Texels dominated proceedings at Kelso Ram Sales, producing the highest shearling average and most of the top prices, including a new centre record of £65,000 and a further three five-figure sellers.
More Texels were sold than any other breed, with the 657 registered shearling rams averaging £1412.72 and 115 registered ram lambs levelling out at £756.70.
Top price was the shearling ram Campsie Drambuie, which came from Jimmy and Donald MacGregor, Dyke, Milton of Campsie. Their Kelso consignment always produces a strong average, but this year, they went above and beyond, with the six shearlings averaging out at £14,433.
Despite being last in Ring Nine, the pen attracted plenty of attention throughout the day, with the pen number one, Drambuie, soaring to £65,000 – significantly surpassing the flock’s previous top of £5800. A son of Ettrick Cockney Rebel – which was bought in a three-way split at Lanark for 5500gns – he is out of a daughter of Garngour Yeltsin, one of 20 ewes in the flock. After a bidding war between several top breeders, he was knocked down to John Elliot, Roxburgh Mains, Kelso, and Ken Hodge, for his Greenarch flock at Earlston.
Other sons of Cockney Rebel from the same home, sold at £8000, to Robert Rennie, Sydenham, Kelso; and £6000 to Tom Cockburn, Kingside, Leadburn.
Two shearling rams hit the £20,000 mark. First of those was Teiglum Dirty Harry, a Knock Yardsman son from Andrew Clark’s flock at Blackhill Farm, Crossford, Lanark. The dam, a ewe by Fordafourie Young Star, is a maternal sister to the £29,000 Kelso topper, Garngour Awesome. Like Awesome, he sold to Paul Slater, Whiteley Hey, Cheshire.
From the same pen, Knock Diablo, a Sportsmans Chieftain son, sold at £5800, to Page Farms, Ripon.
The other £20,000 seller was Mitchellhill Diamond Star from Angus Kennedy, Mitchellhill, Biggar. A son of the 10,000gns Canllefaes Bright Spark, out of a ewe by Ettrick Wagon Wheel, he sold to Jim Gibb, Toftcombs, Biggar; Iain Minto, Townhead, Dolphinton and the Orrs at Wester Walston, Carnwath.
An ET brother to that one made £6000, selling to Prof Penny, Harehead, Cranshaws, Duns.
The final five-figure seller was Blackadder Doddie from Neil Harvey, Blackadder Mains, Whitsome, Duns, which sold at £15,000 to the McAllisters for their Artnagullion flock at Kells, Ballymena. He is by Walston Batman, out of a ewe by Wolfclyde Wawrinka.
Iain Minto received a top of £8200 for the best from his Townhead pen, from Dolphinton, West Linton. Selling to Ian Hunter, Dalchirla, Crieff, that one is by a homebred son of Blackadder Albertz, out of a ewe by a Toftcombs sire.
Gordon and David Gray continued their fantastic run this year, with shearlings from their Ettrick consignment selling to £7500 twice and averaging £3731 for 13. Sons of Ettrick Cockney Rebel – a home-bred son of Garngour Awesome which the Grays retained a third share in – sold at £7500, to Llion Jones, Pant, Gwynedd; £7200 to Chris Cornthwaite, Closes Hall, Clitheroe and £6800 to Russel and Gil Watkins, Millend, Hereford.
Meanwhile, another homebred Awesome son, Ettrick Cocky Bob, which was sold as a shearling last year for £11,000, was sire of one at £7500, to Selby Robson, Yatesfield, Otterburn and Messrs McKay, Westhills.
Another £7500 seller came from John Elliot, Roxburgh Mains, Kelso. A son of Canllefaes Bright Spark, that one sold to D H Jones, Wales.
On the other side of the coin, Mr Elliot paid £6500 for the best from Meikle Jackson, Wolfclyde, Biggar, a shearling son of Elmscleugh Bright Spark.
Ken Hodge’s Greenarch consignment, from Upper Huntlywood, Earlston, sold to a top of £6000, for another son of the Canllefaes sire, which went to John Green, The Craggs, Melrose.
Alex and Russell Gray received a steady trade for their Langside shearlings, from Lanark. Top there was £5500, for a son of the 23,000gns Peacehay Ya Belter, which went to Messrs Watkins, Hereford, while others by the same sire sold at £5200, to J B Pate and Son, Toxside, Gorebridge and £5000, to J Gray, Unthank, Whitingham.
Also selling to a top of £5500, was the Wights’ Midlock pen, with a son of Knock Bantastic making that money to John and Craig Connell, Wanton Walls, Lauder.
The Gray family’s Scrogtonhead consignment peaked at £5500 too. Their leader, by Cambwell Blackadder, sold to Paul Slater, Whiteley Hey.
Robert Laird, Cambwell, Biggar was another to enjoy a steady trade throughout, topping at £5200 for a son of Cressage Blockbuster, which sold to M T Bulmer, Wellfield, York.
Best for the Quicks’ Loosebeare lot was £5000, for one by Sportsmans Bulletproof, which sold to Jonathan Watson, Bowsden Moor, Berwick upon Tweed.
Ram lambs sold to a top of £5000, for one from David Preacher, Holylee, Walkerburn. A son of Sportsmans Cannonball, out of a ewe by Auldhouseburn Billy the Kid, he sold to Adam Grieve, Broadlaw, Ponteland and Wester Ulston Sheep, Jedburgh.
Second top in the lambs was a son of Procters Chumba Wumba from Andrew Clark, Teiglum, which sold at £3200 to the Ridleys at Haltcliffe and Messrs Hunter, Wedderburn, Huntly, while Bryden Nicolson sold one at £3000 to Gary Fleming, Galashiels.
Leading averages:
Flock (no) Top price Average
Dyke (6 sh) £65,000 £14,433
Teiglum (6 sh) £20,000 £5292
Mitchellhill (7 sh) £20,000 £4407
Ettrick (13 sh) £7500 £3731
Townhead (12 sh) £8200 £2300
Blackadder (14 sh) £15,000 £2268
Holylee (3 la) £5000 £2233
Cambwell (9 sh) £5200 £2161
Greenarch (9 sh) £6000 £2044
Langside (20 sh) £5500 £1967
Allanfauld (7 sh) £4200 £1936
Roxburgh (25 sh) £7500 £1910
Loosebearer (8 sh) £5000 £1862
Midlock (14 sh) £5500 £1718
College (27 sh) £3800 £1431
Kingledores (5 sh) £2300 £1480
Artnagullion (6 sh) £2100 £1450
Scrogtonhead (28 sh) £5500 £1382
Harehead (13 sh) £3400 £1346
Brijon (35 sh) £4400 £1236
Wester Walston (10 sh) £1700 £1235
Glenrock (6 sh) £1400 £1233
Wolfclyde (14 sh) £6500 £1218
Blackhouse (7 sh) £2800 £1207