (6 sh) £5000 £2833
Lauder (4 sh) £6200 £2650
Harestone (4 sh) £5800 £2475
Tima (4 sh) £4200 £2400
Townhead (15 sh) £6500 £2373
Knap (6 sh) £4200 £2300
Duhonw (14 sh) £4400 £2271
Threave (5 sh) £6500 £2250
Harehead (11 sh) £6000 £2164
Roxburgh (33 sh) £5200 £2133
Thackwood (13 sh) £6200 £2131
Wedderburn (4 sh) £2800 £2100
Teiglum (9 sh) £3200 £2044
Langside (15 sh) £6500 £2000