High of £150,000 for Blackface rams at Lanark as records smashed

Prices peaked at £150,000 on the second day, for a ram lamb from Hugh and Alan Blackwood, Auldhouseburn, who also sold others at £35,000 and £22,000.

All three were by the £160,000 Elmscleugh lamb bought by Auldhouseburn and Glenrath at Lanark last year, with the sale topper being out of a ewe by £85,000 Elmscleugh.

It sold to John Murray, Crossflatt, Muirkirk, and Paul Coulson, Hexham, who paid £50,000 apiece, with the Blackwoods retaining a third share.

The lamb at £35,000 from the same pen, sold to a trio of Northern Ireland buyers, Charlie Harkin, Brian Devine and Billy Grant, while the £22,000 seller went to the Dunlops, Muirkirk; Andrew and Ian Cullens, Dollar; Craig Paterson, Comrie, and Rory Kerr, Drymen.

John Murray sold lambs from his Crossflatt consignment to £38,000 and £35,000, to average £20,400 for five. Dearest was a son of a £32,000 Dalchirla, which sold to David Morrison, Barr; Andrew Walker, Glenprosen, and David Murray, Aberfeldy. Making £35,000, to Auldhouseburn and Malcolm Coubrough, Lammermuir, was one by a 7,000gns McCurdy ram that had been bought at Ballymena last year.

Shearling rams

Shearling rams on day one, achieved a breed record price for a yearling ram, with 241 averaging £3125, an increase of £845 on the year. Best price was £100,000, for one from Alastair and David MacArthur, Nunnerie.

Surpassing the breed’s previous top for a shearling of £90,000, paid for one from Dalchirla in 2010, this son of a £6,000 Elmscleugh, out of a show ewe by the home-bred Dynamo was knocked down to the Campbell family, Glenrath, Peebles.

The Dyke shearlings, from Donald and Jimmy MacGregor, Milton of Campsie, topped at £38,000 for a son of a £24,000 Elmscleugh, which went to the Grahams, Sanquhar, the Marshalls, Biggar, John and Richard Wood, Kingledores, Biggar and Matthew Hamilton, South Cobbinshaw.

Averages - Shearlings - Ring 1, 241 shearling rams, £3125.73 (+£845.58) Ring 2 - 214 shearling rams, £431.21 (-£70.13); lambs - 152 lambs, £5,075 (-£485.58).

Auctioneers; Lawrie and Symington.